In the summer of 2024, coordinators of national cultural route of Lithuania “Vėtrungių kelias” actualizing the region of Lithuania Minor, will organize the contemporary art festival "The traveling weather vane: faith, legends and giants of books". The purpose of this festival is to bring together cultural, tourism, business, and educational organizations, to foster and increase the awareness of the cultural values ​​of the ethnographic region of Lithuania Minor, using cultural heritage resources and traditions, and at the same time to encourage the communities of the region to communicate and spread information about the identity of the region and its history.
In order to promote cooperation of professional art projects and counties and municipalities of Lithuania Minor, the festival will be "traveling" through 3 municipalities (Šilutės district, Pagėgiai and Neringa), which include 2 counties (Klaipėdos, Tauragės). During the festival Cultural heritage objects in these cities and towns will be included and actualized. Based on historical sources, episodes will be selected and recreated as expressions of artistic interpretation that will highlight the characteristics and importance of these cultural heritage objects.

Currently, five ethnographic regions are distinguished in Lithuania - Aukštaitija, Žemaitija, Dzūkija, Sūduva and Lithuania Minor. These are distinctive areas of ethnic culture, which are based on certain features of traditional material and spiritual culture. Their formation was influenced by various historical, cultural and natural circumstances.

In order to reveal the uniqueness of Lithuania's smallest ethnographic region, Lithuania Minor, regional culture and tourism community came up with an idea of fun and interactive traveling game called "Vėtrungių kelias" (Weather vane way), which grew out to become the second national cultural route of Lithuania.  

The name of the cultural road was not accidental. The ethnographic region of Lithuania Minor is a land of rich, unique, multicultural history, and the weather vane is a sign of recognition of this cultural route, a symbol of the region’s identity. The essence of the route is the dissemination of the culture and heritage of the region.

Considering uniqueness of the region, the festival "Travelling weathervane: faith, legends and giants of books" will be organized, which will actualize the confessional, marinist cultural heritage of the region of Lithuania Minor. Through the means of expression of theater, dance, music and media art, historical narratives will be presented in a modern way.

The first event of the festival, on 21st of June, will take place near the pantheon of Lithuania Minor - the Bitėnai cemetery, which is located on the banks of the Nemunas between Bitėnai and hill of Rambynas. During the theatrical event, the work of the Lithuanian philosopher Vydūnas will be read and the music of stringed instruments will be performed, the history of this region will be interpreted and presented in a modern way. Performance will be dedicated to most prominent figures of Lithuania Minor, who have been laid to rest here: Vydūnas, Martynas Jankus, Kristijonas Donelaitis and Liudvikas Rėza, whose cenotaphs are also is in the cemetery. The inscriptions on the humble crosses reflects the differences between Lutherans and Catholics. People of Lithuania Minor and their religiosity and nationalism are two inseparable parts that complement each other. Lutheranism gave strong foundations of education and nationalism, opportunities to learn from the secular culture of the time.

The second part of the traveling festival will invite you to discover the unique maritime heritage of Lithuania Minor. Not only the confluence of waters and winds connect the shores, but also a unique architectural object unique to this region - lighthouses. They show the way for ships, prevent them from getting lost, warn in dangerous and stormy waters. On 16th of August, when the Day of Lighthouses is celebrated, a program of contemporary dance will be performed at the oldest lighthouse in Ventė Cape, focused on revealing maritime cultural heritage. Synergy between the audience and the music will be created by a piece of contemporary music with folklore motifs written by the composer.

Lithuania Minor is inseparable not only from people’s faith, but also from the element of water, which influences the lives of locals. Rivers, lagoons, the sea, high and low tides, fishermen and amber are essential elements formed by water that reflects the unlikeness of the land. The first lines of the poem "Nemunas sveikin jūrą Baltąją" by the Patriarch of Lithuania Minor Martynas Jankaus symbolically take us to the third and final event of the traveling festival in the Curonian Spit (UNESCO heritage) on 30th of August. In the poem, the Baltic Sea is described to be the only body of water that throws amber surrounded by legends and myths to the shores of Lithuania. The synergy between the audience, choral music and mystified light projections will be created by the history and legends of the development of amber, presented in a modern way. The event will take place at night, when silence and darkness intensify the moment of mysticism, and fragments of light reflect the old specifics of amber "hunting".

During the festival, there will be an interdisciplinary art performaces that will connect artistic programs with media art. The moments during the festival "The Traveling Weathervane: Faith, Legends and Book Giants" will create an artistic video story that combines all the project's activities.
 

The national Lithuanian cultural route "Vėtrungių kelias" (Weather vane way) will aim to actualize and popularize the confessional and marine cultural heritage of the Ethnographic Region of Lithuania Minor through the festival "Travelling Weathervane: Faith, Legends and Giants of Books", revealing the local identities that are forming today, using cultural events and communication tools to expand the understanding of the target audience. and encourage visits to the cultural heritage objects actualized in the project.

All activities organized by the festival "The Traveling Weathervane: Faith, Legends and Giants of Books" will be free of charge and open to everyone and will be made public without discrimination on any basis. During the festival, there will be an interdisciplinary art performance that will connect artistic programs with media art. A video will be created, combining all the artistic activities carried out in the project, emphasizing all three elements: wind, water and shore. All project events will be broadcast live through social network accounts.

The event contributes to the 11th goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda until 2030 "Make cities and settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" task "11.4. Increasing efforts to protect and preserve the world's cultural and natural heritage", as well as the implementation of goal 8 "Promote sustainable, inclusive and harmonious economic growth, productive employment and decent work" task "8.4. By 2030, create and implement a policy for sustainable tourism that helps to create jobs, as well as present local culture and develop products”