The Jubilee Folklore Festival “The Herbs Are Coming” Celebrated the 40th Anniversary of “Salduvė”

On May 2, 2026, the 15th folklore festival “The Herbs Are Coming” swept through the Šiauliai Cultural Center, this year marking a significant anniversary – the 40-year creative journey of the Šiauliai Cultural Center Folklore Ensemble Salduvė. The jubilee celebration brought together more than one hundred performers from across Lithuania and became a vivid gathering of representatives from different ethnographic regions, revealing the living continuity of tradition. The authentic sounds of songs, music, and dances not only highlighted the uniqueness of each region, but also created a strong sense of togetherness, proving that folklore remains relevant in contemporary cultural life.

Organizer – Šiauliai Cultural Center.

The event began with the sound of a polka as not only the folklore ensemble Šiauliai Cultural Center Folklore Ensemble Salduvė took the stage, but also the symbolic duo of the celebration’s hosts – Aukštaitian Diana Martinaitienė and Samogitian Jovita Lubienė, who introduced the meaning of the festival to the audience.

This year, the folklore festival “The Herbs Are Coming” was dedicated to the 40-year creative journey of the Šiauliai Cultural Center Folklore Ensemble Salduvė. Founded in 1986, the ensemble has become an important guardian of ethnic culture in Šiauliai and throughout Lithuania over the past four decades. The ensemble actively performs, participates in international festivals, and collaborates with artists from Lithuania and abroad.

The group has organized dozens of concert tours abroad and participated in international festivals in various European countries. One of its most memorable recent appearances was participation in an international culture and arts festival in Turkey, bringing together around 1,200 participants from more than 70 countries, where the ensemble received a special award. Its activities have also been recognized with the prestigious “Golden Bird” award.

“Forty years is not only time. It is people, voices, stories, and a living tradition passed from generation to generation. Over these decades, ‘Salduvė’ has become an inseparable part of Šiauliai’s cultural life – an ensemble that preserves, nurtures, and passes on Lithuanian folk traditions. I wish that the path of ‘Salduvė’ continues to be strong, meaningful, and full of creativity, and that its songs continue to resonate not only in Šiauliai and Lithuania, but also throughout the world, promoting the culture and traditions of our region,” said Deimantė Bačiulė, director of the Šiauliai Cultural Center.

The folklore festival “The Herbs Are Coming” itself was born on the initiative of the Šiauliai Cultural Center Folklore Ensemble Salduvė and today has become a traditional cycle of events. Its aim is to encourage awareness, continuity, and transmission of ethnic culture by presenting the diversity of folklore from Lithuania’s ethnographic regions and combining traditional and contemporary forms of expression.

This year’s celebration featured folklore from various Lithuanian regions – from songs and instrumental music to dances and storytelling. Traditions from different regions merged into one living cultural experience, revealing the diversity and continuity of Lithuanian folklore.

Folklore groups from different regions of Lithuania appeared on stage – all of them laureates of the “Golden Bird” award: the folklore ensemble “Verpeta” of the Kaišiadorys Culture Center (leader Valerija Jankauskienė), the folklore ensemble “Mėguva” of the Palanga Cultural Center (leaders Zita Baniulaitytė and Diana Šeduikienė), the folklore ensemble “Rags” of the Pasvalys Culture Center (leader Daiva Adamkavičienė), the folklore ensemble “Raskila” of the Birštonas Culture Center (leader Roma Ruočkienė), and the hosts of the celebration – the Šiauliai Cultural Center Folklore Ensemble Salduvė (artistic director Darius Daknys).

At the end of the celebration, congratulatory speeches were delivered on stage, and the event concluded with all participants and audience members singing the a cappella song “Lek gerveli” together. The united voices created a special sense of community and once again reminded everyone that tradition remains alive as long as it is shared.

The celebration held on May 2 marked the first part of the “The Herbs Are Coming” event cycle. On October 3, the romance evening “From Heart to Heart”, dedicated to the International Day of Older Persons, will take place at the Šiauliai Cultural Center. On November 14, the “Laiptai” gallery of the Šiauliai Cultural Center will host the concert “In the Circle of Rėda” – a synthesis of contemporary and Lithuanian folk music, bringing together the Šiauliai Cultural Center Folklore Ensemble Salduvė and musician Gediminas Dapkevičius, inviting audiences to experience the dialogue between tradition and modernity in a new way.

Photo by Rolandas Parafinavičius.

Information provided by Aušra Brijūnienė, Head of the Amateur Arts Department at the Šiauliai Cultural Center, tel. +370 655 25 527, email: ausra.brijuniene@siauliukc.lt.