FRACKVILLE - The 99th annual Lithuanian Days had a very special guest on Sunday with the visit of Žygimantas Pavilionis, the Lithuanian ambassador to the United States of America and to the United Mexican States.
Pavilionis attended the celebration following an invitation by Marion Wydra, Mount Carmel, a member of the Knights of Lithuania Anthracite Council No. 144, which sponsors Lithuanian Days in the Schuylkill Mall.
When he arrived at center court and before he was scheduled to speak, Pavilionis had some fun when he was invited to dance with the Gintaras Children's Dance Group, a group of children learning the art of Lithuanian folk dancing under the direction of Jo Ann (Kegolis) Filiziani. Knights Secretary Paul Domalakes, who was the emcee, invited Pavilionis and Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage to join in, and both were good sports in participating with the children and others from the audience who participated.
The ambassador was introduced to the crowd by Schuylkill County Judge John E. Domalakes, also member of the Knights of Lithuania. Domalakes presented Pavilionis' biography before the ambassador spoke to the crowd.
"I am really truly honored to welcome Little Lithuania, but it is 'Big Lithuania' in essence because of your heart and everything that you did," said Pavilionis. "It is because of people like you that people like me have a good job. If not for Americans and your fight for our independence, we would never be able to be free, and we are grateful for it."
Pavilionis spoke of learning about the festivals from his predecessors at the embassy in Washington.
"I heard a lot about your festivals here from different predecessors, and what resounds in my head is struggle, community, faith and sacrifices, and also victory," said Pavilionis. "When I say sacrifices, I remember all those Lithuanians who suffered a lot because of occupations, because of different regimes over our head, and we should be proud that we've been able to resist it all. Author George Weigel wrote about the territory Lithuania was situated and saying that it was the most unfortunate territory because we had about 60 million lives lost in the region during the Second World War. When you count the victims of communism, it's about 100 million."
Pavilionis is looking to have Aug. 23 declared as "Black Ribbon Day" to mark the pact between Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin "that killed states and nations afterward." He was referring to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression pact between Nazi German and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that was signed on Aug. 23, 1939. Included in the pact was a secret protocol that divided territories of Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland into Nazi and Soviet "spheres of influence." The pact led to Germany invading Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, which began World War II.
Pavilionis said Lithuania has made great strides since freedom from the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago, and he said the national pride can be seen in the crowd at the Schuylkill Mall.
"What I observe here is that you have the heart - a real strong Lithuanian heart," said Pavilionis. "You have this community feeling. You have the ability of sharing it with charity. You have something that we still need in Lithuania. We need to create different kinds of networks and shared programs. Maybe we can share programs between your high schools and high schools in Lithuania. It's nice that you are celebrating the 99th anniversary, but what can you share as an example to Lithuania. I need that example there. My state will be strong when my citizens are strong, and you are the example of it.
"Looking to the future, let's build those bridges," he continued. "You have it inside. It helped you to maintain your identity for 100 years here. If you're not able to come back or to visit, think about the way how you can transport your heart to Lithuania through different forms - schools, universities, businesses, anything you can consider. Lithuania is strong, but we need to make our citizens stronger."
After his speech, Halcovage presented two proclamations from the board of commissioners. The first proclamation was to recognize Lithuanian Days as a major ethnic tradition in the county and was presented to the Knights of Lithuania.
The second proclamation from the commissioners honored Pavilionis and declared Aug. 11 as "Ambassador Zygimantas Pavilionis Day" in Schuylkill County. The proclamations were followed by the presentation of a sheet cake to the ambassador, who ceremoniously cut the first slice.
According to www.allgov.com, Pavilionis is a career diplomat who became ambassador of Lithuania to the United States in August 2010.
Born on August 22, 1971, in Vilnius, Pavilionis grew up with parents who prized higher education - his father, Roland Pavilionis, being an academician and his mother, Mary PavilionienÄ Venus, a professor. He attended college at Vilnius University, where he earned a master's degree in philosophy and postgraduate diploma (Ph.D) in political science (international relations). Pavilionis' language proficiency includes: Lithuanian, Russian, French, Italian and English, and he is learning German and Spanish.
In 1993, Pavilionis joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked in the Western European Division, with the rank of third secretary, where he was instrumental in achieving Lithuanian accession into NATO and the European Union.
He was assistant director of policy from 1994-1995, before moving to the Ministry of European Integration, Department of Political Cooperation. He worked in Brussels, Belgium, at the Lithuanian Permanent Mission from 1999-2002. Pavilionis was then promoted to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' European Integration Department from 2002-2004.
Most recently, he served as ambassador-at-large and chief coordinator for Lithuania's presidency of the Community of Democracies, as well as chief coordinator for the Transatlantic Cooperation and Security Policy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Pavilionis and his wife, Lina Pavilioniene, have four sons.
The Lithuanian embassy is located in Washington, D.C. Its website is http://usa.mfa.lt/index.php?3512515989.
Sunday's celebration began with The Sensations band, followed by welcome and introductions. Major Aleksandras Radzius of the Lithuanian Partisans Living History Group, who provided background of the partisans fighting the Soviet Union in Lithuania after World War II, along with explaining the different uniforms that the partisans wore, using those uniforms worn by the re-enactors.
State Sen. David G. Argall presented a proclamation from the Pennsylvania Senate about Lithuanian Days. Later in the afternoon, members of the Lithuanian folk group Varpelis performed and held a sing-a-long. The Malunis Dance Group from Baltimore performed twice, Lithuanian pop star Augis performed on stage, and at 2:30 and 4 p.m., and the Zilvanis Dance Group from Philadelphis performed. The Sensations returned near the end of the day, followed by drawing of prizes, announcement of the results of the boilo tasting contest, and closing ceremonies.