The brightest cultural and artistic luminaries and young talents of the year were honored

On the eve of the Culture Day, a new festival “Zenklai” was presented in Priekule, inviting you to get to know the unknown Priekule and its creators. During the opening event of the festival, three important awards were presented – the Culture and Art Worker of the Year and Ernst Vicherts “Young Talent” awards and the national “Golden Bird” award.

It is symbolic that, for the second year in a row, the Cultural and Art Worker of the Year award was brought to Priekulė, the home of the organizers of the “Zenklai” festival. Director Donatas Savickis became its laureate for his great contribution to culture.

D. Savickis has been working at the Priekulė Cultural Center for eight years and manages the Ernst Vichert and Agluonėnai Laying Theaters of the Priekulė Art and Culture Center.

The Ernst Vichert Theater, led by Donatos, is highly valued for its innovative creative solutions, fostering the culture of Little Lithuania. And the residents of the city of Priekulė are grateful to the art lovers who gathered in the theater troupe and for the honorably represented in the theater world the name of the former Priekulė judge, poet, writer and theater man – Ernst Vichert.

“Imagine if we woke up one morning in a world where we didn’t hear music, didn’t smell smells and didn’t see all the beauty that already exists and is being created. Which would probably be very uncomfortable. So let’s celebrate how many creative people we have, who nurture and love art and culture. We are very proud of you,” Klaipėda District Mayor Bronius Markauskas said while presenting the award

“Golden Bird” – for the best adult theater

During the evening, the “Golden Bird” awards were also announced, which are presented to the brightest Lithuanian collectives, their leaders, and personalities deserving of national culture.

Established by the Lithuanian National Cultural Center and financed by the Ministry of Culture, the amateur art awards annually honor the country’s most deserving choirs, theaters, dance groups, folklore, song and dance ensembles, folk music and wind instrument orchestras.

Best of 2023 The Ernst Vichert Theater of the Priekulė Art and Culture Center and its director Donatas Savickis were announced as an adult theater and manager.

The Ernst Wichert Theater has been in existence for 18 years and is recognized for its unique repertoire. Theater lovers, visiting performances, get to know the works of authors from the region of Lesser Lithuania – Ernst Vicherts, Ieva Simonaitytė and others.

The actors of the theater and its director do not shy away from choosing non-traditional spaces for their performances – the old Priekulė railway station has been revived several times based on fairy-tale motifs, and performances are held both in historical chapels and on the banks of the fast-flowing Minija River.

The fame of the “young talent” is for sports achievements

The awards ceremony was crowned by the presentation of the 14th Ernst Wichert Young Talent Award. Kamilė Mikluš, a student of Priekulė’s Ieva Simonaitytė gymnasium, became its laureate, who was pleased with her sports achievements. The girl became the European kudo champion this year, and the League of Judges of the Lithuanian Kyokushin Karate Federation awarded her a category B judge’s certificate.

The fourteen-year-old’s achievements are full of other awards as well – these are various prize places in district competitions and national and international championships.

A total of 5 young people who achieved the best results in the fields of art, exact sciences, and social activities applied for the prize.

The purpose of establishing the Ernst Vicherts Prize is to honor and perpetuate the memory of E. Vicherts, a prominent figure in the culture of Lithuania Minor, regional writer, judge, theater founder, and to highlight society’s concern for the younger generation. This prize was awarded for the first time in 2011. It is awarded to students who have achieved the best results in the fields of art, science, sports or social activities.

Press release