Vilnius - culture comes alive

2009 was a special year for Vilnius, the European Capital of Culture and a gateway to the country celebrating the millennium of the first mention of its name. The slogan of the programme "Vilnius - the European Capital of Culture 2009" was "Culture live" indicating that art and culture are a continuous change, a flow, a process of reformation and renovation involving everyone in action, where culture becomes an indispensable part of modern life.

The cultural life of Vilnius did not begin and end with the year of the Capital of Culture. Cultural tourism is one of the priorities of tourism development in Vilnius. The city has a great cultural potential consisting of a multi-faceted musical scene, dance, theatre, folk art, museums and art galleries. Opera and ballet performances have already gained international recognition and traditional festivals attract more and more fans every year. There are festivals for jazz lovers with"Vilnius Jazz" and "Vilnius Mama Jazz", classical music festivals such as "Vilnius Festival" and "Christopher Summer Festival", the international theatre festival "Sirens"for theatre lovers, the festival "New Baltic Dance"for admirers of contemporary dance, and an unforgettable folklore festival "Skamba Skamba Kankliai". City festivals are not forgotten either. "Kaziukas Fair" is a tradition that has been running for more than 400 years which takes place in the streets of the city in the first weekend in spring every year. The fair is expanding and every year it attracts more attention and more visitors. Another important festival of the city is the "Capital Days", an event forVilnius, its residents and guests.

The new events performed under the programme"Vilnius-the European Capital of Culture" which attracted great interest have now become traditional events in the city. This year the first Saturday in May will be devoted to the "Street Musician Day" inviting all those who are not indifferent to music: on that day the city is drowned in music. The "Culture Night: Let There Be Night" event, when the city is awake all night and people are strolling around and enjoying culture, will also be organized. People will have an opportunity to enjoy "Art in Unusual Places" again, when one can see unusual, strange and interesting works of art in the most unexpected places.

Vilnius is not lacking in either an abundance of events or their variety. Everybody can find some thing to capture their interest. To disseminate information about events in Vilnius more widely and to encourage not only the residents of Vilnius butalso the guests of the city to participate in the events, a new internet website www.vilnius-events.lt, where information about cultural events is presented in a visually attractive way, has been created. Special attention is devoted to traditional city events, festivals and non-commercial events. The focus of the website is not only on the local residents but, most importantly, on the guests and tourists. The website encourages visitors to share the useful information found there with their friends via social networks, and recommend and share impressions about the events. The events website contributes to the more effective dissemination of information about events and promotes interest in the cultural life of the capital.