Festival

On 6–7 August 2021, the twenty-first Kilkim Žaibu returned to Varniai, beside Lake Lūkstas, after an enforced break. The pandemic fundamentally changed plans we had begun making in 2019: the event’s date, programme and format changed three times. Instead of our usual Midsummer gathering, we met in August, surrounded by longer nights and brighter stage lights.

We lost part of our investment in musicians’ flights, had to renegotiate contracts and faced constantly changing travel arrangements. When Lithuania’s COVID pass requirement came into force, we refunded almost a fifth of the tickets. Even so, we did not want to abandon the event. We felt a responsibility towards the audience who had supported the festival, and we too had missed being together. International guests joined the Lithuanian performers, while Aistė Smilgevičiūtė and Skylė’s rock opera “Gervaza dūzgės” reflected the festival’s Samogitian character.

This was one of the most difficult events we had ever organised, yet the result exceeded our expectations. The festival retained its impressive stages and strong performances, and a large audience gathered despite the poor weather. Our team’s endurance and the audience’s support helped us bring two years of preparation to a close and gave us the strength to seek a new chapter for the festival.