Festival

The eighteenth Kilkim Žaibu took place on 29 June–1 July 2017 in Varniai, beside Lake Lūkstas. We marked the festival’s coming of age with two professional stages and an additional space for late-night dancing and contests. Musical highlights included Abbath, Mgła, a rare appearance by Obtest and Skyforger taking to our stage without guitars for the first time, performing a folk programme.

This time, our greatest challenge was rain that continued for three days. Wind and water made stage operations difficult, equipment had to be dried out and some activities had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, the technical teams kept the concert marathon running, and all performers arrived on time and played to schedule. The living history participants persevered too, with battles, games and other activities continuing in the warriors’ camps.

Despite the weather, attendance reached a record high. So did the event’s costs, while the rain’s impact on outdoor sales reminded us how fragile the festival’s finances could be. Our unpaid team, volunteers, local partners and loyal audience helped us get through one of the toughest editions of Kilkim Žaibu. The difficulties did not diminish our determination to continue: we were already thinking about our nineteenth gathering.