On 13 September 2025, the streets of Kaunas, Lithuania will once again close to traffic and open to imagination for the FLUXUS Festival – a one-of-a-kind event where thousands of people in extraordinary costumes climb Parodos Hill together.
What Makes FLUXUS Festival Unique?
The FLUXUS Festival is inspired by George (Jurgis) Mačiūnas, the Kaunas-born founder of the international Fluxus art movement. Fluxus began in New York in the 1960s and challenged the boundaries of art by mixing humour, everyday life, and performance. Mačiūnas worked alongside avant-garde icons such as Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik, and Joseph Beuys, turning Fluxus into one of the most radical artistic movements of the 20th century.
Today, Kaunas continues that playful legacy. By transforming streets into a stage and residents into performers, the city celebrates art as participation – not just observation.
From 350 People to Thousands
The first FLUXUS Festival took place in 2018, when 350 enthusiasts in colourful disguises gathered in Mačiūnas Square, a small triangular patch of land at a crossroads once considered “inaccessible”.
Since then, the festival has grown rapidly. In 2022, when Kaunas was the European Capital of Culture, more than 7,500 people – dressed as astronauts, giant dumplings (cepelinai), basketball fans in wheelbarrows, and even Sisyphus with his eternal boulder – climbed Parodos Hill in a massive parade of creativity.
2025 Theme: Release Your Inner Beast
This year’s motto is “Unleash Your Inner Beast”. Festival-goers are invited to express their wild side – whether through feathers, fur, hooves, wings, or tails. There is no wrong way to climb: you can run, crawl, shuffle, hop, or gallop.
Not sure what to wear? Inspiration is close by: the Lithuanian Zoo and the Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum, both located near Parodos Hill, are perfect places to spark costume ideas.
Everyone is Welcome
The FLUXUS Festival is democratic at heart – it doesn’t matter if you are young or old, sporty or not, a local or a visitor. There are no winners or losers. By simply taking part, you’ve already succeeded. Even if you arrive without a costume, you can improvise one last-minute.
