February is the season when the cucumber-smelling fish – stintos, as they are locally called – appear on the Baltic coast and are celebrated with the traditional Palanga Smelt festival that kicks off on Friday.
The festival features a Fish Fair, where you can taste variously prepared stints and other fish dishes. Meanwhile, the town’s main Basanavičiaus Street is turned into “the longest open-air fish restaurant”, according to the organisers.
“When winter is in its midst, all eyes turn to Palanga, which every year invites you to an exceptional event – the Smelt Festival. [...] We will invite everyone not only to get into the fishing spirit, but also to enjoy the most delicious tastes and festive music,” said Nerijus Stasiulis, one of the organisers.
Palanga is also hosting a folk art and culinary heritage fair, a schlager and dance court on Central Square, with traditional folk games on Kurhaus Square.
On Saturday, fishers will be competing in the smelt fishing competition, and at noon, the official start of the festival will be announced with the inauguration of the new members of the Order of Smelt.
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