Thirty-three enthusiastic members and friends of the Estonian Society of Central Florida/Kesk Florida Eesti Selts gathered for their annual spring potluck picnic in Walsingham Park, Seminole, Florida, on Sunday, March 23, 2025. We were delighted to welcome first-timers Eric and Ilmar Tarikas, who live in Tampa and Pensacola, Florida. We were also delighted to welcome Livija and Peep Rebane’s relatives, Toomas and Ann Rebane, who were visiting from Canada. We hope to see you and all of our newcomers this year again!
A huge thank-you to Heikki and Inne Joonsar for their leadership organizing this and all our events throughout our year of activities! Heikki is Treasurer and Acting President and Inne is Vice President of Kesk Florida Eesti Selts. Thank you too to Birgit and Vincent DeLaidatti and Anneliis and Rein Allikberg for your unselfish support behind the scenes. A big hurrah to our members who brought delicious contributions to our smorgasbord table! Kesk Florida Eesti Selts is truly a wonderful community.
Formal remarks were few and appropriate for this lovely picnic setting. Heikki Joonsar warmly welcomed everyone. Vincent DeLaidatti offered a blessing. Sirje Kiin shared a communication from our friend and former longtime member Elin Toona, who now resides in Haapsalu, Eesti. Elin, through remarks read by Sirje, invited us to remember her grandfather Ernst Enno, well known Estonian poet and writer, on the occasion of what would have been his 150th birthday. Elin’s remarks are published on page 10, in the April 3, 2025, Nr. 7 (3891) edition of our Estonian-language newspaper, Vaba Eesti Sõna (New York).
This picnic closes our 2024-25 year of activities, and we are now on summer hiatus. We will send an email and post information on this website and our Facebook page when we are ready to resume our activities in the fall. In the meantime, please enjoy these photos!
The Estonian Society of Central Florida/Kesk Florida Eesti Selts poses for their traditional group photo at the yearend picnic in Walsingham Park, Seminole, Florida, Sunday, March 23, 2025. We were lucky this time capturing all our participants (missing from the photo: Lisa A. Mets, the photographer)!
Note: A group of multiple photos below the opening group shot in this report is arranged in a gallery. Please double click on the first photo or the last photo to launch the carousel of photos.
Information about KFES events and photos may be found on this website, floridaestos.blog, in engaging post-event stories graciously written by KFES member Sirje Kiin and published by New York-based Vaba Eesti Sõna and Toronto-based Eesti Elu, 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.
See you in the fall!
Florida Estos 