On February 14 morning (on Friday), the flower-laying ceremony will be taking place in the Presidential Palace. The flowers will be laid on the graves of the signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania. On the same day, Lithuanian National Culture and Art Premium will be presented.
Actors Donatas Banionis and Juozas Budraitis, composers Faustas Latenas and Giedrius Antanas Kuprevicius and writer Vladas Braziunas will be awarded Lithuanian National Culture and Art Premiums.
On February 15 (on Saturday), the 65th anniversary of the declaration on the future of Lithuania signed by the staff of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters will be marked in the memorial for Lithuanian partisans in Menaiciai village (Radviliskis district).
On February 16 (on Sunday), the signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania will be honoured in Rasos Cemetery in Vilnius.
The honoured people of our time will be awarded with the state's decorations in the Presidential Palace.
The flag hoisting ceremony will be taking place in the Simonas Daukantas square at high noon. President Dalia Grybauskaite will deliver a congratulatory speech.
Later, the Holy Mass – in the Vilnius Cathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Vladislaus.
Traditionally, the commemoration event of the February 16 will be taking place near the House of the Signatories
The commemorative bonfires will be from Cathedral Square to Kudirka square.
The Act of Independence of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Valstybes atkurimo aktas) or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty representatives, chaired by Jonas Basanavicius. The Act of February 16 was the result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the Vilnius Conference and the Act of January 8. The path to the Act was long and complex because the German Empire exerted pressure on the Council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully maneuver between the Germans, whose troops were present in Lithuania, and the demands of the Lithuanian people.
