Three for the Weekend in Latvia: Tempting tourism, Fantasy science, Documentary film

Stuck for something to do in Latvia this weekend? You shouldn't be, there's plenty happening!

Take a tour of tourism

The Balttour 2020 tourism trade fair is occupying the vast spaces of the Ķipsala exhibition halls this weekend, giving visitors a hance to plan holidays, trips and activities at home and abroad. There is strong representation from the various Latvian local municipalities as well as other countries among 860 different exhibitors, so it is likely that even seasoned travellers can find something new to see and do in the remaining eleven months of 2020.

Scientific fantasy at Rīga Russian Theater

The brilliantly-titled "Bzik!" will have multiple performances for children aged 6 and above at Rīga's Mihail Chekhov Russian Theater in the heart of the Latvian capital's Old Town on February 1 and 2.  Described as "a scientific fantasy lab for kids", people of all ages will enjoy the tale of young girl and her grandfather's adventures in the world of science and fantasy. Spending her summer holidays with her mad professor grandfather, they embark on an exciting journey into the world of physics and chemistry with lots of demonstrations happening on stage. Please note performances are in Russian.

Landmark documentary films

For some reason, Latvians seem to be excellent at making documentary films. That is one of the likely conclusions after viewing an exhibition at the Rīga Cinema Musem, which is on until the spring and look at Latvian films from different time periods, whose authors have interpreted the chosen themes in very different ways. Films reviewed include Ivars Seleckis' "The Crossroads" (1988), Juris Podnieks' "Is It Easy to Be Young?", Seleckis' "The Documentary" (2002), Dāvis Sīmaņis' "Valkyrie Limited" (2009) and others. But you'll have to go Saturday as the museum is closed Sundays.