Straw sculptures made just to burn...

This is quite good!! Someone has too much spare time, and a vivid imagination, and is very good with straw and baling twine!! Photos taken in Naujamiestis, Lithuania

Almost nothing sounds as boring as a town full of straw sculptures ... until you set them on fire. Each year, the residents of the small town of Naujamiestis, Panevezys, Lithuania take a torch to their painstakingly crafted and highly flammable sculptures. Though the annual rite just began in 2006, it seems like it is here to stay.

Straw is abundant after the autumn harvest, and worked into every facet of country life. Lithuanians have strong cultural ties with straw: they weave fruit baskets and other home items with it, and almost every Christmas tree in Lithuaia is topped with a straw angel. Fire also has a prominent place in Lithuanian tradition: summer solstice is marked with an enormous midsummer’s day bonfire; and, in winter, bonfires and burnt effigies mark the arrival of spring. Many of the town’s 800 residents spend the entire month of September creating these massive figures out of eight tons of straw and about six miles of rope donated by local farmers; others prepare and deliver food to those hard at work. The Straw Sculpture Village opens in October, drawing visitors from all over the region, especially for the grand finale, when a crowd of over two thousand watches the entire village go up in fury of flames, fireworks, and frenzied traditional dancing.

Absolutely everything in the Sculpture Park is made of straw: the fence, the main entrance, and of course, the huge and imposing sculptures themselves. This year’s theme was “Farmer’s Market,” and showcased an impressive array of figures: chickens, geese, a very large pig, baker’s oven, fruit cart, bicycle, a car big enough for kids to pile in, and a functioning tavern. Last year’s theme was “Musical Instruments.” Each year, the people of Naujamiestis look forward to this spectacular and fiery celebration that marks the change of seasons with symbols of regeneration, purification, and transformation.

--Perpetual Explorer