A New Honorary Consulate

On Monday, October 13, 2014, Lithuania opened an Honorary Consulate in Wisconsin. Mr. Irene and I attended the ceremony at the Wisconsin State Capitol.

The ceremony took place in the Senate Chamber. A Lithuanian flag stood with the Wisconsin and United States flags.

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The Lithuanian Consulate brought its insignia.

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The Lithuanian coat of arms, the Vytis, also draped the Speaker's podium.

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His Excellency Žygimantas Pavilionis, Lithuania's Ambassador to the United States, inadvertently photobombed this shot of the Senate Chamber murals.

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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius, and Honorary Consul Leslie Liautaud prepared for the ceremony.

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Governor Walker opened the event.

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Foreign Minister Linkevičius offered some thoughts before the investiture.

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Honorary Consul Liautaud received a Lithuanian flag during the ceremony.

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Ambassador Pavilionis addressed Wisconsin's ties to Lithuania.

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Honorary Consul Liautaud spoke for a few minutes.

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Everyone enjoyed the speeches.

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Well done!

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Lithuania's Honorary Consuls from other states arrived for the investiture ceremony.

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Although members of the media recorded the event, the ceremony got little attention in the news.

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After the ceremony, guests moved to the Senate Parlor for refreshments.

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Lunch.

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Guests enjoyed catching up with old friends.

Bummeris*

Mr. Irene and I had planned last night to attend the annual banquet of the Madison Vilnius Sister Cities, Inc. organization. We couldn't go because I got the flu! I haven't had a cold or other viral illness since 2007, so I was shocked when I developed feverish symptoms and spent three days in bed. It was a big disappointment.

Mr. Irene did, however, stop off at the venue to deliver the items he and I donated to the banquet's loterija. He snapped a few photos while he was there.

Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. Our gracious greeter checked in guests.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. The raffle prizes included Lithuanian beer, some woven sashes, a woven tablecloth, two baumkuchenai, and a bottle of Polish vodka (our fault).

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. How nice!

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. Super bummeris: look what we missed. The chef again adapted some Lithuanian dishes for the service. This time, he added Cepelinai to the menu.

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Madison, Wisconsin, May 3, 2014. The guest of honor was His Excellency Žygimantas Pavilionis, the Lithuanian Ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Pavilionis also spoke to WISC-TV. You can watch the clip here.

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*Lithuanians adopt English nouns into their vocabulary by adding declentive endings to the words. "Bummer" becomes "bummeris;" "basement" is "basementas;" and "blog" is "blogas."

"Putin is not finished."

Says the Lithuanian Ambassador to the United States.