“You need to see the concert hall”, Kristina Kliorys, artistic director of the song festival said to me, her face shining as she spoke. “This won’t be anything special”, I thought to myself as I followed in her footsteps. I had been to the last four song festivals, all of them held in sports arenas – unimpressive venues for a concert. It turned out that my expectation of seeing another bland and ordinary venue were truly misguided.
The Cleveland Public Auditorium immediately impressed me with its size and aesthetics. The massive entrance lobby is 21,780 sq.ft; the main auditorium is decorated with colorful frescoes and seats 10,000; a smaller concert hall seats 3,000; the theater hall seats 600. The stairs are granite, the railings shine with golden decorations, the ceilings are covered with colorful ornamentations, embellishments everywhere remind one of antique architecture. I could bring a sofa and table – it would be my living room for welcoming guests. That‘s the feeling I had in this wonderful hall, where pastel hues of blue, grey, rose, and green invited me to relax and enjoy the scene.
The Cleveland Public Auditorium (CPA) was built in 1922 and renovated a number of times since then. The original architecture is in the Beaux-Arts style, based on classical Greek and Roman art forms; symmetry and ornamentation are renaissance and baroque designs. A free-standing sculpture of the song festival emblem (design Ričardas Širvinskas & Jūris Čiurlionis) will welcome us as we walk up the steps of the CPA as will festival banners on the nearby light poles. I envision the entry space during the festival days to be a place for congregating, meeting old friends, and grabbing the perfect photo op prior to entering the main auditorium.
The auditorium has hosted a long list of famous performers: Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and many more. But the XI North American Lithuanian Song Festival will be the first in this venue! You need to be there on June 29th and enjoy the remarkable venue, melodious songs, and joyful festival atmosphere: “One Family – One Nation”.
The festival banquet location is at the nearby Windows on the River, which not only hosts such events, but includes the Cleveland Aquarium. This historic structure was originally built in 1892 to provide electricity for the Cleveland trolley system. The massive arched windows set into brick and stone provide a striking panoramic view of the city, the Cuyahoga River, and historical buildings and bridges. From one hall to another, from a bar to seating in a cozy corner, from the dance floor to the panoramic windows, and then to the aquarium showing wonders of the sea – it all promises to be an unforgettable experience.
The artistic directors expended countless hours finding the very best venues for the festival concert and gala banquet – settings that are beautiful, comfortable, and suitable for young and old. The management and personnel at these venues are well acquainted with Kristina and Alexandre. Besides event planning and making the necessary contract arrangements, they attended multiple live events at these venues in order to see firsthand the audience flow, meeting locations, photo opportunities, and areas to be used for festival orientation. All that remains is to await the arrival of you – the audience: guests from Canada, the United States, from across the Atlantic Ocean, and especially from our dear Lithuania. We await you all, as one family – one nation.
