Past Events:
We had a great time at MVSC Summer Picnic 2009.08.16.
Great company, lots of food, games and music.
See by your self - click there.
Žaibas danced with BALSSI students and Staff. July 23, 2009.
As the Baltic Summer Studies Institute (BALSSI) at the University of Wisconsin passed its mid-semester mark, students took an evening off to learn some Lithuanian dances, demonstrated and taught by the Zaibas Lithuanian Dancers of Madison. Students and staff, as well as community residents, danced and laughed their way through Grecinike, Kalvelis and Suktinis. See more event pictures.
Our movies 1 (140kB) or 2 (400kB).
MVSC hosted picnic for BALSSI students and staff. See Pictures.
June 16, 2009 MVSC was pleased and honored to host a picnic reception for the students, faculty and staff of BALSSI (Baltic Studies Summer Institute) at the home of director Milda Aksamitauskas. Members of the MVSC board prepared typical Lithuanian dishes as an extra-curricular bit of knowledge for students who come from all over the country to study Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian language and culture. The course runs from June 15 to Aug. 7th.
For more info: http://www.creeca.wisc.edu/balssi/
Visit BALSSI 2009 Cultural Events!
MVSC celebrates 20th anniversary (1989-2009)
The 20th anniversary celebration of the Madison Vilnius Sisters Cities (MVSC) organization drew over 50 people for an evening of fellowship, dinner, drinks and commemoration. MVSC was organized in 1989 to pursue a cultural, charitable and social exchange between the cities of Madison, Wisconsin and Vilnius, Lithuania. Guests came from as far as Chicago, Baraboo, and the Milwaukee area to participate in celebrating the anniversary at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union in Madison. Guests were able to enjoy beautiful weather and cocktails on the veranda over-looking Lake Mendota, while connecting with old acquaintences and establishing new friendships. Jim Sykes, the first MVSC president, along with Ernie Coonie, a past president of MVSC, provided a historical perspective of the organization, describing it's purpose, goals and past accomplishments. Daine Zemliauskas-Juozevicius, the current MVSC president, welcomed attendees and provided an update regarding the organizations' activities over the past year, as well as upcoming events that everyone is invited to participate in.Click to enjoy pictures from the Banquet:
Speakers were our current president Daina Žemliauskas-Juoževičius and former board presidents - Ernie Cooney and Jim Sykes.
Greetings, Members and Friends of Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, Inc.!
Lithuania celebrates 1,000 years anniversary.
March 9th, 1009 first mention of the word "Litua" in the Annals of Quedlinburg appeared. This is the reason for the great festivities and celebration going on all year in
http://www.lituanistika.lt/Naujienos/Tukstantmetis.htm (in Lithuanian)
For English description go to:
MVSC is Ambassador for Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009:
http://www.culturelive.lt/lt/ambasadoriai/ambasadoriainew/?salis=215
Vilnius - European Capital of Culture 2009. Vilnius – Europos kultûros sostinë 2009,
Year long Vilnius will celebrate status of the Cultural Capital of Europe with multiple events: concerts, conferences, shows, etc.
„Gatvės muzikos diena“ apims visą pasaulį
Gatvės Muzikos Diena, įvykusi 2007-ais ir 2008-ais metais padovanojo daug džiaugsmo visiems joje dalyvavusiems ir apsilankiusiems. Šiemet ji ir vėl įvyks pirmajį gegužės šeštadienį - gegužės 2 dieną.
Šiemet, kai Vilnius jau tapo Europos kultūros sostine, o Lietuva švenčia savo vardo paminėjimo tūkstantmetį, Gatvės Muzikos Diena apims ne tik Lietuvą, bet ir visas pasaulio vietas, kuriose gyvena lietuviai. Jau galima registruotis svetainėje: http://www.gatvesmuzika.lt/lt/registration.
Baltic Studies Summer Institute 2009 at UW-Madison
The Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) and the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host the Baltic Studies Summer Institute (BALSSI) in the summer of 2009 (June 15-August 7, 2009). Elementary Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian language courses will be offered, as well as lectures (in English) on Baltic history and culture and a rich program of cultural events related to the Baltic countries. Information and application materials are available on the BALSSI Web site: www.creeca.wisc.edu/balssi. (Deadline to apply is April 13, 2009.) Graduate students are eligible to apply for a summer 2009 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship through CREECA (FLAS deadline Feb. 16, 2009):
http://www.creeca.wisc.edu/students/funding/flas.html
BALSSI is sponsored by a consortium of twelve US universities and receives additional support from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. For further information about BALSSI 2009, please contact Nancy Heingartner, BALSSI program coordinator, balssi@creeca.wisc.edu, 1-608-262-3379.
M. K. Čiurlionis Exhibit at the Madison Public Library Feb. 2 - 28, 2009
MVSC organized a poster exhibit of perhaps the most famous Lithuanian artist of all time:
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis.
M.K. Čiurlionis (09.22.1875 - 04.10.1911) was a painter and composer whose art continues to capture the imagination, transcending time and place.
More information about Ciurlionis and his art can be found at:
http://ciurlionis.licejus.lt/index_en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikalojus_Konstantinas_%C4%8Ciurlionis
Žaibas 02.21.2009 performed at the International Festival.
Žaibas Lithuanian Dancers of Madison performed at the International Festival - Promenade Hall, Overture Center.
Beautiful pictures taken by Tim Mulholland at Žaibas performance you can find there.
Lithuanian community celebrated Lithuanian's Independence Day 02.23.09.
Prof. Alfred Senn, author of "Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: Music of the Spheres" and MVSC Board Member, gave captivating talk about the life and work of Čiurlionis at Madison's Public Library.
Thank you - how came to celebrate with us The Independence Day, view M. K. Čiurlionis exhibit, met MVSC members and friends - and had a taste of Lithuanian food.
Pictures form the event you can see there.
Madison Lithuanian community celebrated Christmas Eve - Kūčios Dec. 7th 2008 at
Evening was organized by
MVSC and Žaibas thanks everybody who organized and attended the Eve. We also highly appreciate your donations.
Lithuanians always celebrate Christmas Eve (Kūčios) with age-old traditions, among them: a meal of 12 delicious meatless dishes, sharing of Christmas wafers (plotkelė), straw on the table to remind us of the birth in the manger, kids reciting for Old Man Christmas (Kalėdu Senelis). Lots of fun for young and old.
Pictures from Christmas Eve - Kūčios.
Lietuvai Bevizis Rëžimas į JAV. U.S. Visa Waiver Program for Lithuania. 
2008.10.17 JAV prez. G. Bush'as paskelbe, kad JAV įtraukë Lietuvą, Latviją, Estiją, Vengriją, Slovakiją, Čekiją ir Pietų Korëją į šalių, kurioms taikomas bevizis režimas, sarašą.
Bevizis rëžimas turëtu įsigalioti lapkričio mënesį.
Be vizų į JAV galës vykti turizmo, verslo ar kitais asmeniniais tikslais vykstantys ir biometrinius pasus (išduotus po 2006 metų rugpjūčio 28 dienos) turintys Lietuvos piliečiai. JAV jie galës bûti ne ilgiau nei 90 dienų.
Į JAV vykstantys Lietuvos piliečiai, privalės naudotis Elektronine kelionių leidimo sistema (ESTA - Electronic System for Travel Authorization).
Folk Dance Festival, Šokiu Švente, was held in Los Angeles, CA July 6, 2008.
Every four years the Lithuanians in America hold a Folk Dance Festival, Šokiu Švente, in which thousands of Lithuanian dancers from the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Argentina, West Germany, Poland and Lithuania have participated.
Žaibas was originally founded to dance at the 1992 Šokiu Švente and has danced at every one since then.
This wonderful event was held this year, on July 6 in Los Angeles. Žaibas again was participating.
Information about the event is available in both Lithuanian and English at www.sokiusvente.com
Pictures from Šokiu Švente 2008 Los Angeles, CA Album1 and Album2
“Posters of Soviet Occupied Lithuania 1940-1990” exhibit at Madison Central library ended. MVSC organized exhibition was a great success. Exhibit was well attended by madisonians and city guests.
MVSC 2008 Annual banquet
Our annual meeting and banquet was held in the Main Lounge of the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union. You can see pictures from the Banquet and pictures from the day after.
We were honored to have Draugas editor-in-chief Dr. Dalia Cidzikaitė as this year's speaker. She spoke about the image of minorities in Lithuanian culture.
More information about Dalia is available here.
We appreciate our guests for participation and support of the Madison-Vilnius Sister Cities. Pictures along with detailed description will be uploaded shortly.
Dr. Dalios Cidzikaitės straipsnis apie MVSC 2008 banketa galite paskaityti "Dauge"
Dr. Dalios Cidzikaitės straipsnio kopija apie MVSC 2008 banketa "Dauge" "Word" formate.
Žaibas performed at Mini-Šokiu Šventė in
In anticipation of the Lithuanian Dance Festival (Šokiu Šventė) in
April 26, 2008 Žaibas performed at "Celebrate Madison".
This year event event took place at the MATC central campus.
MVSC celebrated "Vasario 16ta" (February 16th) -
Lithuanian Independence Day
by dancing with Žaibas at the annual Madison International Festival, held this year on Feb. 16, 2008.
Telling the audience that this was Lithuania's "Fourth of July", Žaibas presented a program of 5 dances, and then invited the audience onto the floor to learn 2 of them. Their offer was accepted by a large and enthusiastic crowd of adults and children. Later in the day, Žaibas dancers Debbie Kmetz and Dan Garvin sang a Lithuanian song as part of their performance with the singing trio Tri Bratovchedki. They also told their audience that they were celebrating Lithuanian Independence Day. This news was met with a rousing ovation. Greg Lasky of Vesper, WI also represented Lithuania in the marketplace, offering a wide variety of Lithuanian art and craft items. See a video of "Žaibas" dancing "Vakaruškos".
http://www.cityofmadison.com/mcc12/sistercities.html#archive
Four delegates from Lithuania attended World Dairy Expo in Madison October 1-6, 2007.
More about this event you can read in there and see in the pictures.
Also a couple articles in Lithuanian newspapers published in Chicago appeared recently. Article in “Draugas” called "Lietuvos atstovai apsilanke pasaulineje parodoje” by Stase E. Semeniene and article in “Amerikos Lietuvis” by Gediminas Vidugiris called “Madison Vilnius Sister Cities kvietimu Lietuvos Zemes ukio specialistai dalyvavo Word Dairy Expo 2007 Madison'e”.
MVSC was featured in a couple of Lithuanian newspapers here in the United States: "Amerikos Lietuvis" and "Draugas". "Draugas" published article (in Lithuanian) you can read in there. "Draugo" spausdintą straipsnį apie MVSC banketą ir mūsų svečio Prof. Giedriaus Subačiaus kalbą galite perskaityti čia.
Žaibas performed at Mini-Šokiu Švente in
In anticipation of the Lithuanian Dance Festival (Šokiu Švente) in
From our friends in
Kvieciame i Jonines birzelio 22 d. nuo 12 iki 21 val. Chicago'je -Willowbrook, Ill.. Jos siemet vyks su Lietuvos folkloro zvaigzde, musu visu mylima dainininke Veronika Povilioniene. Atvykite, padainuokite, pasokite, pasivaisinkite... – pabukime kartu.
Betty Zeps, is stepping down. 
Sadly, we recently learned that our newsletter editor, Betty Zeps, is stepping down from the position she has held for years.
We can't thank her enough for the time and effort she has put in to keeping our membership in touch and informed via The Lithuanian Connection newsletter. We'll miss Betty's dedication as an MVSC board member but sincerely hope to continue our friendship.
We on the board are brainstorming for ways to continue the
publication, but there may be changes coming in the future. As always, please check this website often for updated information on events and projects. If there are volunteers out there to
edit a quarterly newsletter or to volunteer in any capacity, we would love to hear from you! Our strong membership is what allows MVSC to prosper and grow.
PASIRAŠYKITE PETICIJA!
http://www.biciulyste.com/dviguba
MVSC celebrated "Vasario 16ta" (February 16th) -
Lithuanian Independence Day
by dancing with Žaibas at the annual Madison International Festival, held this year on Feb. 16.
Telling the audience that this was Lithuania's "Fourth of July", Žaibas presented a program of 5 dances, and then invited the audience onto the floor to learn 2 of them. Their offer was accepted by a large and enthusiastic crowd of adults and children. Later in the day, Žaibas dancers Debbie Kmetz and Dan Garvin sang a Lithuanian song as part of their performance with the singing trio Tri Bratovchedki. They also told their audience that they were celebrating Lithuanian Independence Day. This news was met with a rousing ovation. Greg Lasky of Vesper, WI also represented Lithuania in the marketplace, offering a wide variety of Lithuanian art and craft items. See a video of "Žaibas" dancing "Vakaruškos".
"English Books for
In 2007 books where donated
books to Vilnius Antakalnio
library.
We received Thank you
letter from Antakalnio
Library director
Raima Burbiene
(in the picture).
In 2007 books where donated to Karoliniškiu library.
In 2006 books where donated to Kalvariju library.
We thank all MVSC friends who donated books.
If you have books you would like to donate please contact any of the MVSC board members.
Madison-Vilnius Sister Cities & "Žaibas" Lithuanian Dancers celebrated Lithuanian Christmas Eve last December at The Lutheran Church of the Living Christ.
Four delegates from Lithuania attended World Dairy Expo in Madison October 1-6, 2007.
More about this event you can read in there and see in the pictures.
Also a couple articles in Lithuanian newspapers published in Chicago appeared recently. Article in “Draugas” called "Lietuvos atstovai apsilanke pasaulineje parodoje” by Stase E. Semeniene and article in “Amerikos Lietuvis” by Gediminas Vidugiris called “Madison Vilnius Sister Cities kvietimu Lietuvos Zemes ukio specialistai dalyvavo Word Dairy Expo 2007 Madison'e”.
"Žaibas" Lithuanian Dancers of Madison will be participating in the XIII Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival - "Sokiu Svente", to be held in Los Angeles on July 6, 2008.
If you would like to dance with us at this exciting event and are able to practice Sundays at 6, please contact Nijole at 608-356-6549, or at netz@g2a.net
"Žaibas" Lithuanian Dancers Annual Picnic was a blast. Many "Žaibas" dancers, friends, and family members of the group attended the annual picnic at Ochsner Park, Baraboo, They enjoyed the beautiful weather, the company, and the potluck spread. If you missed it this year, plan for a wonderful day next September.
"Žaibas" Lithuanian Dancers participated at Celebrate Madison 2007, April 14, at Monona Terrace in Madison.