On Saturday, the Storytelling Festival "My Migration Story" will be held for the third time at the House of Stories in Vilnius. In it, visitors will get to know the culture of other countries through various activities, in the traditional part of the festival "History and Soup" they will hear the stories of those who came to Lithuania, and most importantly, they will be able to tell their own.
Stories that reflect the migration history of all of us are being collected for this year's most important exhibition of the Lithuanian National Museum, "Lithuania the size of the world", and everyone who tells it can become a part of it. The museologists estimate that in a few years, they managed to publish almost one and a half hundred stories on the public online platform specially created for this purpose, and as the exhibition approaches, they are increasing.
"One can joke that the law of the "last night" works and the relations established in a few years with Lithuanian communities located on different continents are now gaining momentum. Their members have now become more active in sharing stories. Many more stories have been collected, and the most interesting ones will be told in the exhibition", says the curator of the exhibition, historian dr. Giedrė Milerytė-Japertienė.
The collection of stories will not end with the exhibition, it is hoped that in the long term it will become an invaluable source of information for all those researching or simply interested in the history of Lithuanian migration.
The festival program includes stories and getting to know different cultures
Festival curator, storyteller Milda Varnauskaitė admits that this nature of the event pays off in encouraging people to share their personal stories more actively.
"The personal story of each of us is as important as the great historical narratives, so every year the festival is crowned with an open evening of stories. Anyone can speak during it. We find some storytellers in advance, and some dare to share their story during the event - we try to create a cozy and safe environment for everyone to be heard. This time we will invite you to talk about what home is, because whatever the reason for leaving, we are always looking for a home to which we can return," invites Milda Varnauskaitė.
During the festival, it will be possible to get to know different cultures better: 11 a.m. the festival will be opened by a tai chi session led by a certified lecturer from China, Junli Wang, which will help improve emotional and physical health and get to know another culture. Let's get to know each other by the pots 13:15-XNUMX:XNUMX. the Filipina Celina Varanavičius from "Merienda - Filipino Snacks" and the Jordanian Petra from "Petra Bakery & Shawarma" will be invited, and Eskedar Tilahun will be invited to the Ethiopian coffee tasting. During the entire event, visitors will have the opportunity to get to know and purchase Litvak culinary heritage.
From 15 p.m. Narmin Aliyeva, who has been organizing quizzes in Lithuania and abroad for seven years, will invite visitors to an intellectual challenge. It is promised that the quiz "Vilnius and the World" will be an unforgettable cultural adventure that will allow you to test your knowledge of various countries and cultures, and discover the farthest corners of the world.
at 17 p.m. Storyteller Milda Varnauskaitė will host the evening of stories "History and Soup", participants will be able to enjoy soup, listen to the international Vilnius choir "The Garfunkels", and at 19:XNUMX the festival will be crowned by a masterful performance of the klezmer music art ensemble "Vilna Klezmer Trio".
Throughout the festival, visitors will be invited to share their migration stories, which will complement the exhibition "Lithuania on a World Size: Our Migration History". You can submit your migration story to the exhibition or invite friends and acquaintances to do so virtually: the museum has created a publicly available database.
Everyone is welcome at the festival: while the adults listen to other stories and tell their own, the little guests will engage in activities adapted to them together with the Story House educators, and at 12:6 p.m. they will be waiting for Milda Varnauskaitė's performance - the story "Swallow's Kiss" for children aged 9-10, which will be accompanied by a "wish birds" production workshop. During the performance, Hyguette Mbwaya from Congo, who has been living in Lithuania for XNUMX years, will sing in her native Lingala language and teach children games from her country.
Event will be held on September 16 In the house of stories, T. Kosciuškos st. 3, in Vilnius. The event is free, some activities require pre-registration. The festival will be held in both Lithuanian and English languages.
