Rasos Celebration in Verkiai Park

On Friday, June 20, 2025, from 7:00 PM until sunrise, the traditional Rasos Festival will take place in Verkiai Palace Park.

For the twenty-sixth midsummer in a row—at a time when nature and herbs flourish, blossom, and glisten with dew—we will come together to celebrate the ancient shortest night of the year: the summer solstice festival. Adorn yourselves with flower wreaths, gather your nine-herb Kupolė bouquet, pack a picnic basket, and join your family and friends in the linden-scented Verkiai Park.

Following age-old traditions, we will gather herbs (kupoliauti), weave wreaths, divine fortunes from plants, dance traditional midsummer rounds, and honor the fire ritual with sutartinės (ancient Lithuanian multipart songs) at Lizdeika’s altar. We will sing farewell to the setting sun, dance around the festive bonfire, float wreaths on the Neris River, bathe in the morning dew, and welcome the rising sun together.

The artistic and ritual program will feature well-known folklore ensembles from Vilnius, including Jorė, Laukis, Varangė, Dolija, the Romuva ritual group Kūlgrinda, the traditional band Griežikai, and the folk song club Raskila. Traditional musicians will participate, along with herbal experts from the GTC Botanical Institute—Birutė Karpavičienė and Jolita Radušienė—and herbal fortune-tellers Rita Balsevičiūtė and Rita Balkutė. A herbal market will also be open.

Festival host – Nijolė Balčiūnienė, a devoted keeper of ancient customs.

Organized by – Pavilniai and Verkiai Regional Parks Administration
Partners – GTC, Vilnius City Municipality
Funded by – Lithuanian Council for Culture