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"Žiema, žiema, bėk iš kiemo!" - Winter, winter, get out of my yard!
BALZEKAS MUSEUM OF LITHUANIAN CULTURE
 
6500 S. PULASKI ROAD CHICAGO, IL 60629
 
TEL.: 773.582.6500
FAX:773.582.5133
 
info@balzekasmuseum.org
 
Open 10 AM - 4 PM daily
Except Christmas, Easter and New Year's Day
 

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Užgavėnės - Lithuanian Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday Celebration

Two girls make Užgavėnės masks

Shrove Tuesday is one of the most joyful Lithuanian Calendar Festivals. It celebrates the end of winter and it also is the last day beforeLent and seven weeks before Easter. During this celebration, attention is concentrated on chasing away winter with all its evils. It is a day when people should have fun, laugh and be happy. 

For several years now, the Balzekas Museum holds Shrove Tuesday mask-making workshops, at which children learn how to make a traditional Lithuanian shrove Tuesday mask. Participants bring their own materials, such as paper, fur, tree bark, buttons, fabric, yarn and all other items that can be decoratively incorporated into a mask.

Traditional Shrove Tuesday food – pancakes are served. 

Uzgavenes

Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, 6500 S. Pulaski Rd., Chicago 60629
The Museum is open daily, 10 am to 4 pm

Sponsored in part by Chicago-Vilnius Sister City International, Grants from the Illinois Arts Council, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the ECPC. Pictured Mardi Gras celebration at the Balzekas Museum, 2009

 

Educational Programs


The Museum provides a variety of workshops in traditional Lithuanian folk arts. Workshops are but a part of the educational programs at the museum. More...

 

Other Popular Seasonal Workshops

 

Easter Egg Decorating Workshop

Vėlykaičiai - Lithuanian Easter Eggs

Held just before Easter, this popular workshop provides an opportunity to learn about the etched method of Easter Egg Decorating. More...


Lithuanian Straw Christmas Ornament Workshop

Straw Christmas Ornament Workshop

The traditional Lithuanian Christmas ornament is made from natural straw (from the dried stock of cereal grains, typically wheat) which is cut and threaded into ornate shapes, representing stars, the sun, snowflakes, bells, lanterns, and angels. Each year before Christmas, the Museum conducts a workshopon how to make these delicate ornaments. More...

Mask-Making Workshop

As part of the Shrove Tuesday Celebration, reve-lers young and old will have an opportunity to make a traditional Lithuanian Užgavėnės mask.

Uzganvenes Mask
 
A child shows off her mask, made from yarn, feathers, felt, and cotton. Many materials can be incorporated into the mask.

Uzgavenes Mask Making

Making a mask during the workshop

Uzgavenes - Mardi Gras