Weeklong Pride Festival Kicks Off Tomorrow

After a four-year break the Baltic Pride returns to Tallinn tomorrow. Last held here in 2007, Tallinn Pride featured the traditional parade, but due to outbreaks of violence last time it was held, the organizers decided to opt for a week-long celebratory festival this year.

Pride events in the Baltics have a mixed history. In Lithuania, the country which recently tried to ban 'homosexual propaganda' from the media, they have always faced tough opposition. In Tallinn, the parades usually went well, until a number of violent incidents occurred in 2007, after which the organizers decided to take a creative break.

This year Pride returns to Tallinn, in the form of a week-long festival, featuring films, exhibitions, a conference and a concert replacing the traditional parade, just to name a few items.

The events include a women-only workshop focused on producing handmade sex toys, seminars with LGBT activists from different European countries, a conference under the "Diversity Enriches" awareness campaign, a film series featuring such award-winning productions as Rob Epstein "Howl".

The week will conclude with a joint reading of Zoe Leonard's poem "I want a dyke for president", playing off the fact that Estonia is electing a new president in August; and a concert featuring local and international artists next Saturday.

The full program of the festival is available at http://omafestival.ee/?lang=EN

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