The International Folklore Festival "Skamba skamba kankliai" invites you to gather for the 53rd time!

The International Folklore Festival "Skamba skamba kankliai" on May 26–31 invites you to gather for the 53rd time! 

Traditionally held since 1973, the International Folklore Festival "Skamba skamba kankliai" is one of the few festivals of authentic ethnic music in Europe that brings together a large community of folklore enthusiasts. The festival emerged from the growing folklore movement, fostered a strong sense of resistance and national identity, and has preserved its well-established structure and content to this day. It is hard to imagine the festival without sutartinės, other folk genres, thematic concerts, massive singing, night-time dances, a fair of folk artists and craftsmen etc. However, every year the programme is enriched with new initiatives, creative folklore projects and educational workshops. 

This year we will also mark the 175th anniversary of the birth of Jonas Basanavičius – one of the key figures of the Lithuanian National Revival, a signatory of the Act of Independence of Lithuania, editor of the first Lithuanian newspaper Aušra, a scholar, a physician, and a passionate collector of folklore. The programme will also be enriched by the sounds of the traditional lituanian instrument kanklės, which will receive special attention this year in celebration of the 120th anniversary of the founding of Lithuania’s first kanklės ensemble in Skriaudžiai. 

Stay tuned for this year’s detailed programme and follow the festival's Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts for the latest information and memories from the previous year's events. 

The festival is organised by Vilnius Ethnic Culture Centre. 

The festival is funded by Vilnius City Municipality and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.