Legendary 'Labvakar' TV show hosts have a unique tradition – meeting every November 18
After nearly 33 years, the trio of hosts from the iconic Latvian TV show 'Labvakar' reunited publicly. They revealed that every year on November 18, Latvia's Independence Day, they gather with their families – a long-standing ritual.
On May 27, the music hall 'Daile' hosted the launch of the book 'Viena mūža grāmata. Jānis Peters. Dzejnieks, diplomāts, cilvēks' (One Lifetime Book: Jānis Peters. Poet, Diplomat, Person). The event drew attention to the former hosts of the popular show 'Labvakar' – Jānis Šipkēvics, Edvīns Inkēns, and Ojārs Rubenis – who appeared together after a long time.
Photographer Jānis Deinats captured them in one frame, and Šipkēvics commented on Facebook that Deinats 'catches the most un-catchable shots.' Although they rarely meet in daily life, the trio has a long-standing tradition: every year on November 18, Latvia's Proclamation Day, they gather with their families.
Ojārs Rubenis told magazine 'Kas Jauns' that this meeting has become a ritual and even a law: 'It is also the beginning of celebrating Latvia's independence day.' He emphasized that their relationship is not based solely on past memories; they try to focus on the present and the future.
The show 'Labvakar' aired from 1988 to 1993, with its last broadcast on October 2, 1993. The hosts – Jānis Šipkēvics (now chairman of Radio SWH), Edvīns Inkēns (retired), and Ojārs Rubenis (chairman of the Latvian Theatre Workers' Union) – still keep in touch, calling each other and occasionally meeting informally over a glass of wine, discussing current events, including politics, but remaining observers rather than participants.
