To bring joy to patients who, during the peak of summer, when everyone around them is celebrating, enjoying Jāņi cheese, and jumping over bonfires, are forced to stay in the hospital, "Hospiss LV," together with its supporters, prepared not only holiday-appropriate treats (including traditional Jāņi cheese with caraway seeds, baked bread rolls, and pastries), but also filled the corridors with the aroma of summer meadows with fragrant wildflowers, daisies, and cornflowers. Furthermore, thanks to the support of the LNSO foundation, we organized aristocratic holiday concerts in all of Riga’s hospitals, which we visit weekly. We know that music in hospital corridors holds immense power, having the ability to resonate in every cell and echo in memories long after the concert.
Tuesdays are the visiting days for the "Bikernieki" Palliative Care Department, where this time, patients were treated to performances by harpist Ieva Šablovska and flutist Anita Toča. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the LNSO string quartet, with cellist Jānis Rinkulis and three violinists – Margarita Ogibalova, Elīna Andrianova-Bahira, and Aleksejs Bahirs – created unforgettable emotions for the patients of the Riga 1st Hospital Short-Term Care Center, giving a short concert on both floors. They were joined by "Hospiss LV" volunteer Grieta Pīrāga, who entered each ward to play and sing the patients' favorite songs on the guitar. One patient admitted that she couldn't imagine that the hospital would be where she would experience one of the most beautiful Jāņi celebrations of her life! On Wednesday, patients at the Vidzeme Hospital Palliative Department not only enjoyed a special holiday meal but also sang along with the singer and volunteer with a great voice, Gunita Bārda.
The marathon of holiday concerts concluded on Thursday at the Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, where patients in the Palliative Care, Radiation Therapy, and Oncology Departments could enjoy the sounds of the bassoon, clarinet, and flute performed by Maija Zandberga, clarinetist Mareks Pintas, and bassoonist Jānis Semjonovs.
Special thanks to the supporters of the "Festive Table" – the Ministry of Welfare, "Rimi," and the LNSO foundation.