Sports and Street Art Festival “Rural Beat”

The Sports and Street Art Festival “Rural Beat” will take place for the second time in the Rēzekne district, this year on August 30th at the Viļāni Stadium. The festival will gather enthusiasts of active recreation, urban culture, and sports, offering a broad day and evening program – “Day BEAT” and “Night BEAT”. The event's program includes sports competitions, street culture demonstrations, creative workshops, panel discussions, and other activities. The evening will also feature a night tournament, concluding a series of four night competitions with stages in Višķi, Rēzekne, Kārsava, and Viļāni. The main event of the “Night BEAT” will be the awarding of the winners of the overall standings of the four night tournament series and a concert by the band “Alejas”.

The festival's daytime program “Day BEAT” will start at 3:00 PM and will include various sports competitions, such as “Panna” football, 3×3 floorball, and street handball tournaments, as well as street sports demonstrations. The event will feature creative workshops for different age groups and a panel discussion “Street Code: Freedom vs Law”, with graffiti artist Viesturs Holenders (better known as Holis) and Sondra Zaļupe, a member of the artist collective “HolisArts” and project producer, participating. The festival's youngest visitors will also have access to a family active recreation area.

“Night BEAT”, starting at 7:00 PM, will also be the culmination of the night tournament series. This summer, for the first time, a four-stage night competition series is taking place – in Višķi, Rēzekne, Kārsava, and Viļāni, and the Viļāni tournament will be the final one, where results will be compiled, and the overall winners determined. The night tournaments will feature competitions in three disciplines: 3×3 basketball (in women's and men's groups), 3×3 floorball, and 5×5 football.

The evening program will offer street art masterclasses and demonstrations, creative activities, and another panel discussion “Achievement Code: Mental Health vs Medal”. The discussion will feature Jurita Smiltiņa – a certified counseling psychologist specializing in sports psychology, and coach Dairis Adijanovs.

The festival will conclude with a performance by the band “Alejas”.

“Alejas” is a trio whose musical style balances between pop music, electronics, hip-hop, and the freedom of the experimental scene. The group consists of Kirils Ēcis, Spāre Vītola, and Reinis Žodžiks, who are also active in contemporary art, theater, and poetry. Their third studio album “Farewell, Ice Age!” is excellently suited for dancing alone, in pairs, and in groups in the dim light of a party, in the middle of spring, atop a glacier, in joyful farewells to what has passed, and in eager anticipation of what is to come. On January 30th, the group gathered listeners for their most ambitious performance yet at the “Hangar” concert hall.

The goal of the “Rural Beat” festival is to strengthen the development of sports and contemporary culture in the region, creating a platform for new collaborations, creative self-expression, and experience exchange. Its main objective is to reflect the interaction of sports, music, and urban art, promoting social engagement and community participation in regional development.

Entry to the event is free.

Regarding participation in sports competitions:

To be evaluated in the overall standings of the night tournament, a team must participate in at least three of the four stages with the same team name and at least half of the unchanged lineup. Points are awarded based on the position obtained in each tournament, and the overall result is calculated according to the average points total. Winners will be awarded at the end of the festival.