Fourth folk costume conference dedicated to Igor Tõnurist: “White. Silver.”

The fourth folk costume conference “White. Silver.”, dedicated to Igor Tõnurist, takes place on 13 February 2027 at Pärnu Museum. The conference is organised by the Pärnumaa folk costume advisory council and Pärnu Museum.

We welcome researchers, makers, teachers and wearers of folk costume, and all other folk costume enthusiasts!

The conference talks cover the sheepskin coats of Pärnumaa and the white jackets of Lihula, silver jewellery and shiny metal buttons. They also discuss life with tradition in Kihnu, the village fiddlers of Pärnumaa and the work of village tailors.

The conference continues Igor Tõnurist’s work of sharing knowledge about the study, making and wearing of folk costumes.

The participation fee includes lunch, coffee breaks and visits to all the exhibitions at Pärnu Museum.

PROGRAMME

9:30–10:30 Arrival, registration and welcome coffee. Getting to know the new permanent exhibition of Pärnu Museum, the sheepskin exhibition and the displays prepared for the conference.

10:30–10:45 Opening of the conference

10:45–12:15 The ethnographic sheepskin coats of Pärnumaa: from sheep to sheepskin coat

Anu Randmaa. Experience of the project manager of the ethnographic sheepskin coats of Pärnumaa.

Made Uus. Experience of a sheepskin master and teacher.

Lilian Freiberg. The story of obtaining sheepskin hides.

Maia Agar. Experience of recreating a historical sheepskin coat.

Coffee break

12:45–14:15 Heritage, place and people

Liis Luhamaa and Anu Randmaa. The white jackets of Lihula: historical heritage and recreation.

Käthlin Palu. Life with tradition in Kihnu.

Regina Mänd. Distinctive playing styles of the village fiddlers of Pärnumaa from a century ago. Presentation with a musical interlude.

Lunch break

15:00–16:25 Masters and service trades in folk costume culture

Indrek Ikkonen. Jewellery masters of Pärnumaa, 18th–19th centuries. Oskar Brackmann.

Merli Mänd. The diaries of the village tailor Gustav Altpere in Pärnu Museum.

Margit Saarits. The metal button on the costume: fastening methods, placement and function on men’s folk costumes of 19th-century Western Estonia.

Summary of the conference and closing

16:40–18:00 Time to visit the museum’s exhibitions and displays

Exhibition of sheepskin coats from the parishes of Pärnumaa

Silver jewellery in Pärnu Museum

The diary of village tailor Gustav Altpere and a slide presentation of digitised materials

Travelling exhibition “THE FIDDLE SINGS. Pärnumaa village fiddlers on tour”

Films with Igor Tõnurist in the cinema hall

Moderator: Aet Maatee