A big challenge
“I would like to have achieved as much in my activity as he has in sports,” says Saulė Dzidolikaitė.
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The girl living in Kaunas and starting the eleventh grade in September saw her brother’s fight in the ring live for the first time last year and realized that goals can only be achieved through persistent work.
“Eimantas supports me, encourages me to choose correctly. His advice inspired me to organize an event for youth in Kaunas on August 29, where beginners, unknown performers would get the stage. This is the first bigger challenge I have accepted,” says Saulė.
European champion, participant of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and former WBA light-middleweight world champion E. Stanionis, currently living in Kaunas with his family, agrees with his sister’s desire to work as a florist assistant. According to Saulė, her love for flowers was inspired by the well-known florist Modestas Vasiliauskas.
It was his dress that the girl presented in Akmenynai over the weekend, where the attendees were awaited not only by concerts but also by the traditional St. Roch’s feast. One of the brightest highlights of the event was the creations of florist M. Vasiliauskas – two dresses made of flowers and greenery.
The “live” hydrangea dress, modeled by the local Akmenynai region girl Laira, who will soon start her senior year, came from the farm of the late Jonas Cipliuskas.
Return to where it all began
For the florist himself, this festival is much more than just another creative project. Akmenynai is the place of his family’s roots, to which he returned this time as a creator known throughout Lithuania.
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Modestas’ grandparents Jonas and Marija Varankos lived in Akmenynai. His mother grew up here, the family farmed here, and Modestas himself was connected to the farm until about twenty years old.
The family history also includes painful twists of Lithuanian history. The florist’s grandfather Jonas Varanka was a founder-volunteer of the Lithuanian army, and later the family experienced exile.
Historical sources indicate that Jonas Varanka, son of Pranas, was born on May 16, 1894, in the village of Akmenynai, then part of the Kalvarija district. He served as a volunteer in the Lithuanian army from November 10, 1919. For his service, he was granted land.
According to family stories, part of the land – about a hectare – J. Varanka later donated to the Akmenynai cemetery.
From the farm to the world of flowers
In his youth, M. Vasiliauskas farmed himself – raising pigs and chickens, as well as cucumbers and tomatoes, and was one of the youngest members of the Farmers’ Union. Only later did he exchange the village for the city, and the farm for flowers.
After moving, he started working at a flower base. This choice eventually became a profession, and flowers became the material for creations that made the florist famous throughout Lithuania. M. Vasiliauskas has created impressive large compositions and dresses made of live flowers multiple times.
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