Lithuania is already celebrating the 100th anniversary of the traditional Song Festival. A series of eleven events is taking place in various cities and towns to promote the centennial and to let everyone experience the joy of the Festival. The “March through Lithuania” began in December, and brought song and dance performances as well as local lore to Marijampolė and other major cities. The choirs and dance groups embrace the opportunity to travel and hone their skills in front of live audiences before the main event in early July.
Programmes are “tuned” to include local history, stories and songs and are performed by groups from nearby towns. In the Anykščiai region, a tribute to spring included the raising of 100 bird houses which had been handcrafted by families, schoolchildren, communities and anyone wishing to support the festival.
Vilnius is contributing 100,000 euros to the city’s folk ensembles preparing to participate in the Festival. There are about 50 such groups, which will be allotted up to 3,000 euros each depending on performance quality, for travel and costume expenses.
The Song Festival, taking place from June 30 to April 6 in Kaunas and Vilnius consists of 15 separate events. Admission to most of them are free, and tickets for seats at the Ensemble Evening, Dance Day and Song Day are available as of March 24 at all Bilietai.lt outlets and online at www.bilietai.lt.
