West Coast

There are many excellent refugee memoirs. Jaak Treiman’s “Carried by a Magic Fan: Memoir of an Estonian Refugee Family” expands that tradition by offering three perspectives of one family’s refugee journey. He then carries the story forward by chronicling refugee political activities that followed their settlement into new homes. During...

August 22, 1934 – May 11, 2023 Vello Ederma, 88, of Springfield, Virginia passed away on May 11, 2023, in his home surrounded by family. Vello was born on August 22, 1934, in Rakvere, Estonia to John (Juhan Hillar) and Klara (n. Vorteil) Ederma. He along with his parents and...

Karl Altau, JBANC In his May 12 article for Foreign Policy magazine, “NATO’s Got a New Backbone,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) argues that “It’s time for the United States to prioritize members of the alliance that understand the Russian threat and are taking it seriously.” Rogers...

"A TALK with the Ambassador: View from Estonia, and an EANC TOWNHALL: What is the Future of ESTO festivals?" The Estonian American National Council (EANC) announced this week that Estonian Ambassador to the United States Kristjan Prikk will be featured as the keynote speaker at its virtual forum on Friday,...

The grant from the Foundation of Estonian Arts and Letters (FEAL) supports the creative work of a young artist who is of Estonian heritage and a resident of the USA. In 2023, the FEAL will award one grant of $1,000. The application deadline is June 1, 2023. Requirements for applicants:...

The Consul from the Consulate General of Estonia in San Francisco will be in Seattle on Saturday, May 20th to provide consular services (e.g. passport and ID card application submissions, fingerprinting, issuing of e-residency cards). The appointments will take place at 950 N. 72nd Street, Suite 100. Please pre-register for...

The San Francisco International Film Festival is back in person April 13–23! The San Francisco Estonian Society is proud to co-present „Savvusanna sõsarad“ (Smoke Sauna Sisterhood), on Sunday, April 23 at 2:15 pm PT in San Francisco. Director Anna Hints' debut feature won the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema–Documentary directing...

On Tuesday, April 25 at Stanford Libraries, Avik Roy, President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, and Karen Jagodin, Director of Vabamu, will discuss "How the Estonian Model Can Expand Economic Opportunity in America." At its best, the United States is a dynamic society in which people can...

Sponsored by the Los Angeles Estonian Society Topic: The Importance of Community Tell us your thoughts about community. Put your thoughts in an Estonian context. Estonians are familiar with many communities, ranging from family to social and political groups. Some communities have fixed boundaries. There are other communities that have...

On February 25th, San Francisco Estonians celebrated the 105th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia at the San Francisco Latvian House. Actor Sepo Seeman provided entertainment to a full house. Korp!Vironia USA and Mai-Liis Bartling (San Francisco Estonian Society) were awarded certificates of appreciation from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign...