News

On March 2, the Lithuanian community of Los Angeles hosted a celebration of the Restoration of the State of Lithuania (February 16) and the Restoration of Independence Day (March 11) at St. Casimir's Lithuanian Parish.

Lithuanian Consul General Sandra Brikaitė, in her welcoming remarks, noted that on February 9 of this year, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia gained another day of independence, when the Baltic states' electricity networks were disconnected from the russian-controlled BRELL network and synchronized with European networks. In her speech, S. Brikaitė also emphasized the importance of continuing support for Ukraine as Ukraine is fighting not only for its own freedom, but also for the freedom of all of Europe.

The event was hosted by Honorary Consul in California Daiva Čekanauskas Navarrette, who invited Father Tomas Karanauskas to bless the gathering. The guests of the event were greeted by Tara Barauskaitė, Chairwoman of the Board of the Lithuanian Community of Los Angeles, Honorary Consul of Estonia Jaak Treiman, and Mariana Boiko, Representative of the Los Angeles Stand with Ukraine Foundation. Sigita Barysienė, Chairwoman of the Western District of the Lithuanian Community of the USA, read a congratulatory letter from the Chairwoman of the Board of the Lithuanian Community of the USA, Edita Buzienė. The welcoming speech was delivered by Condrad Mažeika, Chairman of the Baltic American Freedom League.

During the celebration, Lithuanian songs were performed by the recently established Los Angeles Lithuanian Community Choir, led by Nicholas Galinaitis, Giedrė Garbisch, and Tomas Žemaitaitis. Poems by Lithuanian poets were recited by actress Sigutė Miller.

In the second part of the event, guests enjoyed an acoustic solo concert by the famous Lithuanian performer Monika Linkytė.

We thank the Lithuanian community of Los Angeles for organizing a wonderful celebration, we are very glad to have been a part of it!