THE SONG AND DANCE CELEBRATION IN LITHUANIA: PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, THE FESTIVAL’S CONCEPT AND EVALUATION

Abstract

Even though the Song and Dance Celebration is one of the greatest and most remarkable culture events in Lithuania, the importance of which is recognised both at national and global level, it has to be admitted that it receives rather little attention of social and culture researchers. Therefore a preliminary small-scale Lithuanian representative public opinion survey was conducted shortly after the last Song and Dance Celebration’s closing (2014) to examine the socio-cultural integration potential of the Celebration, the prevalence of its concept in public consciousness, the activity of participation in festival’s events as well as their evaluation. The data allow me to assess the prospects of continuity of the Song and Dance Celebration tradition in terms of societal attitudes, and also the meaning and viability of the Celebration among various demographic groups.