Friday the 11th of February was the first opportunity for the Estonian community here in Adelaide to get together and reflect on the intense activity over the last few months. Yes the Esto Pub Night phenomena has continued into the new year and this time the team wanted a relaxed evening and invited a new group to ‘Kalev on Jeffcott’ to provide a different but professional treat!
Yes again it was a Friday night and it happened exactly a week before the start of the very famous Adelaide Fringe Festival. Hence there were no excuses. On arrival at our small clubrooms in North Adelaide, Allan gave every entrant a ‘Lei’, to embrace the theme of the evening, welcoming the guests. Before the scheduled start of the evening, the Ukulele’s already started to dominate the scene!
With their Lei’s in position our guests took the aromas produced by our new but very shy Master Chef with a sense of anticipation. The promise was made to make a formal introduction of the new Culinary Mastermind but the appreciation and the aromas he produced and his efficiency needed no fanfare. Greggory Hill is here from Washington DC in the US but has a close affiliation with our local Estonians. Our critical community has now verified his appreciation of the local cuisine. The barbequed chicken was a simply spectacular dish that had all the regulars rushing to the kitchen for more. Those that were fortunate enough to attend are looking forward to his next this time Estonian treat!
The evenings performing group, which has a number of members with a very close connection with our community, was the Adelaide Ukulele Appreciation Society. This is an organisation, that have played at many state and national events, with more than 50 members. Over twenty of their team entertained us with two fantastic brackets. They raised the standard of the Esto Pub Night’s entertainment to a level that will be difficult to repeat. My personal favorite was Flowers on the Wall, by the Statler Brothers a well known to most from the Pulp Fiction soundtract. The entertainment was spectacular, it was fantastic to also see a new team of Estonian backpackers enjoy the enthusiasm.
A regular Esto Pub Night attendee who wishes to remain nameless left her hospital bed for two hours, to witness the fantastic entertainment. It was fortunate that there was 4 doctors and 3 nurses present to supervise her IV line. Peter Helm, another Pub Night regular, was in total disbelief in seeing the amazing entertainment, his wife eventually dragged him home. Many other Pub Night regulars recorded and appreciated a fantastic evening at Kalev on Jeffcott.
The timing of the next Adelaide Esto Pub Night has become a slight mystery. Everyone is looking forward to this years Estovision Night! With Estonia in the second semifinal we are proud to announce that Esto Pub Night is moving to a Saturday Night. Stay tuned for more details about this which will be sometime in May, but prior to this a very quiet EPN has been scheduled in for early April.
In Adelaide it is difficult to keep the Estonians away! Vikerkaar the Adelaide Eesti Folkdancers have returned to their Sunday practices, Eesti Selts has a new female President, Naisring has had their AGM, the EM Board has been overwhelmed by internet searches and Hapu Koor is back! Who would have ever expected this delightful choir to survive post Estonian Festival. Well membership is increasing and all camps are insisting on another Friday night get together. Esto Pub Night 15.5 is set for Friday April the 1st. It has been decided to go back to the grass roots of what Esto Pub Nights were originally all about. No high powered politics, no advertising in major national or international Estonian newspapers. This will be an opportunity to get together with friendly local Estonians after work on a Friday night, to support our local hall, to meet new people, enjoy a fantastic inexpensive meal and sample our variety of Estonian and local beers, wines and spirits, which is unmatched Southern Hemisphere.
If this is your first time, the entire idea of these nights is to drop in for 10 minutes or 2 hours and stay for some food to say hello, support the hall and bump into old or meet new Esto friends… No need to book tables or make formal appointments, it has become a relaxed, friendly evening for everyone. Drop in after work or some people come through on their way home after being out elsewhere. Put Friday April the 1st into your calendar it will certainly be the ultimate Esto Pub Night at Kalev On Jeffcott here in North Adelaide.
Richard Semenov