Kaubaait reopens, Sandla shop to close

Coop Saaremaa plans to reopen Kaubaait, closed after the fire in October, on Monday 23 November. Restoration work is still going on in the shop. Next week shelves will start to be installed and goods put out.

Deputy mayor Priit Riim replied to the school principal's appeal that the municipal government has made no decision on the Pihtla school section. Closing the school section from the next school year was one of the proposals in a study by Cumulus Consulting, but it is not a decision of the municipality. Engagement meetings on the education network will be held in different parts of the municipality until April 2027, and no decisions will be made before they end. According to the principal, the uncertainty has already affected pupil numbers.

A three-month season ticket and the removal of the weekend price surcharge were due to take effect on 1 November, but the start has been postponed. According to the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, that date was only provisional. Proposals made in the consultation round and testing of the systems of the airline Nyxair have taken time. The ministry promises to announce the new start date separately.

The Sandla village shop will stay open until the end of the year, but no new goods will be ordered. A closing-down sale is planned for December to sell the remaining stock. Next to the shop there is also a municipal room where villagers have held meetings and gatherings for years.

Kihelkonna care home is asking the municipality to raise its place fee from 1 January from €1,250 to €1,360, of which €730 would be left for the client to pay. The reasons are carers' wages, new requirements for care home staff in force from July, and higher IT, food and equipment costs. At Pärsama care home a place currently costs €1,300 a month, and the new price will be known once the municipal government approves it.

Saaremaa vald (municipality) estimates that its property needs €80 million of investment, but it can invest only €5–6 million a year. According to mayor Rainer Antsaare, it will not be possible to keep all the buildings in their current form in the long run. The municipality wants to take part in a ministry pilot project that considers which services to bring under one roof and which property to give up. 14 local authorities want to take part, and five will be chosen.

The 16th Kuressaare photo day takes place on Saturday 14 November, 11 am–4 pm, in the classroom of the guardhouse building of the Saaremaa Museum. This time the topic is the use of artificial intelligence in photography, and there is also a workshop. Nature photographer Urmas Tartes will show pictures he brought back from the other side of the globe.

The Saaremaa Open 2026 arm wrestling competition starts on Saturday 14 November at 11 am at Club Divas in Kuressaare. Strong arm wrestlers from Estonia and elsewhere in Europe will compete, and athletes from the Saaremaa club will also take part. Admission is free for spectators.

Mihkel Raud performs on Friday 20 November at 8 pm at Orissaare iPizza, on the Illiku laiu stage. The solo concert goes through his musical journey and areas of life. Tickets cost €15–30.

A dance evening dedicated to the village's men will be held at Tõnija village hall on Saturday 21 November at 6 pm. Women and friends are welcome too. More information is available from the village society on Facebook.

For Curiosity Day, the Aavik house museum (Aavikute majamuuseum) in Kuressaare is open on Saturday 14 November, 4–5.30 pm, and on Sunday 15 November, 12–1.30 pm. On this occasion museums across Estonia show items that otherwise stay in storage.

On Monday 16 November at 6 pm, pianist Kadri-Ann Sumera gives a solo concert at Kuressaare kultuurikeskus (Cultural Centre). The programme includes works by Tüür, Mäe, Bartók and Schumann, along with stories about their background. On Saturday 21 November at 7 pm, Evelin Võigemast, Jonas Kaarnamets and Peedu Kass perform their favourite songs at a jazz concert.

Three free AI workshops will be held at TalTech Kuressaare College (Tallinna 19) on Wednesday 18, Thursday 19 and Friday 20 November, 5–8 pm. The topics are safe use, office work, and getting from an idea to a working solution. No prior knowledge is needed, and you should bring a laptop. Places are limited, and you can register on Fienta.

Traffic on Kopli tänav is closed from 11 to 19 November because of heating main construction works. According to Saaremaa vald, the work is due to finish on Thursday 19 November.

Saaremaa vald is accepting applications for the post of area manager until 23 November. The job starts on 1 January and the gross salary is €1,900 a month. The manager is residents' first contact with the municipality: they receive appeals, pass on information about roads, snow clearance, waste and transport, and handle the paperwork of the osavallakogu (sub-municipality councils). Kaarma, Leisi and Orissaare sub-municipalities each have their own manager, while the other sub-municipalities share a manager in pairs.

Saaremaa Toidufestival (Food Festival) is organising an islands' gingerbread competition for the first time, in which home bakers and businesses are judged separately. You need to make at least five unglazed gingerbread biscuits from your own dough and bring them on Saturday 21 November, 12 pm–1 pm, to the Staadioni Hotel in Kuressaare. Registration is open until 19 November, and the winners will be announced on Monday 23 November at 4.30 pm.

The Angel Trees are back in Maxima shops, hung with Christmas wishes from children in families facing financial difficulties. There are 89 wishes from Saaremaa. Take an angel from the tree, buy the gift written on it and bring it back to the same shop by 13 December at the latest. Taking an angel means promising to fulfil the child's wish.

105 graves were damaged at Kihelkonna cemetery, and it is still unclear who will cover the damage. Saaremaa vald is collecting information about the destroyed grave plots. The municipality asks everyone whose loved one's grave was damaged to get in touch.