The 17th North American Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival gets under way in Chicago on Friday, running for three days and bringing together some 2,100 dancers – the largest turnout in the event's history, organisers said.
The festival will feature 37 dance troupes and 78 groups travelling from Ireland, Scotland, the UK, the United States, Israel, Canada, South America, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Germany and Lithuania.
Former Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė, the festival's patron, arrived in Chicago on Wednesday evening. Organisers said a number of dignitaries from Lithuania and the US are also expected to attend.
Visitors to the festival at Chicago's McCormick Place convention centre can expect lectures, workshops, virtual reality films, performances, a fair, author talks and other events aimed at a wider audience beyond dancers themselves.
Archbishop Lionginas Virbalas will lead Mass at Chicago's main cathedral, with the service broadcast across the United States. Over the weekend, several of the city's skyscrapers will also be lit up in the yellow, green and red of the Lithuanian flag.
The festival programme was devised and organised by Viktorija Černičenko, a member of Chicago's Lithuanian community, who has run the M.K. Čiurlionis Gallery since 2017 and organises Lithuanian cultural events in the US.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
