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The Rose Festival dates back to 2008 when it was imagined and brought to life by a resident of Tukums — the florist Anita Stikāne — in cooperation with the then head of the Tukums Culture Centre Dace Lebeda. From a small festival of florists, the Rose Festival has grown into the biennial Tukums Town Festival. This year, 2025, it will return for the ninth time.

The large rose wreath has become one of the most visible symbols of the festival since the first year it was built, and we have Tukums florists and their friends, especially Anita Stikāne’s team of floral friends, to thank for that. From a colourful flower crown of 3,700 flowers, whether by chance or intent, it has grown bigger and more colourful every year. It has been supported by businesses, locals and visitors to our town who have arrived at the festival with their own rose flower to be placed in the wreath. In the festival of Latvia’s centenary year, it was made to resemble the red-white-red flag; during the pandemic, it shone in yellow shades as an amber of hope; and in 2023, the pink rose wreath became the largest wreath ever created, with more than 10,000 rose flowers.

The tradition of the Rose Festival has been to bring together Latvian florists and floristry schools to create floral objects of various sizes across the town and at the Culture Centre. The visitors can see decorated balconies and specially designed arches in the town streets. The “green-fingered” visitors have always been interested in the large florists’ collective exhibition in the Culture Centre, while in the previous festival in 2023, everyone was amazed by the florists’ collective exhibition in the Tukums Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The small, romantic festival stages next to the wreath makers and the festive atmosphere in Pauzers Meadows have been indispensable parts of the festival. The festive parade has become a symbol of unity of the town residents. The concerts, Artists’ Street, and the Arts, Crafts and Rose Plant Fair, as well as the romantic Thursday evening opening concerts at Durbe Manor have contributed to the festive feel.

The Rose Festival is a Tukums town tradition, and we will celebrate it also this year!

We are working hard on the Rose Festival programme, keeping in mind and including the mentioned traditions. In the evening of Thursday, 17 July, we will start the festival at Durbe Manor with a performance of the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra and the opening of an artisan exhibition and the festival walking route. On Friday, 18 July, we will open a floristry exhibition in the church, play Rose Basketball and start the festivities with a lively concert in the Town Park and Pauzers Meadows. Saturday will be the central day of the celebrations, with the building of the Big Rose Wreath, the Arts, Crafts and Plant Fair in the town centre, creative activities in the Old Town, fun and educational games for children and young people in the Town Park, the Rose Picnic in Pauzers Meadows and the festival parade “With a rose in your heart and in your carriage”. Whereas Sunday, as before, will be a day of sensations, with a Garden Party at Jaunmoku Palace and perhaps a surprise in the rose garden “Rozītes”.

This year, we invite those wishing to celebrate Rose Wedding to our wedding anniversary celebration in Tukums. We will inform about the opportunities to take part shortly. Soon, it will also be possible to apply to take part in festive trading for participants of the Arts, Crafts and Plant Fair and the caterers alike. We will invite entries for the parade in May–June, but already now everyone from the town and the vicinity can think about the decorations and who to go on the parade with — their company, club, association or group of friends. You can follow the updates on the festival page facebook.com/rozusvetki and on the local government website tukums.lv.

The festival is organised by Tukums Culture Centre and Tukums Local Government Administration. Director: Liene Bēniņa. We all know that we all must create the real celebrations together.

Save the date: on 17th -20th July — Tukums and the Rose Festival await you!

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Video - a look back at the 2023 Rose Festival in Tukums. Author - Gints Sprēdis, GS Films.

Photo - The Great Rose Wreath in 2028-2023. Photo from the festival archive, photo authors - Žanis Bezmers, Agris Jansons, Guntis Jēkabsons, Ieva Krūmiņa, Vita Popravko, Ingrīda Smuškova, Taņa Stīpniece.