Proud to be from Maišiagala: The 3rd Maišiagala Town Festival

“We always proudly say: ‘I’m from Maišiagala,’ and we’re right to be proud, since our town is one of the first ones mentioned in historical sources from 12^th and 13^th centuries,” Rita Tamašunienė, a member of the Lithuanian parliament, told the audience at the festival.

Yesterday, on June 15, Maišiagala, a town near Vilnius, held a town festival. “I hope it won’t be raining today. I think you agree,” Stefan Orszewski, the staroste of the town, joked.

The town fest was for the third time held near a manor of the Houwalt family, former Maišiagala landlords. This year among guests who came to the festival were delegates of Wysokie Mazowieckie including the deputy mayor Ewa Konarzewska, the head of the town council Józef Sokolik, the principal of Zespół Szkół Ogólnokształcących i Policealnych in Wysokie Mazowieckie (Comprehensive Secondary and Post-secondary School Complex) Ryszard Flanc, and the family of the late Rev. prelate Józef Obrembski, Krzysztof and Janina Obrembski. The other guests included a member of the Lithuanian parliament Rita Tamašunienė, the vice-minister of education and science Edita Tamošiūnaitė, and members of educational and local government establishments.

“We always proudly say: ‘I’m from Maišiagala,’ and we’re right to be proud, since our town is one of the first ones mentioned in historical sources from 12^th and 13^th centuries. Maišiagala has a patron saint, Anthony the Great, and the patron of our souls, Rev. prelate Józef Obrembski,” R. Tamašunienė said, hoping everyone would have fun.

The deputy mayor of Wysokie Mazowieckie E. Konarzewska talked about a longstanding relationship between her town and Maišiagala. “We have signed an agreement with Maišiagala. We’re looking forward to the visit of a large group of people from your town next week,” the deputy mayor said.

The festival began, as usual, with a performance by a vocal group Mejszagolanki who sang a ballad about Maišiagala. The audience loved the performance of children from Żłobek-Przedszkole in Maišiagala (Nursey and Kindergarten). The children performed a complex choreography and a few songs.

The other performers included: a school choir Legenda, Svaja, Przyjaźń, a youth choir Czewone Maki, and a duo of Dominik Adomaitisa and Jasia Mackiewicz. The festival featured a guest performance by students of Zespół Szkół Ogólnokształcących i Policealnych in Wysokie Mazowieckie.

Ewelina Mokrzecka

Source: http://zw.lt/wilno-wilenszczyzna/dumni-ze-sa-mejszagolanami-czyli-swieto-mejszagoly/

Tłumaczenie by Michał M. Kowalski w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Michał M. Kowalski within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.