Kovo 11 commemoration

Madison Vilnius Sister Cities community met on a cold and snowy Sunday afternoon to peel 30 pounds of potatoes and bake Kugelis. This was our time together and a way to celebrate Lithuania’s birthday (Independence restoration). Photos below show how much fun we had at the Aubergine kitchen on the Willy St.

Our members are very fast potato peelers. Two families bought the potato grating machines that some call “kugelatorius.” Plenty of bacon was provided. Kugelis didn’t burn and was not too salty.

Food related events are becoming a new tradition and we are now more comfortable in the commercial kitchen, especially with the commercial dish washer. I have a feeling we will back with another dish.

An Evening of Magic from Vilnius

When two cities share a soul, they find ways to let it sing. This May, a piece of Lithuania arrives in Madison and you don't want to miss it.

As president of Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, I have the privilege of being part of the organizing committee for the MVSC Annual Banquet and I am genuinely proud of this year’s program. Planning an evening like this takes months of work, and the moment we confirmed CinAmono Duo as our guest performers from Vilnius, I knew we had something truly special on our hands. May 2nd is an evening I believe every member of our community deserves to experience.

 "Theatrical atmosphere and slightly magic, ceremonial, involving music."

— Press description of CinAmono Duo

Meet the Performers

CinAmono was born in Vilnius in the autumn of 2013, the creative vision of two artists who also happen to be life partners: vocalist Laura Budreckytė and double bassist Vytis Nivinskas. Over more than a decade, they have built something rare in contemporary jazz — a sound so distinctly their own that it resists easy categorization, landing somewhere between poetry, theatre, and improvisation.

Laura Budreckytė

Vocalist & Composer

Laura grew up in Birštonas, a town Lithuanians affectionately call the jazz mecca of Lithuania. It shows. Her voice carries the confidence of someone who has been singing competitively since childhood, winning national vocal contests before earning her degree in jazz voice at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. She has studied under masters including Bobby McFerrin, and in 2012 she won the international vocal competition Jazz Voices in Klaipėda. A year later she claimed the Grand Prix at the prestigious Riga Jazz Stage, an honor that opened doors to major European festival stages including Pori Jazz in Finland. Beyond performing, Laura is also a certified music therapist, a radio host on Lithuanian national radio, and the founder of a school of vocology. She is, in other words, a complete artist.

Vytis Nivinskas

Double Bassist, Composer & Doctor of Arts

Vytis once studied philosophy at Vilnius University before jazz intervened and changed the course of his life. He has since earned a master's degree from DePaul University in Chicago, a PhD from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and is currently a Baltic American Freedom Foundation visiting scholar at UC San Diego, researching innovative double bass techniques in solo improvisation. He has performed in over twenty countries, spent formative years on the Chicago and New York jazz scenes, and has served on the board of the Lithuanian Jazz Federation. He is an associate professor, a sought-after collaborator, and — when he picks up that double bass — something close to a conjurer.

Their latest album, CinAmono Duo (2024), is dedicated to the beauty of the archaic Lithuanian language, drawing on the poetry of seven Lithuanian poets set to original music for voice and bass alone. It is intimate and expansive at once — minimalist in instrumentation, vast in emotional reach. The duo has been featured several times in the Lithuanian Jazz Federation's Jazz from Lithuania collection. Critics describe their performances as combining "vibrant forms, special melodies, and broad spaces for improvisation" with each performance unfolding like a conversation between two deeply attuned minds.

“Good poetry that requires an exclusive sonic approach often becomes the pivot of their joint creative work”

Watching CinAmono live is reportedly a different experience than listening to a recording. The theatricality of their presence, the intimacy of two people communicating through a language of jazz and Lithuanian verse — audiences describe leaving their performances feeling as though they witnessed something they cannot quite name. That is, I think, the mark of art that genuinely matters.

The Full Evening

The performance is embedded in what promises to be a genuinely lovely event from start to finish. The Madison Club, one of the most elegant settings in the city, is the backdrop for an evening that moves from terrace cocktails to a three-course dinner to live music and dancing until 11 PM.

• Cocktails & conversation on the Madison Club Terrace

• MVSC Membership Business Meeting & Board Election

• Three-course dinner, including šaltibarščiai (cold beet soup, a Lithuanian classic)

• Live performance by CinAmono Duo

• Lottery

• Dancing

The dinner alone is worth noting: cold beet soup on a May evening at the Madison Club, as part of an evening honoring a sister city relationship that stretches across the Atlantic. There is something poetic about it that I appreciate. The vegetarian option is a dish for mushroom lovers, another Lithuanian attribute.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, May 2, 2026

Time: 5:00 PM, Doors open at 4:30 PM

Location: The Madison Club, 5 E Wilson St, Madison

Tickets: $95 / adult

Discounts: $65 for students and seniors, $30 children

Bring 3 or more friends and save 5%, use code GROUP5 at checkout

IMPORTANT: $30 of each adult ticket is tax-deductible and funds operations of the MVSC.

Why This One Matters

Madison and Vilnius have been sister cities since 1989. That relationship sustained across decades, across geopolitical shifts, across other changes is a quiet testament to the power of cultural connection. Events like this banquet are how that relationship stays alive and meaningful, not just as an entry on a government form somewhere, but as a genuine, felt bond between communities.

Bringing CinAmono Duo from Vilnius to Madison is not a small thing. It is an act of hospitality in both directions: toward the artists who travel here to share something precious, and toward an audience that deserves to experience music this beautiful. The MVSC Board has worked to keep tickets accessible even as costs have risen.

Go. Bring a friend. Sit with the music. Let the Lithuanian language wash over you even if — or especially if — you don't understand a word. That, too, is part of the experience.

“If we can speak, we can sing”

— Laura Budreckytė

We will see you on the terrace.

Across the Atlantic, A Friendship Renewed: Vilnius Mayor Visits Madison

There are moments in civic life that transcend the ordinary: when a handshake between two city leaders carries the weight of decades of friendship, shared values, and a mutual belief that the best ideas know no borders. March 20, 2026 was exactly such a moment.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway greets Mayor Benkunskas

Valdas Benkunskas, Mayor of Vilnius, arrived in Madison, Wisconsin, and in doing so, made history. He became only the second mayor of an independent Lithuania to visit our city since mid 1990s. The warmth between these two cities has never dimmed.

A Meeting of Mayors, A Meeting of Minds

The centerpiece of the visit was a one-on-one meeting between Mayor Benkunskas and Madison's own Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. Two leaders who, separated by an ocean, share a strikingly similar vision for the future of urban life.

Their conversation was substantive and forward-looking. Sustainability, public transit innovation, convention centers and economic development, and infrastructure modernization topped the agenda. Madison has recently emerged as one of the most progressive transit cities in the United States. The city's ambitious pledge to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 served as a compelling backdrop for the day's explorations. And Vilnius is now the largest city in the three Baltic countries (over 600,000).

Mayors listening to the Madison Department of Transportation presentation

Mayor Benkunskas didn't just hear about Madison's transit transformation — he experienced it firsthand. The city's Department of Transportation provided a full tour of its evolving public transportation network: elevated bus stations rising elegantly above street level for a speedy onboarding, environmentally friendly electric buses gliding silently through dedicated center-lane bus corridors, traffic signals optimized for a speedy journey. The two mayors then strolled together down the beloved State Street, that great pedestrian artery of Madison's civic soul, before finishing with a shared moment of wonder beneath the magnificent rotunda and dome of the Wisconsin State Capitol. It was the kind of civic poetry that no conference room can replicate.

Reviewing the bus route before onboarding the bus

The insights Mayor Benkunskas gathered and shared carry real promise for both Vilnius and Madison. Conversations centered on how Madison's best practices in electrified public transport could be adapted and implemented back home where electric boats in Neris river are starting this year. Conference infrastructure development was also on the table, a timely topic as Vilnius plots its course as a major European venue for international gatherings.

37 Years of Partnership — and Counting

To understand the significance of this visit, one must appreciate the depth of what binds Vilnius and Madison. Their sister city relationship was forged in 1989, at one of the most consequential moments in modern European history when Lithuania was reclaiming its voice and its sovereignty. Madison stood with Vilnius then, and that solidarity has endured.

Madison today maintains ten sister city relationships around the world, but only three of those partnerships reach into Europe. Vilnius is among the oldest, and one of the most meaningful.

During the visit, Mayor Benkunskas extended a heartfelt invitation for Mayor Rhodes-Conway to visit Vilnius — a gesture of reciprocity that carries the hope of a return journey and deepened ties. He also conveyed a personal invitation to the former President Valdas Adamkus centennial celebrations honoring the president's remarkable legacy. These are not mere diplomatic pleasantries; they are the threads from which lasting international friendships are woven.

Mayor Benkunskas presented one of the gifts to Madison - a photo of Vilnius today and 30 years ago

Community, Conversation, and a Flag from Vilnius

After the formal meetings concluded, the day took on a more intimate character. Mayor Benkunskas and a delegation from the Chicago Consulate gathered with the Madison Vilnius Sister Cities Board members for an open conversation — the kind of honest, hopeful exchange that sister city relationships exist to foster.

The mayor presented a City of Vilnius flag as a symbol of enduring connection, and the room came alive with ideas: cultural exchanges, youth programs, professional and business partnerships, collaborative projects that could stretch across the Atlantic and enrich both cities. The meeting closed not with a period, but with a shared commitment to continue the conversation and build on this momentum at the city level, continent to continent.

Mayor Benkunskas then continued his American journey to Chicago, where meetings with the Lithuanian-American community awaited.

Why This Moment Matters

We live in an era when international partnerships at the city level carry growing importance. When national conversations grow complicated, it is often cities and ordinary citizens with their shared concerns about streets, buses, parks, and schools that find the clearest common ground.

Madison and Vilnius remind us that civic friendship is not a relic of the past. It is a living, breathing force, capable of producing real ideas and real connections. The electric buses Mayor Benkunskas rode through Madison's streets may one day inspire quieter, cleaner streets in Vilnius. The connections rekindled in a Madison meeting room may one day bring young people, artists, and professionals between two great cities that have chosen, year after year, to see themselves in each other.

The visit was organized by the Chicago Consulate General, the City of Madison Mayor’s Office, and Madison-Vilnius Sister Cities Board.

Here's to the next visit and to everything it will build.

Christmas Eve 2025

Kūčios is a unique visit to a Lithuanian family on the most mysterious evening of the year. Hay under the white tablecloth. 12 dishes (but there are hundreds of recipes and every household's herring is slightly different). Fortune-telling, predicting the future, animals speaking in human language after midnight when no one can hear. Food left on the table for spirits.

This year, Madison Vilnius Sister Cities will commemorate Lithuanian Christmas Eve traditions by breaking the wafer together, with a potluck Christmas Eve dinner and baking kūčiukai. Kūčiukai are called by various names: kleckai, skrebučiai, sližikai, šližikai. It all depends on which region your grandparents and great-grandparents came from. But whatever you call them, you can't ruin them. We will bake kūčiukai together. We'll meet at the Aubergine space (near the East side Willy Street Coop store), use the large kitchen space and appliances, I'll bring plenty of yeast dough and we'll bake kūčiukai together. Bring an apron, good spirits, and a plate of herring (or another favorite meatless dish).

Narbutas Furniture: From Ukmergė to Madison

On a sunny October evening, about 30 Madison residents gathered to experience Narbutas office furniture firsthand and learn about the Lithuanian company's journey into the U.S. market. The event took place at Building Services Incorporated Smart Spaces, thanks to Annikki Lehtinen, a Finnish-American who graciously hosted us for the entire evening. As they say, Lithuanians find neighbors everywhere.

Madison Vilnius Sister Cities organized the event for anyone interested in innovative furniture design, the story of Lithuanian companies entering the American market, and connecting with fellow organization members. Many attendees admitted this was their first time hearing about Narbutas furniture.

Milda Aksamitauskienė, President of Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, shared a memorable childhood story. Back in 1997, she watched "Panorama" and heard about a factory where everything was controlled by computers, at a time when she herself didn't even know how to turn one on.

Throughout the evening, guests tested various pieces from the Narbutas collection:

Živilė Kudzin, MVSC Vice President, relaxed in the MYAMI armchair—a green low-back lounge chair designed by MUCNYC design studio. Nearby stood a PARTHOS acoustic column, a tall green planter that combines aesthetics with sound absorption.

James Kudzin, MVSC member, gathered around the ZOOZOO table, part of an oval table and nesting ottoman collection designed by Annie Lee for comfortable collaboration and idea-sharing.

Asta Mullholand, MVSC member, settled into the SANDIE chair, a dark grey wing-back design by Baldanzi & Novelli that offers exceptional comfort.

Bradley Fisher, Narbutas' Chicago representative, walked attendees through the company's journey, from its beginnings and factory expansion in Ukmergė, Lithuania, to establishing its first U.S. office in New York City. What makes Narbutas unique is their sustainability commitment to keeping all production in Lithuania while collaborating with designers from around the world and winning international awards. The company prioritizes sourcing materials locally, near Ukmergė.

Narbutas is now focused on expanding into the southwestern U.S. region, and Madison represents an ideal market. With numerous biotechnology and technology companies in Madison and surrounding suburbs (Fitchburg, Verona), there is probably a strong demand for quality office furniture. While tariffs create some uncertainty, the opportunity is clear.

The evening concluded with an ambitious goal: in one year, we should reconvene to tour a fully furnished office showcasing more tables and chairs from the Narbutas catalog. The journey from Ukmergė to Madison is just beginning.

Upcoming fall events

Mark your calendars for upcoming events, plus update on Žaibas dance practices.

September 6 - annual MVSC picnic. Our vice president Živilė Kudzin is the lead organizer for the event. I appreciate her putting effort to think through a lots of details to make sure all of us will have fun. Put the date on your calendar and plan to attend. It is a casual event where we gather for a good company and potluck food. Bring a dish to pass. No special theme, but you can think about salad, finger food, or “buterbrodai” (Lithuanian style open face sandwiches) and “tinginys” (lazybones, traditional Lithuanian dessert).

It is still far out, but we will monitor the skies and will update you in case the weather doesn’t cooperate with us.

SAVE THE DATE - October 7 - Narbutas presentation. Narbutas is a well known Lithuanian office furniture company. The main factory is in Ukmerge. Read a short letter from the founder Petras Narbutas how it all started. To get a taste of what kind of furniture they make, feel free to browse their youtube channel here.

More details and invitations coming soon. This will be an RSVP event.

Žaibas, our Lithuanian dance group, is planning to start practices in the fall. Decisions about specific rehearsals will come at a future date, but will likely continue on Sunday afternoons, though the weekly regularity and schedule is TBD. The goal is to participate in Šokių Šventė, the Lithuanian Dance Festival, in Chicago next July 10-12, 2026.

If you are thinking “maybe I should join this year”, I highly encourage to join us. Practices are fun, great way to exercise, the dance group is very friendly and encouraging community. We are not competitive or professional dancers, we come here because of a community. Instead of scrolling social media on your phone, come spend some time with a good group of people (and improve your polka skills). Trust me, being on a dance floor with several thousand other Lithuanian dancers is a feeling worth those practices!

If you would like to dance, please contact Asta Šepetys astasep@charter.net.

Here is the official Šventė promo YouTube video (in Lithuanian):

July 2025 edition

Letter from the president

Labas,

I hope everyone’s gardens outside or flowers on windowsills are growing and blooming. Summer is here. While Madison Vilnius Sister Cities board does not actively meet during the summer months, I am writing to introduce myself and share some upcoming ways to get involved.

My name is Milda and I am the president of the MVSC. Daina Juozevicius gracefully led us for so many years and she has a full right to step down from the most active role. Thank you, Daina, and we will see you around.

I have called Madison my home since 2004 when I took my first full time job and moved here from Chicago. I was born in Kaunas, Lithuania and now have spent more years in the States than in Lithuania. During the 2023-24 academic year, I had a Fulbright award and I moved the whole family to Vilnius. Spending one year in Lithuania and participating in all activities (work, school, family, holidays, travel, opening bank accounts) was an extraordinary experience. 

I became a fan of Vilnius and even a bigger fan of Madison Vilnius Sister Cities. With all the geopolitical events, promotion of peace through knowing one individual, one community at a time is an extraordinary diplomacy tool available in our hands. As I met with the Board Members in May and discussed ideas for our organization, one theme clearly stood out. Lithuania and Vilnius need to be known, known as a modern country with the fastest internet service, country with a growing economy, a city with beautiful architecture, a city that recycles, a city with well working trolleybus and bus systems. Madison, Wisconsin can also be better known in Lithuania. People say thank you when they step out of a bus, neighbors are friendly, summer theater under the sky (American Players Theater), flagship university, teaching hospital, biotech industry. Whatever makes you tik about Vilnius or Madison, please share it and join our organization. Our communities need to known, one individual at a time. MVSC has been around for close to 40 years and its mission is very relevant to each of us today. 

Milda

The Board of Directors

We had the first meeting after the annual banquet and election of the Board of Directors. The Board elected Milda Aksamitauskas as President, Živilė Kudzin as Vice President, Margarita Swissler as Secretary and Ray Bandziulis as Treasurer.

Activities

Contact information. We are restarting a regular delivery of newsletters but we need your help to make sure our materials reach your email inbox. It is important for us to have your updated contact information: name, address, email address and phone number. We will use email to send you newsletters and we want to be sure we have the current email address that you use. Home address and phone numbers are to assure us we know who our members are and we have a way to connect with you if we have specific questions/needs. 

By-laws review. MVSC bylaws were written many years ago and kept our organization going strong. This summer and fall there will be a small workgroup reviewing the language and updating of our processes. Like any operating system, it needs a clean up and update.

Youth committee. MVSC is creating a youth committee to engage and grow our next generation of leaders. We are looking for members (highschool or in their 20s) who like Lithuanian chocolate, biking, swimming, hiking, dancing, writing…. We want to hear from young people on what is a fun way to connect with other young MVSC members. Maybe a blind tasting competition of Tinginys? Watching a movie together?

Vilnius committee. MVSC is creating a Vilnius committee to engage residents of Vilnius and Vilnius city administrators. 

Fall picnic. Make sure you have marked your calendars for Sep 6, 2025. That is this year’s MVSC picnic date. More details will be shared later.

Narbutas. Narbutas furniture company is well known in Lithuania and has a growing market in the US. They have showrooms in New York and Chicago. In early October, Narbutas will visit Madison. Stay tuned for the invitation to attend the event.

Your action

Fill out Membership Brief Survey. We have shared a lot of information and would like to get some feedback from each of you. If you read the newsletter up to this point, please respond to a really short survey.