Partner City Day
May 8 2026 in Viljandi
11.00 Morning book café Cocoa and Covers for 5th grade at Viljandi City Library (Tallinna 11/1)
Just as appetite can be sparked by a single bite, a love of reading can be ignited by a few pages. The book café menu features Mulgi-language greetings from the chef, storybooks by beloved Estonian authors, and, to round things off sweetly, poetry, of course. Registration: huvijuht@raamatukogu.viljandi.ee.
11.30 Curator’s tour at the Kondas Centre: Köler 200. Original and Copy. The Real and the Unreal in Köler’s Work (Pikk 8)*
A curator’s tour with Mari Vallikivi exploring the work of Johann Köler, highlighting original works, sketches and various stages of completion. The exhibition traces how a “real” work is born from idea to finished result, and invites reflection on the meaning of the original in art. Find out more: https://koler200.ee/.
*Throughout the day, entry to the Kondas Centre with the password “Prima Vista” is €3, free with a museum card.
13.00–14.20 Meeting between Latvian writer Guntis Berelis and Contra at Viljandi Gymnasium (Hariduse 2)
Guntis Berelis is a writer who is not afraid of uncomfortable topics or strange questions. In his view, a good story should have at least one corpse ‒ but what does that really mean? At Viljandi Gymnasium he will talk about writing, literature and how stories are truly born. The conversation will be in Latvian with live translation into Estonian, moderated by Contra.
17.00 Prima Vista patron Meelis Friedenthal and Mari Vallikivi at Viljandi Raamatukoi (Lossi tn 28)
Prima Vista patron Meelis Friedenthal and Mari Vallikivi from the Kondas Centre discuss art, literature and the nature of the real and the imitated: is it even possible to tell the genuine from the copy, or does meaning arise in our own interpretations? The conversation takes place amid the bustle of Lossi Street, brought together as a shared meeting place by NGO Loov Viljandi along with Viljandi Kohvik, Raamatukoi, Karu Pagar, the shop Re.Melin and the residents of Lossi Street.
18.00 Salon Storie” – Indrek Koff at Viljandi City Library (Tallinna 11/1)
Salon Stories is a series of gatherings at Viljandi City Library where Estonian writers working across different genres and others from the world of books come to meet their readers. From writer and translator Indrek Koff we ask whether anything artificial touches him personally, and how he is really doing.
19.30 Community cinema Fahrenheit 451 (1966, dir. François Truffaut). Apollo Cinema Hall (Tallinna tn 22)*
This classic film based on Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same name depicts a future where the capacity for deep engagement disappears and knowledge is reduced to facts without context. This dystopian film evening connects with Prima Vista’s focus, asking: what does a “true” world mean when our experience of it is increasingly mediated by technology and interest in literature fades?
*Regular Apollo Cinema ticket prices and concessions apply.