Shout and ride your 'shitas' out in Vilnius (14 images)
Published on
Story by
James Mulholland
The youth of Vilnius have a very active, often alternative approach to life in the Lithuanian capital. The crisis has taken a heavy toll but the city still abounds with many affordable forms of entertainment and public initiatives. Here's a selection of three we went to
Organised by Vilnius youngsters, Velokine ('Bicycle cinema') is a free open-air cinema screening of Full Signal (2009), an American documentary on the effects of mobile phone and electromagnetic radiation
The video projector is entirely powered by the electricity generated by the cyclists
Velokine is organised by a group of young biking enthusiasts, Rasaka, to promote green energy. The rear wheels of the bicycles are connected to an alternator, which converts the mechanical energy generated by the human motor into electrical energy
Velokine is organised in conjunction with Mas Darom ('Let’s do it), a volunteer-based initiative held earlier in the day to keep the city and its surrounds clean. In the weeks leading up to Darom, Vilnius youngsters spread the work around the city centre to encourage participation
Darum volunteers at work. On the surface, Vilnius appears to be very clean. But a little outside the centre, rubbish lurks
Also coinciding with Mas Darom and Velokine is Strawberry Day
This public initiative invites Vilniusites to get involved in a different kind of cleaning – more of an 'inner clean'
You get out all your 'shitas', which is Lithuanian for not-so-positive energy, by shouting into the horn
This then compresses all your shitas into the garbage bag
Vytas Ratkevicius, the sheriff of alternative community Užupis and chairman of Eko Banga, the group that organises Strawberry Day, collects the shitas of a local conservative politician
Eko Banga is an ecological association which fabricates furniture from recycled materials and also sells natural foods and cosmetics. They often organise public events like Strawberry Day to invite the public to get involved in the community
Hungry for a cheap read? In these times of crisis, local writer Violeta Messina is getting her book, Nežudyk Mieles, or 'Don’t Kill the Love', out to the public very cheaply
In front of Vilnius town hall, popular American jazz singer Vinnie Messina hands out his wife’s book out to grateful readers – most of whom have already read the book and are back for more copies to give to their friends. Not bad for a day on the streets in Vilnius