“FLOWS” OF THE VILHELM THEATER FESTIVAL – Gargždai

August 5 the Wilhelm Theater Festival took place for the second time. This time the focus is on the King Wilhelm Canal itself. People were invited to get to know the channel through an artistic prism for the first time. Performances of troupes and artists took place on the banks of the canal and in the places around the canal, which were combined into one common artistic event “Flows”. Spectators were invited to get to know the history of the canal and its surrounding nature through an artistic event while sailing on boats.

This year, the festival organizers invited the audience to pause and reconnect with what is real, to feel and become part of the continuous, healing, accepting flow. Nature never lies. Never pretends. She is always true. Looking at the water, stopping ourselves in the moment, we have the gift of connecting to what is real. The movement of water, the flow, reminds us of the essence and change of life. We are in an infinite flow greater than ourselves, connecting us to all that we can perceive and all that is beyond our understanding. Connects us to the present and eternity. With what we see and what we can only feel. It connects us with many currents of the world – various layers, various levels, shapes, forms. We are a drop in the river of the world and we are a drop in the river of the world. We are alone.

Thanks to the stories of Gražina Banienė, an employee of the Kretinga Regional Division of the State Forest Office, the festival guests learned that as early as the 19th century The construction of the canal named in honor of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I took ten years. Even 25-27 kilometers long, 28-30 meters wide canal was dug by the local residents, and in the last years, in order to speed up the digging work, French prisoners of war were also sent. The purpose of the canal was to protect ships and ships from dangerous storms arising in the Curonian Lagoon, and also to facilitate communication. The gold vein, which starts near the village of Lankupiai and ends in the Malkai bay of the Klaipėda port, has become a place where you can get a job for many, and a higher profit for others. In addition, the death of French prisoners digging the canal by hand in difficult working conditions is also a testimony. Currently, the canal is a fast-growing water tourism route, a place for recreational fishing.

The water flow of the canal was opened by AB Vidaus Waterways Directorate.

The organizer of the Vilhelm Theater Festival is the Priekulė Cultural Center, the director of the event is Donatas Savickis, the playwright is Virginija Rimkaitė. At the festival, the audience saw the decorations created by Agnė Jablonskytė and Aušra Bakanaitė. 7 theater troupes performed in the program: the dance theater “Judesio svės”, the theater “Artyn”, the duo of contemporary dance artists Dovilė Binkauskaitė and Inga Kuznetsova, the theater “Apeiron”, the legendary moose of Priekule’s Ernst Vichert Theater, which were joined by Priekule’s youth, who impressed everyone with the cranes dance, the most prominent theater of the port city Benas Šarka, Kristina Švenčionytė and Artūras Ustinovas. The festival featured music by composers Donatas Bielkauskas and Larion Dyakov and a song performed by Ieva Pakštytė based on Virginijas Rimkaitė’s lyrics.

We are glad that the festival brought together the entire community of Priekule ward. The transport of the spectators was arranged by Priekulė’s Ieva Simonaitytė gymnasium, and the unique starting point of the festival, “Strykis”, was the port of Dreverna. Residents of Priekulė actively responded to the invitation to volunteer.

We believe and hope that the Vilhelm Theater Festival will become a traditional and priority art festival of Little Lithuania.

The festival was financed by the Lithuanian Culture Council and Klaipėda District Municipality.