KESKfEST, a multiday public festival in Toronto's Annex neighborhood, was originally planned to mark KESKUS' opening in time for Restoration of Independence Day on August 20.

With construction still underway, the community is instead celebrating the project's nearing completion, or "final countdown."

Events kicked off on Thursday and run through Sunday, featuring speakers and performers from as far as Estonia, film screenings, conferences, Annex neighborhood walking tours, workshops and nightly gatherings, culminating in a folk festival, or valguspidu, with hundreds of choir singers, dancers and gymnasts.

The $56 million — or approximately €35 million — project was initially slated to be completed in 2022, but project manager Ellen Valter said the COVID pandemic, soaring construction costs, supply problems and technical issues repeatedly pushed back the timeline.

"We really are pushing hard now to finish construction so we can celebrate Christmas and New Year's in the newly opened center," Valter said.

KESKUS marks one of the Toronto-area Estonian community's most ambitious projects to date. Funding has come from the sale of the former Toronto Estonian House on Broadview Avenue six years ago, private donations as well as contributions from the Estonian and Canadian governments.

'Now we have a new Estonian House'

Selling the old Estonian House building was an emotional decision for many community members. Although it was far from downtown and increasingly outdated, the building had served as a gathering place and second home for generations of Estonians in Toronto.

Toronto Estonian House chair Veiko Parming said leaving was difficult but necessary.

"The old Estonian House was our home for a very long time, including the entire time Estonia was not free," Parming said. "It was the place where everyone who lived here came together."

But the aging building ultimately made a move unavoidable, he acknowledged, "so we had to move forward. And now we have a new Estonian House."

The new KESKUS is designed to bring the area's sizable diaspora community together under one roof at the corner of Bloor Street and Madison Avenue, in the heart of Toronto.

Located next door to Tartu College, another building that has long served the local Estonian community, KESKUS will include a concert hall, library, classrooms, offices and a restaurant.

Organizers also hope the more central and accessible location will attract younger generations and give Estonian cultural life a stronger presence in downtown Toronto.

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