About "The Flower of the Sun"
The 4th international folk contest-festival “The Flower of the Sun” will be held in the summer of 2011.
The call for applications will be announced in the second half of 2010.
More information will follow.
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Dear all who are preparing to come to the 3rd International Folk Contest-Festival “The Flower of the Sun”!
We hope that the links of our web site will help you to explore Šiauliai city in your mind on 8–14 July, to plan your leisure time: where to go, what to see or hear, where to please your spirit as well as your body...
We are waiting for you all! Šiauliai inhabitants, city guests, folk groups from Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, Turkey, France, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Romania, Bulgaria, India and, of course, Lithuania (See: Contest – Participants; Festival – Participants). Let’s gather at must be the only international folk festival in the Baltic Region and the whole Eastern Europe. We are glad that the contest is included into the official list of events of the International Organisation of Folk Art (IOV) (to the UNESCO). The contest will be evaluated by the authoritative international board. This is the biggest and the most important event dedicated to commemoration of the Millennium of the name of Lithuania in Šiauliai city and county. It is included among preferential events of Šiauliai city and county. It is likely that this is the greatest event in Northern Lithuania this year. During five days – very intensive ones for both participants and spectators – over 20 concerts will be held, the contest programme in 6 categories will last for some 10 hours. In total, all these days will include over 40 hours of “live” sound and view which will be presented by 650 participants. The prologue of this “The Flower of the Sun” – the solemn hoisting of standards and the concert “The Name – Lithuania” with Veronika Povilioniene, the Orchestra of Lithuanian Armed Forces and city groups. As usually, participants will cheer and wait for spectators all the way from “Šiauliai” hotel to the Main Stage, at the city amphitheatre, in Šiauliai, Akmenė, Joniškis districts, during the Hour of Ancient Canticles at Šiauliai Cathedral, at the centre of fashion and leisure “Saulės miestas”. And the festival epilogue – the concert of musicians from Israel and the exhibitions lasting all summer long – like a sign reflecting continuation of the anniversary year celebration through a number of cultural events in our city (See: Programme).
The public association “Baltic Centre” organises this fiesta together with Šiauliai Cultural Centre, Šiauliai University, Šiauliai University folk music group “Saulė”, Šiauliai City Municipality which is the patron of this event and 14 more partners and friends, 25 sponsors (See: Sponsors). We are assisted by some 70 volunteers – Šiauliai University and Šiauliai College students, members of “Saulė” group.
The city celebrates a great festival which is significant to the entire Lithuanian history; due to this occasion, the festival programme was expanded. We introduce what interesting and valuable will take place in our city. These are exhibitions of Šiauliai “Aušros” Museum, Šiauliai Art Gallery and pupils’ works as well as a concert of the 6th International Ch. Frenkel Villa Summer Festival (See: Useful information – Events of our friends).
Šiauliai Tourism Information Centre has worked out exceptional excursions on foot around Šiauliai city. Individual people, families, bigger or smaller groups are welcome to choose them in various languages (Lithuanian, English, German, Russian and Polish) (See: Useful information – Excursions).
The celebration will be exceptional thanks to the fair-gustation of culinary heritage introduced for the first time on our land as well as the permanent fair of folk crafts (See: Useful information – Fairings).
As a tradition, “The Flower of the Sun” gives the sight of summer flowers as a present – this time, the carpet of natural flowers “1000 Flowers of the City of the Sun” and floristic compositions including national costume motifs.
We wish you a beautiful, cosy, purposeful and jolly stay here – in Šiauliai!
Sincerely
Rūta Stankuvienė
Director of the 3rd International Folk Contest-Festival “The Flower of the Sun”
Dear Šiauliai inhabitants and festival guests!
The flower of international friendship is unfolding again in Šiauliai city. I am glad that the international contest-festival “The Flower of the Sun” which was born under the initiative of “Baltic Centre” has become a traditional celebration of the whole city. We are waiting for people enshrining folk culture from various countries and Lithuanian cities. We hope that diverse uproar of performers will not only make the summer of our city richer, more purposeful and joyful but this will also be a beautiful present for Lithuanian state celebrating its Millennium. I wish you joyful concerts and an interesting stay in Šiauliai!
Šiauliai City Mayor Genadijus Mikšys
THE ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE CONTEST-FESTIVAL
Director – Rūta Stankuvienė
Deputy Director – Zenonas Ripinskis
Art Director – Darius Daknys
Technical Director – Stasys Trijonis
Members:
Head of The Balts’ Centre Regina Kvašytė
Šiauliai City Mayor Genadijus Mikšys
Director of Šiauliai City Municipality Administration Vladas Damulevičius
Director of Šiauliai Cultural Centre Virginijus Stonkus
Head of the Ethnical Culture Department of Šiauliai Cultural Centre Sigita Milvidienė
Director of the Maintenance Service, Šiauliai University Ramūnas Tamutis
Artist Vigita Juodvalkienė
Scenographers: Artūras Stugys, Rimvydas Daužvardis, Darius Augulis
Chief executives of the florist group: Vilma Busilaitė, Irena Burneckienė
Chief executive of the photo-video group Zigmas Ripinskis
Concert hosts: Inga Krikščiūnaitė, Raimonda Stankutė
INTERNATIONAL JURY OF THE CONTEST
Chairperson Assoc. Prof. Zita Kelmickaitė, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Lithuania)
Members:
Dr. Tomasz Nowak – Warsaw University (Poland),
Ernests Spičs – Latvia University (Latvia),
Rikus Draijer – IOV President of the International Commission on Festivals (The Netherlands).