Program: Annual Lithuanian Friendship Day, 2002
Date2002 July 28
Mediumpaper
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections
CopyrightIn Copyright
Object number2015.196.86a-f
DescriptionProgram for the Annual Lithuanian Friendship Day on July 28, 2002, held at the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Church in Putnam, Connecticut.
NotesSubject Note: Lithuanians immigrated to Connecticut in the 1890s for jobs in factories and farms and to escape Russian domination, settling in urban centers, such as Hartford and Waterbury where the state’s largest concentration of Lithuanians are located. Putnam in eastern Connecticut has a Lithuanian nunnery where an archive is kept and festivals take place. Many farms in western Connecticut are still operated by Lithuanian families. Lithuanian cultural practices abound in Connecticut. Tall carved crosses designed by artists Simas Augaitis and Joseph Ambrozaitis once stood next to six Lithuanian churches in Connecticut cities; three of the parishes offer services in Lithuanian language. The long running radio program Tevynes Garsai / Sounds of the Homeland broadcasts every Sunday on WWUH/91.3 in Hartford. The Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Church is a convent and church staffed by Lithuanian nuns in Putnam, Connecticut. Since 1936 they have served the Lithuanian community in southern New England, and maintain a library and museum of Lithuanian folk arts. The chapel is notable for its stained glass and a traditional Lithuanian wayside cross designed by Connecticut Lithuanian artists Simas Augaitis and built by Joseph Ambrozaitis. The order also maintains the Matulaitis Home, an assisted living facility for Lithuanian seniors. A school on the grounds once run by the church is now privately managed. The church holds an annual picnic in mid-July, organized by the Lithuanian heritage/cultural camp that takes place there, Camp Neringa, featuring folk dancing, food, workshops, and tours of the site. The site also houses ALKA, the Lithuanian American Cultural Archive, an important collection of books, art, archives, and other materials gathered by several scholars and donors over the years. It is managed by the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science.
Artists including Aldona Saimininkas and Asta Nenortas play a central role in Connecticut’s Lithuanian community as tradition bearers and cultural ambassadors. Asta and Aldona help to organize the annual St. Casimir’s Lithuanian Scouts Food and Crafts Fair held at Holy Trinity Church at 53 Capitol Avenue in Hartford, the spiritual heart of the community. Asta leads the Lithuanian folk dance group Berzelis that has performed locally and nationally for fifty years. She also makes Easter wands of straw and flowers. Called Palms of Vilnius, or verbos, these decorations symbolize the first growth of plants in the spring, represent health and healing, and also simulate the consecrated palms of Easter.
Additional materials exist in the CCHAP archive for this event and this community.
Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.
Status
Not on view
2002-2010
