bridges

july/august 2011

L I T H U A N I A N

A M E R I C A N

N E W S

J O U R N A L

BRIDGES (ISSN: 87508028) is published 10 times per year (Jan./Feb. & Jul./Aug. combined) for $20.00, by Lithuanian

*FRONT COVER:

contents
in this issue 2 editorial the Editor Letter from
Jeanne Dorr

Rumsiske, Lithuania
Kaisiadorys District) is one of the largest open air ethnographic museums in Europe. The core exhibits of this museum include dwelling houses, farmstead buildings and folk art monuments transferred from all ethnographic regions of Lithuania: Aukstaitija, Zemaitija, Suvalkija and Dzukija, and reassembled in a beautiful location near the Kaunas man-made Sea and Praviena rivulet. Some of the buildings were constructed 200 years ago and earlier. Visitors can step back in time and visualize life as well as housing construction and equipment techniques of people during various periods. One hundred and eighty three buildings as well as eighty six thousand mobile exhibits are on display. The area includes fragments of villages and authentic farms while town buildings are grouped around a square. The farmsteads show fences, draw-wells, orchards and gardens The majority of interior exhibits display restored household articles and furniture, clothes, kitchen utensils and tools typical during other periods. The museum also invites weavers, wood carvers, potters and other craftsmen to show their skills. The museum was founded in 1966. It was opened for visitors in 1974. The museum hosts museum collections and individual folk artists exhibitions in its exhibition hall. From March through October almost every weekend has a special program for visitors. While leaving the museum this magnificent photo of a stork (Lithuanias national bird) perched atop a wayside cross was taken by Thoms Dorr of Berwick, PA

American News Journal. Issue: 357

Address of publication is: LAC, Inc./BRIDGES, 78 Mark Twain Dr., Hamilton Sq., NJ 08690 BRIDGES is the official publication of the Lithuanian American Community, Inc. National Executive Board 2715 E. Allegheny Ave., Phila., PA 19134 Tel: 800- 625 -1170 Fax: 856-428-6014

4 reflections
Jeanne Dorr

Christmas in July

5 CELEBRATED CONCERT press release 6 Sisters of St. Casimir in reflections

E-mail: Lithuanian USA@yahoo.com

BRIDGES Jeanne Dorr Gema Kreivenas Rimas Gedeika Consultants Editor Art Director/Production Treasurer & Subscription Manager

PIANIST GABRIELIUS ALEKNA

Copyright 2011 Lithuanian American Community, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. All statements & opinions, including product claims, are those of the organization/advertiser making those statements or claims. The publisher does not adopt, or put forth, any such statement or claim as his own, & any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher.

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9 culture 11 culture 12 here at home 14 photo album 16 lac news 18 reflections 20 reflections
PART I

Lithuania celebration of the 90th Anniversary Grandis Annual Concert

Ramune Kubilius

Gloria R. Adomkaitis

FOLK DANCE FESTIVAL

A Lithuanian Franciscan
Rev. John Puodziunas, OFM

The youngest dancers

Gema M. Kreivenas

Jonine s The Eve of St. John Festival

RED TERROR

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W W W. L I T H U A N I A N - A M E R I C A N . O R G
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T h e 1 4 th u Lithuanian Fo lk Dance Festival is co m i n g t o Bo s t o n o n Ju l y 1 , 2 0 1 2

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22 trivia 23 lac 24 bulletin board 24 calendar

Vanda Fabijonaviciute Sliupas

What I Remember About Cousin Vytautas Petrauskas

LAC, INC. NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

AABS Conference

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reflections

Christmas in July
Jeanne Dorr

I often cant understand where the years have gone. In a blink of an eye Im sitting at the computer and writing another Christmas in July article and the temperature is threatening to reach 102 degrees. This weather doesnt make writing about Christmas very conducive. Im still bleary eyed and sleep deprived as I am only home two days after a trip to Lithuania. Four in the morning finds me wandering around the house, my body still thinking its eleven and getting close to lunch in Lithuania. This is the longest period of time that I have not taken a trip to Lithuania. Its been five years and there have been many changes. To me the biggest change was sticker shock. Just as in the United States and the rest of the world, Lithuania has not escaped the financial crisis. There were stories of unemployment and low wages. One father of two told me he has not paid since April. He works every day at the same job he has had for almost twenty years. He cant find anything else and is afraid to leave his job. Very few people are thinking about Christmas in July. Yet, several village school teachers mentioned the program. Would the children receive something, anything at all, regardless of how small, for Christmas? All I could do is tell them we would try. To our new readers, Christmas in July is dedicated to a young boy who died at the age of thirteen from leukemia. His name was Artu ras. Neither he nor his family was rich or famous and they never did anything outstanding. They lived in a tiny village. His mother was already a young widow when I met him in July. We both knew there was no hope and there would never be a second meeting. But Artu ras was one of those people I clicked with on sight. We talked about Christmas, perhaps we hoped for a miracle, but it was not to be. I asked him what he would like if he could have a gift. Without hesitation, he answered that he would love to have a used, blue bicycle. The emphasis was on the word used. Artu ras couldnt even wrap his mind around the word new. He knew how little money his mother had, often not having enough to buy a bus ticket home from the hospital
4

after visiting him to take care of his four year old brother. Arturas brother was being cared for by neighbors. He had no concept of what was happening; all he knew was that his brother was sick and his mother could not take care of him during that time. He knew that she was in a place called a hospital with his sick brother. All of this weighed heavily on the mind of the thirteen year old. In spite of his pain, he worried about his mother and his brother. I could see Arturas was getting tired. I asked him what he would do with the blue bicycle and he said he would ride

down the country roads with his hair flying in the wind. At this point, Artu ras had no hair. He lost it with his many treatments. The principal of the country school would drive Artu ras and his mother home when he became too tired. Although he was rail thin, he had so many questions he wanted to ask about America; especially music and sports. As he stood to hug me, he handed me a beautiful single red rose. Many people on both sides of the Atlantic prayed for the miracle, but it was not to be. Perhaps it was time for Artu ras to be released from his terrible pain and suffering. There never would be a used, blue bicycle. During this same period there was a great concern from Mrs. Graz Landsbergis and Dr. Regina Svoba about so ina many children who would receive nothing for Christmas because of financial problems. We talked about it before I came back to the United States and Christmas in July became a reality through your tremendous generosity. It was only after Artu ras died that I decided that this young man would not

july/august 2011

press release
PRESS RELEASE: July 10, 2011

CELEBRATED CONCERT PIANIST GABRIELIUS ALEKNA PERFORMS WORKS BY LITHUANIAS MOST-IMPORTANT COMPOSER IN TEN-CITY COMMEMORATIVE RECITAL TOUR WITH LECTURES BY NOTED CRITIC STASYS GOSTAUTAS
In celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the art and life of Lithuanias world-renown composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875-1911), a concert tour of 10 U.S. and Canadian cities will bring his unique late-Romantic compositions to life in world-class piano performances by Gabrielius Alekna. Audiences in Washington D.C. (9/24), Philadelphia (9/25), Atlanta (10/1), Orlando (10/2), St Petersburg, (10/09), Toronto (10/15), Detroit (10/16), Cleveland (10/22), New Haven (10/29), and Boston (10/30) will have the opportunity to not only hear these important compositions performed by one of the worlds most accomplished interpreters of this composer, but also listen to a lecture in English and Lithuanian on the life, art, and music of Ciurlionis - by noted critic and Wellesley College professor Stasys Gostautas. This fall concert tour is made possible through the support of the Lithuanian-American Community, a nonprofit organization providing educational, cultural, and social services to over 1 million Americans of Lithuanian heritage, and the Lithuanian Foundation, Inc., an independent, Illinois-based, not-for-profit corporation with a mission to foster, preserve and celebrate the Lithuanian language, culture, and traditions in the U.S. and abroad.

GABRIELIUS ALEKNA took second place at the 2005 International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna, Austria. He has appeared as a soloist in Viennas Musikverein with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO Wien) under the baton of Bertrand de Billy; been featured as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra and New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra in New York, and with the Belarus State Symphony Orchestra in Minsk. In his native country of Lithuania, Mr. Alekna appears regularly with the National Symphony, the State Symphony, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, and the Christopher Chamber Orchestra. Daniel Barenboim called him a highly gifted pianist and musician. Mr. Alekna has You must write Christmas gifts on the memo of the check. garnered more than a dozen top prizes in competitions on Jeanne Dorr is the Editor of Bridges and is a member of the Board both sides of the Atlantic, such as Hilton Head (United of Directors of Lithuanian Orphan Care, a branch of the Human States), Maria Canals (Spain), and Ciurlionis (Lithuania) International Piano Competitions. His forthcoming recording Services Council of the Lithuanian American Community, Inc.
Continued on page 8

be forgotten. He was not known in life, but he would be remembered in death. This article is dedicated to his memory every year. Several weeks ago I visited his mother and his fifteen year brother. I wondered what Artu ras would look like had he lived. He would now be in his early twenties. His mother set the table with the generosity of all Lithuanians. Regardless of how little they have, they will always share with guests. We stayed in touch all these years through the death of her older son, her nervous breakdown because she felt she abandoned her younger son during Artu ras illness, three years of unemployment and now the possibility that she might lose her house because she doesnt have the money to install indoor plumbing. But she still has hope. When I left them with hugs and kisses, Artu ras brother handed me a beautiful single, red rose and the memories of meeting Artu ras in the village school came flooding back. The gifts the children receive are small. When we started Christmas in July the American dollar was worth 4 Lithuanian Litas. A few weeks ago I received 2.4 L for one dollar. Our buying power has been drastically reduced. Why so early? The money has to be transferred to Lithuania, volunteers have to know how much money they can spend, shop for the best prices, and wrap the gifts. Take a moment on Christmas Eve to look up in the sky-if youre lucky you just might see a young boy streaking by on a used, blue bicycle, his hair flying in the air.. Tax deductible checks can be sent to: Lithuanian Orphan Care 2711 W. 71st St. Chicago, IL. 60629

bridges

lac news
The Eve of St. John Festival

Jonine s
Organized by Central New Jersey
Lithuanian Community

Jonine Festival is opened s with the raising the Lithuanian flag.

Photo by Vitalija Duncia

Roma Krus inskiene and Teodora Dudoniene showing off traditional az uolo lapu vainikai oak leaf wreaths that they participated in creating.
Photo by Antanas Krusinskas

Ke stutis enters with his horse to meet his bride Birute

Photo by Antanas Krusinskas

THE THEME OF THE FESTIVAL IN THE

FOOTSTEPS OF OUR FOREFATHERS

Remembering Kestutis and Birute Lithuanian Historical Figures

Birute brings lunch to her fishermen brothers

Photo by Vitalija Duncia

16

july/august 2011

lac news

Central New Jersey Folkloric Ensemble

Photo by Antanas Krusinskas

June 23, 2011, Jackson, NJ: The festival was hosted by the newly organized Central New Jersey Lithuanian American Community, Inc. They have over 150 registered members, but likely there are many more participants since there are more than 1000 newly immigrated Lithuanians in the area. This community is young and active: they established Lietuvele Lithuanian school for the youngsters. The Folkloric Ensemble, Viesulas Lithuanian dance group were organized just a few months ago, but danced like professionals and are planning to participate in next years 14th Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival in Boston, MA. Good food, good Lithuanian beer, many vendors with beautiful amber jewelry, books and other items added to the enjoyment of the day. There were many interesting activities for the young and not so young. The Festival drew over 500 visitors from surrounding states and Washington, DC. Valdemaras Serapinas, Consul General of Lithuania from New York also attended. He was welcomed with traditional Lithuanian cheese. The Consul General greeted the public and congratulated the new community members. Later, he graciously passed a platter with the cheese for all who were seated in the bleachers. The highlight of the program was a play: Ke stutis meeting his beloved Birute . The Festival lasted into the night with games of strength, dancing and a traditional bonfire. www.lietuiskabendrija.com Gema M. Kreivenas

Procession of Vaidila and Vaidilute the s keepers of the holy fire

Viesulas Central New Jersey Lithuanian Dance Group Photo by Vitalija Duncia

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Calendar of Events for August - September & October 2011

Please verify all events as places & times are subject to change.
A U G U ST Aug. 6, 2011 Join us for our annual Portland Lithuanian Picnic "Geguz " ine (Beach Party at Cannon Beach) Location & time will be anounced in the near future. Please keep your calendar checked for this date. Sponsor: Portland Chapter of the LAC - http://portlandlithuanians.com Aug. 13, 2011 - 11-5 pm Aug. 14, 2011 - 12-4 pm 97th Annual Lithuanian Days Schuylkill Mall, Route 61 & I-81, Frackville, PA. - The longest consecutive ETHNIC FESTIVAL in the USA! The theme this year is LITHUANIANS IN SPORTS & LITHUANIAN FOLK ART. Lithuanian food, traditional arts & crafts, dancers, weaving & spinning demonstrations, (by the Spins & Needles Fiber Guild), museum display will be highlighted. Sponsor: Knights of Lithuania Council #144 For details:www.kofl144.weebly.com Aug. 14-20, 2011 Lithuanian Summer Camp Shelton WA Lanka - Sponsor: Seattle Chapter of the LA C Aug. 14- 21, 2011 Art Camp for Adults in Lithuanian Camp Neringa -www.neringa.org Aug. 19-21, 2011 Ethnic Enrichment Festival Swope Park, 4701 East Gregory Blvd. Kansas City, MO - www.kclith.org Aug. 14-20, 2011 Lithuanian Summer Camp Shelton WA Lanka Sponsor: Seattle Chapter of the LAC Aug. 16, 2011 - 2 pm Lithuanian numismatist Dr. Audrius V. Plioplys will present a program, Silver Ingots of Northern Europe Room 3 at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Il. The presentation is part of the American Numismatic Association Worlds Fair of Money Aug. 20- 21, 2011 Second Annual Arturas Karnisovas Tournament Seton Hall University400 S. Orange Ave. South Orange, NJ 07079-2697 9am Saturday-10am Sunday-Finals Evening Program: Estonian House 4 Cross St & Veterans Hwy Jackson, N.J. 08527 Arturas Karnisovas one of the all time best Lithuanian basketball players was the first Lithuanian to play on an American university basketball team - Seton Hall U. In 1992 & 1996 he helped the Lithuanian Basketball team win two bronze medals at the Summer Olympic Games. In 1996 Arturas was voted as the best European Basketball Player. For Info: Stanislovas Kaviliauskas: 917-572-2045 - Dainius Sakavickas: 732-552-9818 Rimas Gedeika: 609-588-0859 SEPTEMBER Sept. 20, 2011 - 7-9 pm Amber Roots Club - We will focus on who have traveled to Lithuania. Lithuanian Music Hall, 2715 E. Allegheny Ave. Phila, PA
Use the side door & proceed downstairs.

All are invited to attend. Info: 610-497-5469 or milliemarks@aol.com Sponsor: Amber Roots Club Sept. 22, 2010 (Thursday) Autumn Gala - An evening celebrating the Franciscan Spirit Gourmet meal & various prizes $65 pp. or $350 for table of 6. Sisters of St. Francis of the Providence of God 3603 McRoberts Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15234 For details: 412- 885-7232 http://www.osfprov.org OCTOBER October 2, 2011 - 2-5 pm

Fall Picnic Our Lithuanian Communitys Fall Picnic is a tradition. We now gather at Wyandotte County Park to play games, eat & meet new & old friends. Shelter "J", Wyandotte County Park 631 North 126th St. Bonner Springs, KS Sponsor: Kansas City Chapter of the LAC Oct. 7-9, 2011 Elizabeth-Newark area Convention of LAC Board of Directors with interesting evening programs to which all will be invited. Oct. 18, 2011 - 7-9 pm Annual Sing-a-Long. We will include childhood songs Lithuanian Music Hall, 2715 E. Allegheny Ave. Phila.,PA
Use the side door & proceed downstairs.

All are invited to attend. Info: 610-497-5469 or milliemarks@aol.com Sponsor: Amber Roots Club

B ULLETIN B OARD

AABS Conference
http://www.depts.washington.edu/aabs/conferences.html Facebook http://www.facebook. com/facebook?sk=app_10531514314#%21/home.php?sk=group_208552795851797 Inf e-address: aabsconfinfochicago@gmail.com
"The 23rd Association for Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS) Conference -- The Global Baltics: The Next Twenty Years -- will be held in Chicago, 26-28 April 2012. Deadline for proposals: October 1, 2011. AABS welcomes papers,panels, and roundtable presentations in fields related to the Baltic region, its countries, and populations within those countries, including minorities. Contributions are encouraged from disciplines including, but not limited to, the following: anthropology, architecture, business, communication and media, cultural studies, demography, economics, education, environment, ethnic relations, film studies, fine arts, gender studies, geography, history, international relations, law,linguistics, literature, memory, political science, psychology, public health, religion, sociology, and advancing Baltic studies. Interdisciplinary and comparative work is welcome. Graduate students, both Master and Ph.D., are encouraged to submit proposals. Paper and panel proposals must include an abstract of no more than 250 words and a one- to two-page curriculum vitae. These materials should be sent to the appropriate divisional chair. For additional information please visit: http://www.depts.washington.edu/aabs/conferences.html
Submitted by Ramune Kubilius

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july/august 2011

LITHUANIAN AMERICAN NEWS JOURNAL

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VOLUME 35 ISSUE 6

PERIODICALS POSTAGE

The Backbone Of The Festival!

Folk Dance Festival Seminar for teachers from various dance groups, held in Dainava, Michigan
April 20, 2011

The 14th Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival is coming to Boston, MA July 1, 2012