Lithuania’s Vibrant Mashup: Words, Rhythms, and Revelry

Visitors can expect presentations by scientists, science popularizers and other science fiction lovers, the most interesting creative workshops, board and video games and many other interesting things. “Lituanicon XXXV: Folkloras” will be held in the building of the College of Social Sciences (Kalvariju st. 137E), Vilnius. The event is free!

The Posthumous Adventures of Adam Mickevich, Bollywood and the Internet

The Lituanicon lecture program is extremely varied and interesting this year. Writers Kotryna Zylė, Justinas Žilinskas, Lina Žutautė, Justina Kapeckaitė and folklorist Nijolė Laurinkienė will present their latest books and discuss folklore in fantasy literature. Medievalist and cultural researcher Łukasz Kozakas, who wrote a study about the ancestors of the well-known vampires who came from the Republic of Both Nations, will tell the audience about the life of the famous Polish and Lithuanian poet Adam Mickevičius here… and beyond. It turns out that after Mickevich’s funeral, the Kraków peasants began to blame him for various natural disasters and calamities that befell them.

Photo by Nail Garejev/”Lituanicon”

It will be possible to get acquainted with the not-so-known undead at the lecture of ethnologist Asta Skujytė-Razmiene. The researcher will tell how in Lithuania those who refused to rest in peace used to terrorize the living. In the lecture of Alfredo Buiks, a philosopher and lecturer at Vilnius Tech, it will be possible to get to know better creepypastaor online horror folklore, and Deimantas Valančiūnas, head of the Asian and Transcultural Studies Institute of Vilnius University, will present how Hindu mythology has influenced the popular culture of modern India.

“Folklore is not only folk songs, but also a different kind of personalized creation,” says event coordinator and organizer Kastytis Zubovas. – We decided to present at the festival how such creation affects our imagination today and what influence folklore has had on entire generations of fantasy artists.”

Interactive activities range from medieval memes to movie soundtracks

As every year, there will be various activities for those who want to take a break from lectures or try their hand at creativity. Antanas Petrilionis, a lecturer at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University, will invite the participants of the event to a workshop, during which it will be possible not only to learn about the work of medieval monks in scriptoriums, but also to create their own narrative from various marginalia.

Photo by Nail Garejev/”Lituanicon”

History lovers will have the opportunity to try a video game about booksellers created by the Fluxo Games studio, while board game enthusiasts will find a selection of board role-playing games curated by RPG House.

On the third floor, there will be a space for historical fencing, and handicrafts and music lovers will be treated to garden tying workshops and music. The participants will be able to enjoy the performances of professional artists, as the festival will have a music program for the first time. The duet “Korhina” and epic vocal music singer Agnė Buškevičiūtė will present their work. In addition, there will be a filksing session to recreate folk songs.

“During the event, we invite members of the fantasy community to unleash their creativity. This is what the literature, visual arts and game creation competitions held before the event are intended for, but during the event there are plenty of activities that allow you to express yourself. It is important for us that the participants have the opportunity to create not only an intellectual, but also a personal relationship with widely understood folklore”, says Arnita Petrulytė, one of the organizers of the festival.

“Lituanicon” is the oldest gathering or convention of Lithuanian fantasists, attracting almost a thousand participants from Lithuania and abroad every year. The conference is non-commercial, organized on a voluntary basis and is intended to popularize the fantasy genre in Lithuania, to acquaint the audience with the news of literature, cinema, games, popular culture and fantastic and futuristic ideas. The first Lituanicon took place in 1990. in Kaunas.

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