Today sees the start of the biggest event in the Lithuanian cultural calendar – so big, in fact, that it only happens once every four years. The Lithuanian Song and Dance Celebration brings together thousands of performers, and has been officially recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Humanity. Basically, if you are in Vilnius over the next few days you won’t be able to miss this (and should be ashamed of yourself if you do).
The schedule of events in the capital looks like this:
5th July: Kanklės Ensembles, 6pm, Petras Skarga Courtyard of Vilnius University. The Kanklės is a traditional Lithuanian stringed instrument, and true to the spirit of doing everything on a large scale the orchestra will consist of 400 musicians. Participants from Latvia and Estonia will be playing their versions of the instrument.
6th July: Folklore Day, from sunrise (4.51am) until sunset, Sereikiskiu Park. If you can get out of bed in time, join Lithuanians as they greet the sun.
7th July: Brass Orchestras Concert, 5pm, various locations. Begins with a parade in the Cathedral Square, followed by a concert in the City Hall Square – accompanied by female dance groups – and then ‘retro music’ in Sereikiškių Park. Ensembles Evening SAULĖS VARTAI (Gates of the Sun), 9.30pm, Kalnu Park.
8th July: Parade of Participants, 2pm. Followed by the main event of the festival – Song Day DAINOS RATU (In the Song Circle), 5pm, Vingio Park stage. This is the really unmissable part of the celebration, culminating with thousands of people singing together and reminding spectators of why the nation’s journey to independence is known as the Singing Revolution.
And if you are in Kaunas tomorrow:
6th July: Dance Day LINO SAKMĖ (The Day of Flax), 7pm, S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium. A chance to learn about the place of flax in Lithuanian culture, and also to watch traditional and contemporary dance.
2 responses so far ↓
1 writerdd // Jul 17, 2007 at 12:51 pm
I accidentally ended up on Vilnius on this weekend, after a work gig in England on the last weekend in June. I couldn’t have chosen better dates for my trip. Although it rained for most of my time in the city, the cultural events that were going on during this festival were fantastic. I missed the parade on July 8th, but did manage to get tickets to the evening concert. I have never experienced anything like this. The huge choir — I think it was over 5000 singers — was amazing. We arrived at 5pm, the advertised start time, and found the lines of cars and busses clogging the streets. We had to get out of our taxi blocks away and walk to the ampitheater with throngs of other people, to find the concert already going strong. The official start kicked off with a speech by Lithuania’s president, and then by some instrumental pieces, then by several acapella songs accompanied by dancers. After that, children’s choirs and bands joined in for the main portion of the program. It was raining the entire time, but that did not diminish the crowd’s presence or enthusiasm. My husband and I left after 2 hours, because we weren’t dressed appropriately for the weather and we were freezing, but as we walked back into the Old Town area, we could hear the singers continuing the program with no signs of letting up. Even as we left, people were still arriving at the arena, so obviously the locals had more of a clue than we did about the size and duration of this wonderful celebration. I’m so glad we accidentally stumbled onto this during our first trip to Vilnius.
2 John // Jul 17, 2007 at 1:27 pm
I’m so glad that you had such a good experience in Vilnius, despite the bad weather. I wasn’t able to make it myself as I was stuck in the UK writing about the Baltics. I love stumbling into festivals while on the road – one of many reasons why I enjoy travelling so much.
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