HOME CAFÉ DAYS
For 1–2 days within a particular destination, farmyards and other places that are not always related to business and catering services on a daily basis, turn into cafés. Within Open Café days each farmstead prepares its own special treat – a soup, a casserole, a cake, a bread, or a whole meal – and offers it to visitors together with coffee/tea. Each farm presents its home-café name and the product offered is also presented with its cultural characteristics and story. In order to attract a wider community and families with children, various cultural activities are organized: handicrafts, games, playing musical instruments, etc.
Local cuisine in our countries is based on natural products from a clean environment. Spring and summer seasons are characterised by lighter dishes like greens, dairy products and seasonal fish, grilled meat, forest berries and mushrooms. Meat dishes with vegetable and grain side dishes, fermented and pickled vegetables dominate cold season meals.
Latvia has a wealth of culinary traditions, because the country is at the crossroads of Europe, and so influences from other nations have come from the East and the West over the course of centuries. Latvian cuisine is distinctly seasonal, because there are four seasons, and each of them offers specific products and tasty treats. Latvian menu features many dishes from the forests, waters, meadows or home gardens.
In Latvia, Home Café days take place in summer and the early autumn months when the young harvest arrives – from strawberries and raspberries in July to early potatoes at the end of August, mushrooms in September and the great variety of traditional pickles in October. This event unites the community members in destinations as everybody is willing to present their offers in the best possible way to share with others. The best recipes add to a destination’s recognition and image.
In Estonia, during the summer and early autumn months, Home Café Days happen throughout the country on different dates but usually at weekends. On Home Café Days, Estonians invite visitors to farmyards, to home restaurants open only for that day and sometimes even to barns or to unique and cosy places where there are usually no cafés, in order to taste local handmade dishes made from locally sourced ingredients. In each area where pop-up café days are held, visitors can discover a variety of unique cafés that are specific to that area and where food is often served based on family recipes.
Lohja Café Day is traditionally celebrated on the first Thursday in June. Lohja Café Day celebrates the beginning of the café’s summer season and the unique Lohja café culture. Café culture in Lohja is diverse and travellers are sure to find their own favourite from the 30 different cafés around Lohja. We recommend a visit to the lovely old-time café Liisa, with a local souvenir shop next door, Café St. Honoré with mouth-watering cakes and pastries and to Café Lauri, where customers are pampered in the style of a European café. An experience to remember is the floating café Kaljaasi in the middle of the Lohja Lake. In addition to all the cafés, Lohja also has two local coffee roasters, so there is good reason to call Lohja a real café town and celebrate the Lohja Café Day.
More information about cafés in Lohja from Visitlohja.fi
