January 15, 2023 is a special date for all of Lithuania! 100 years ago on this day, Klaipėda region was annexed to Lithuania.

Šilute Culture and Entertainment Center invited to celebrate this day in a special way. Šilutė St. Masses for the Klaipėda region and its people were held in the Kryžius and Šilute Evangelical Lutheran churches, which were attended by representatives of the municipality, including the mayor of the Šilute district municipality, Vytautas Laurinaitis. On the building where the declaration of Klaipėda region was signed, during the solemn ceremony (with the participation of the Šilutė rifle company, Šilutė chamber drama theater, folklore ensemble VERDAINĖ (director R. Jokubaitytė), folklore ensemble RAMYTĖ (director G. Pocienė), we unveiled a sign marking this an important place for all of Lithuania.

There was a run initiated by the Šilutė sports community, dedicated to the centenary of the annexation of the Klaipėda region to Lithuania, which finished at the Šilutė district municipality. During the solemn ceremony, the flags of Lithuania and Lithuania Minor were raised here, and volleys were fired. Silutė district the choir „Heide” of the community of residents of German origin (conductor V. Matulis), together with the folklore ensemble „Verdainė” (conductor R. Jokubaitytė), the folklore collective „Ramytė” (conductor G. Pocienė) and the women's ensemble „Vaivora” ( G. Liaudanskienė) performed the anthem of Little Lithuania „We were born as Lithuanians”.

At 3:00 p.m., in the hall of the Šilute culture and entertainment center, a solemn, festive concert „One family, one language, one land…” was held. An impressive performance was given by the Lithuanian Army Orchestra (conductor E. Ališauskas), Šilutė Art School fanfare orchestra „Pamarys” (conductor G. Raila), Small Lithuanian Hunting Wind Ensemble „Kurtinys” (conductor G. Raila), a group of dancers „Pamarietė” (conductor J. Railienė), soloist Deividas Norvilas – Deivis, Klaipėda S. Šimkaus Conservatory Mixed Choir (conductor J. Vyšniauskienė, choirmaster R. Baršauskas, concertmaster Ž. Čapienė), Klaipėda Faculties of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater choir studio (conductor J. Vyšniauskienė), mixed vocal ensemble „Vox Libri” of Šilutė culture and entertainment center (conductor R. Golubovskienė).

You can find the full recording of the concert on the YouTube platform. https://youtu.be/Ku3UGs-ZWCM

The Ministry of Culture has allocated 10,000 euros of partial funding for the implementation of this year's events at the Šilutė Culture and Entertainment Center under the program of projects implementing initiatives for the preservation of historical memory. Events will continue throughout the year, so stay tuned!