XVIII International Children and Youth Folklore Festival BALTŲ RAŠTAI 2026

𝑻𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒆̨𝒔𝒕𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒖̨ 𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒚𝒃𝒆̇𝒔 𝒖𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒔 𝒛̌𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒖̨ 𝒔̌𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒚𝒔𝒆, 𝒏𝒖𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒛̌𝒊𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐 𝒊𝒌𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒛̌𝒊𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐! 𝑫𝒊𝒅𝒛̌𝒊𝒖𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒎𝒆̇𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒐 𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒋𝒂, 𝒌𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖̄𝒓𝒂, 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒛̌𝒊𝒖𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒎𝒆̇𝒔 𝒃𝒖̄𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒔! On September 24, 25 and October 5–9, 2026, the XVIII International Children and Youth Folklore Festival "Baltų raštai 2026" will take place in various open and closed spaces in Kaunas! The festival will be an interesting and fun experience not only for the community of young folklorists but also for the general public – children, youth, families, and adults. The program will be full of events encouraging interest in ancient and contemporary Baltic culture. Curiosity will be piqued by activities that involve participants in the cultural process and allow them to experience tradition firsthand: the Autumn Equinox celebration, kanklės circles and gatherings, a storyteller's afternoon, workshops and lectures, concerts, exhibitions, a social gathering, and more. The theme of the XVIII International Festival "Baltų raštai 2026" reflects two important anniversaries celebrated this year for ethnic culture enthusiasts – 2026 has been declared the Year of Motiejus Valančius and the Year of the Kanklės, also marking 120 years since the founding of the first kanklės ensemble in Skriaudžiai (1906). In the events, remembering the written legacy of Motiejus Valančius, attention will be paid to the storytelling genre; celebrating the Year of the Kanklės, the focus will be on the presentation and sound of this instrument, as well as the presentation of weaving traditions and national costumes as some of the most important elements of Lithuanian identity. A rich program of activities will invite children and youth to explore and get to know the kanklės and their sound, as well as Lithuanian identity. Let's engage, experience, create, and communicate together! PROGRAM* Thursday, september 24 12:30 Festival opening. Flag raising 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 13:00 Storyteller's afternoon "Juzės takais" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 19:00 Autumn Equinox celebration 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑜 𝑔𝑖𝑚𝑛𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑗𝑜𝑗𝑒

Friday, september 25 15:00 Presentation of festival exhibitions ✽ 𝐸𝑥ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠 "𝑇𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑠" ✽ 𝐹𝑜𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝐴𝑙𝑒̇ 𝐷𝑒𝑘𝑠𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑒̇'𝑠 𝑒𝑥ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 "𝑉𝑦𝑟𝑖𝑠̌𝑘𝑜𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑒𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑒̇𝑠" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 OCTOBER 5 – 9 – Living Traditions Days in Kaunas city schools Educational videos about Lithuanian national costumes Education on braiding traditional Lithuanian hairstyles Wednesday, october 7 18:30 "Let's sing: social gatherings with Kaunas city folklore ensembles" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 Thursday, october 8 13:00 Interactive educational play "Rybokėlis" by Theater "Labas" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝑉𝑦𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟. 79 14:00 Seminar "Baltic cultural and creative heritage: continuity today" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 Friday, october 9 15:00 Kanklės circle with Agota Zdanevičiūtė 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 16:30 Lithuanian–Latvian kanklės players' gathering "Laimī(n)gi" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑧𝑖𝑒𝑗𝑎𝑢𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑦𝑗𝑒, 𝑇𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑧𝑖𝑘𝑜𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑧𝑖𝑒𝑗𝑢𝑗𝑒, 𝐿. 𝑍𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛ℎ𝑜𝑓𝑜 𝑔. 4 18:00 Interactive event "Linamynis" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑢̨ 𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑢̨ 𝑆̌𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑗𝑦𝑏𝑒̇𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑧̌𝑛𝑦𝑐̌𝑖𝑜𝑗𝑒, 𝑀𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑔. 8𝐴 19:00 Agota Zdanevičiūtė's concert "Gyvasčia" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑢̨ 𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑢̨ 𝑆̌𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑗𝑦𝑏𝑒̇𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑧̌𝑛𝑦𝑐̌𝑖𝑜𝑗𝑒, 𝑀𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑔. 8𝐴 Saturday, october 10 12:00 Musicians' workshops 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 14:00 Song and game competition "Palangos Juzės raštai" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑣𝑦𝑠𝑘𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑗𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑗𝑢̨ 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑒̇𝑗𝑒, 𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑜 𝑔. 5 16:00 Men's song concert "Šimtų kartų" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑣𝑦𝑠𝑘𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑗𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑗𝑢̨ 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑒̇𝑗𝑒, 𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑜 𝑔. 5 18:00 Grand traditional dance social "Baltų pirtis" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑣𝑦𝑠𝑘𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑗𝑜𝑠 𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑗𝑢̨ 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑒̇𝑗𝑒, 𝑃𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑜 𝑔. 5 These exhibitions will be open during the entire festival: Exhibition presentation – September 25, 3:00 PM ■ Virtual exhibition "Pasaulis po Saule" 𝐾𝑇𝐾𝐶 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑗𝑒 𝑠𝑣𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑗𝑒 𝑤𝑤𝑤.𝑘𝑡𝑘𝑐.𝑙𝑡, "𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘" 𝑝𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑦𝑗𝑒 ■ Exhibition of Kaunas region weavers "Tautinės juostos" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 ■ Folk artist Alė Deksnienė's exhibition "Vyriškos veltinės kepurės" 𝐾𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒̇𝑠 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢̄𝑟𝑜𝑠 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑒, 𝐴. 𝐽𝑎𝑘𝑠̌𝑡𝑜 𝑔. 18 All festival events are free! Festival events are public; filming and photography may take place. By participating in the events, you agree to be visible in photos and videos that may be published publicly.