The Sea Festival – Lithuania’s biggest summer event
The Sea Festival is the biggest traditional summer festival in Lithuania attracting half a million visitors every year and has been organized for more than 70 years in Klaipeda. Klaipeda is the only seaport in Lithuania and is the most northern ice – free port in the Baltic Sea.
The festival has for many years featured a wide variety of musical styles: classical, rock, “country”, jazz and pop music concerts have been held. A Crafts Fair nowadays forms an important part of the Sea Festival – around 300 craftsmen and craftswoman and sellers from all over Lithuania take part. Another noteworthy feature of the Sea Festival is the artistic decoration of event areas. Following old traditions, the organizers give special attention to maritime traditions. The Sailors’ Party is treated with particular attention and respect.
During the Sea Festival another huge maritime event will take place in Klaipeda – the Baltic Sail, involving a fleet of traditional ships.
The Baltic Sail gives the Festival visitor an opportunity to inspect meticulously restored ships and get a feel for maritime traditions. You can sail from one harbour to another or choose just a day trip as a trainee or a sailing guest, have new experiences and make new friends from all over the world
Within the Baltic Sail sailing voyages between the participating cities Gdansk (Poland), Karlskrona (Sweden), Helsingör (Denmark), Lübeck-Travemünde and Rostock (Germany) are offered. Since 2005 the towns Klaipeda (Lithuania) and Halmstad (Sweden) have taken part in this event. These trips demonstrate the very close links between the Baltic Sea ports and enable tourists to appreciate the nature of the “Mare balticum".
More about the Baltic Sail, visit Balticsail.lt/en/
On the Sea Festival / Baltic Sail dates Klaip?da also will host the Baltic Sprint Cup 2007. After two years the annual international offshore sailing event is coming back to Klaip?da on 27-29th July 2007.
The Baltic Sprint Cup 2007 will cover 624 nautical miles in 15 days. Six countries will take part and there will be five legs. Each host port will hold a great party. All are welcome to join in celebrating the Baltic traditions of trade, seamanship and fair play. The fleet starts at Copenhagen on 20th July via Sassnitz (22nd), Gdansk (26th), Klaipeda (29th) and Ventspils (1st August). For more about the Baltic Sprint Cup, visit Balticsprintcup.com.
The Tall Ships' Races Baltic will be centred on Klaipeda in 2009. For over 30 years the regattas and festivals organized by the Sail Training Association had been known by the name of Cutty Sark. Sail Training International (STI) maintains the activity of regattas’ organization and youth training.
STI unites over 20 national sail training associations of such countries as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, USA, Great Britain, and others.
During its fifty years of existence the Tall Ships’ Races developed good system and traditions. Every year the regattas take place in a different sea, but each time they are held in three legs among four ports of different countries.
The first leg of the Tall Ships’ Races is traditionally a regatta between two ports, the second leg is cruise-in company to the next port, during which the ships do not compete, interchanging their crews; and the third leg is a regatta heading to the last port.
In every of the host ports a four days’ festival is arranged with parties, receptions, meetings, trainee parades, sports competitions and other events. The climax of the festival at a host port is the parade of sail when all the ships leave for sea. Hundreds of thousands of people gather to admire the impressive parade of vessels and wave them goodbye.
Since 1992 Klaipeda has been endeavouring to invite this most prestigious and impressive regatta to Klaipeda. In 2009 one more important step will be taken to consolidate and foster maritime traditions – the Tall Ships’ Races will finish in Klaipeda in the very end of July.
The schedule of the Tall Ships’ Races Baltic 2009
- Gdynia (Poland) – July 2-5 Leg 1 – six days
- St. Petersburg (Russia) – July 11-14 Cruise-in company - nine days
- Turku (Finland) – July 23-26 Leg 2 – five days
- Klaipeda (Lithuania) – July 31 – August 3
For more about the Tall Ships’ Races Baltic 2009 visit: sailtraininginternational.org.
For more about Lithuania and Klaipeda visit: Lithuaniatourism.co.uk; Klaipedainfo.lt
