A Long-Awaited Event in Philadelphia
One of the most spectacular events Lithuanians in the diaspora enjoy is the North American folk dance festival. Due to the pandemic, the festival scheduled for 2020 took place only this year. Unfortunately, groups from Canada could not participate due to lengthy COVID restrictions imposed for rehearsals.
Chairman Virgus L. Volertas and Artistic Director Gintaras Grinkevičius headed the committees that welcomed dancers and viewers on the weekend of July 1 to 4 in Philadelphia. This year, the participation of Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda added to the excitement the event brings to the Lithuanian Community in North America.
The official Folk Dance Festival was preceded by the North American Lithuanian Business Forum 2022 at The Union League of Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 29, attended by President Nauseda during his trip to the US.
On Thursday evening, the festival began with the Youth Social at the Lithuanian Music Hall. Headquartered at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, the festival featured an arts and crafts market which opened on July 1 and continued throughout the weekend. The Embassy of Lithuania hosted a discussion where Embassy of Lithuania and representatives of government institutions highlighted key aspects of short-term and long-term return opportunities in Lithuania, and discussed the quality of life there, including industry and job opportunities, education and healthcare systems and answered questions from the audience.
On Friday evening many attended the opening of the art exhibition “Jungtys” (Bonds), dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Lithuanian-US diplomatic relations, followed by the welcome celebration with three DJs: Darius Užkuraitis (Vilnius, Lithuania) and dynamic duo LFG Miami with Danielius and Jokūbas (Chicago, USA).
The festival program continued on Saturday, July 2 with presentations (TAVO, a modern wake-up technology product engineered to monitor and analyze your sleep, by Tadas Kuznickas, Founder & CEO) and discussions (Keeping Lithuania Free, with Vytas Aukštuolis, State Legislative Analyst, American Council of Life Insurers).
Entertainment began on Saturday with a musical in Lithuanian called I’m Different, with the combined efforts of Los Angeles, Chicago and Lithuanian talent (composer & producer Kęstutis Daugirdas, author and illustrator Rolandas Dabrukas).
That same afternoon, author Augustinas Žemaitis, and attorney Aistė Žemaitienė presented Destination Lithuanian America, Encyclopedia of Lithuanin Heritage Sites (see article here). [provide live link from TŽ website article July 5].
Ann Yelmokas McDermott, PhD, of the Lithuanian Heritage Project presented information on Building the Global Lithuanian Genealogy Tree Community by Community. Darius Polikaitis, President of the Ateitininkai organization of North America spoke later that day, and Gediminas Sereika, First Secretary of the Embassy of Lithuania, presented the latest news on Lithuanian Citizenship.
The traditional Dance Group Teacher Appreciation Dinner took place at 6:30, followed by a concert with the folk dance group “Žilvitis” (Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas) and singer Povilas Meškėla, hosted by “Eurovision” commentator, music expert and DJ Darius Užkuraitis. The program featured folk dancing, popular patriotic and pop songs along with famous rock ballads and a tribute to maestro S. Povilaitis’s musical career.
On the morning of the main, much-anticipated event, a Lithuanian Mass was held at St. Andrew’s Lithuanian Church, and the Festival performance was at the Liacouras Center at Temple University.
There were approximately 1,000 performers from various communities in the US, as well as several groups from Lithuania. The audience of 3,000 included Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda and his wife Diana Nausėdienė. Both the president and the chair of the Lithuanian-American Community noted how important it is to preserve Lithuanian culture in these unsettled times.
The theme of the festival production, called “Karalių pasaka“ (The Story of Kings) was inspired by Lithuanian folk lore and the painting of this name by famous Lithuanian composer and artist M.K.Čiurlionis. Photos provide the best impressions of the talent displayed at this massive concert.
A gala banquet followed the musical production that evening at the Marriott, and the weekend celebrations ended on July 4 with an Independence Day celebration that included singing of the American and Lithuanian anthems at the at Philadelphia Independence Mall, Citizens Plaza.
