Florida Estos

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Häid pühi! Season’s greetings! What another glorious blue sky sunny day–Sunday, December 15, 2024–for the annual jõulupidu (Christmas party) of the Kesk Florida Eesti Selts (KFES) (Estonian Society of Central Florida) at the clubhouse in Birgit and Vincent DeLaidatti’s residential community in Largo, Florida! Sixty (60!) members and friends (including 8 children) gathered for our traditional Estonian Christmas meal, engaging conversation, the singing of holiday carols, and an early visit by jõuluvana just for our good girls and boys! Of course, all of our girls and boys were good this year!

Our KFES vice president, Inne Joonsar, welcomed friends and guests as they arrived. We especially were delighted to welcome first-timers to this event too: Diana Davi and her daughter Gabriella; Ted Erne and Helen, who currently are living in our area as they restore their sailboat Liberty; Kelly Myers, her daughters Jenelle and Kayla, and their friend Katlin Raidvee; Märten Vaikmaa’s friends Jaak Lugus and Tanel Lindmets; and Milja Webber. Though Helve Silah is a familiar friend, her 2-year-old son Justin attended his first KFES jõulupidu this year too!

Heikki Joonsar, who is our treasurer and acting president, and Moonika Mägi, our past president, welcomed us with opening remarks. In Estonian Christmas tradition, Moonika recited a poem. Vincent DeLaidatti blessed our meal and our gathering. Heikki thanked our primary verivorsti makers, Kaie Põhi Latterner and Virve-Kai Bulla. Additional vorstid came from a second kitchen too–the home of Triin Karr–where Moonika Mägi, Marju Dishmey and others made their vorstid too ahead of the holidays. Thank you to you too! Everyone jumped in to help today, from setup to meal prep to clean-up, and we were thrilled that our newcomer Helen contributed a large pot of homemade hapukapsad (sauerkraut) too! As we do each December, we paused a moment to sing the Estonian version of “happy birthday” (Ta elagu!) to Heikki Joonsar as we clinked our glasses together in fine Estonian tradition.

Estonians love their traditional jõuluõhtusöök (Christmas dinner) and today’s menu exceeded everyone’s expectations. While our roast pork, mashed potatoes and gravy were catered as in the past, everything else today was homemade. Our side dishes included cranberry sauce, hapukapsad, rosolje, potato salad, herring salad, fresh beet and spinach salad, and other delights too numerous to mention. The centerpiece of the meal was the deliciously seasoned verivorst–mostly provided by the loving hands of Kaie Põhi Latterner and Virve-Kai Bulla. Desserts included three kinds of kringel, piparkoogid, traditional Florida key lime pie, and so many additional sweet selections. Yum!

After lunch, Kaie Põhi Latterner, our Estonian Honorary Consul and KFES musical director, led us in song. When we weren’t singing, we were fully engaged in conversation. It was grand to be together again!

We hope you enjoy these additional photos from our gathering. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year! Please stay tuned to your email, this website, and our Facebook account for information about upcoming events. See the paragraph below for ways to stay in touch.

Information about KFES events and photos may be found on this website, floridaestos.blog, and our Facebook page, Kesk Florida Eestlased https://facebook.com/groups/2497393393890607/ . To enhance security features for our Facebook account members, Kesk Florida Eestlased is a private account that asks you to click on a link to join. The account is managed by KFES member Birgit DeLaidatti, and she will respond to requests from prospective followers. Thank you, Birgit, for this wonderful service to Estonian Society of Central Florida/Kesk Florida Eesti Selts members! To join our email list, please send an email to Heikki Joonsar, KFES Treasurer and Acting President, at kfes1918@yahoo.com.