From Uzbek plov to Scottish eggs, Vilnius brings the world together

Vilnius’ Bernardine Garden filled with languages, aromas and colors as the capital hosted the fifth “Vilnius Is My City” international community festival. Residents and visitors from different countries gathered around a 100-meter communal table to share food, stories and traditions.

Dozens of foreign communities living in the Lithuanian capital presented national dishes. The festival offered Filipino desserts, Persian saffron drinks, German pretzels, Scottish eggs, Chilean pastries, Uzbek plov and Vietnamese food. Language games, conversations, educational activities, dancing and singing took place around the symbolic table.

The event also introduced the first “Vilnius Is My City Awards,” recognizing foreign-born residents and their initiatives for contributing to the city’s economic, cultural and gastronomic life and promoting Vilnius internationally.

The award for “Business Creating Vilnius” went to Tim van Wijk, a Netherlands-born founder of the social restaurant “Pirmas blynas,” where people with disabilities receive genuine employment and professional development opportunities. The initiative promotes a more open approach to disability and demonstrates how social responsibility can form the basis of a successful business.

SPEAK Lithuania received the award for “Cultural Vilnius” for helping people who arrive from abroad integrate into city life. Its free language groups and community meetings bring local residents and people from different countries together. Francesco di Marco, a sommelier born in Sicily, won the “Taste of Vilnius” award for more than two decades of work organizing tastings, educational events and links between the city’s gastronomic community and Europe. Go Vilnius director Dovilė Aleksandravičienė said the festival had become a tradition for the capital’s growing and diverse community.

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Vilnius is an international city shaped by an increasingly large and diverse community, and Vilnius Is My City has already become a beautiful tradition for this growing community.