The national song festival “Songs from the exile” is held annually in spring. The objective of the event is to refer to the deportation operation “Bangų mūša” /Beat of the waves/ on March 25-28 in 1949, to remember all the exiles and the loss of the Lithuanian population, the partisan warfare and to develop patriotism in young people by artistic creations and to encourage the desire to get deeper into the history of their country. The pupils sing songs in the festival, which were performed by partisans and deportees, that were popular many decades ago in Lithuania, created in the homeland or in exile.
The song festival “Songs from the exile” has been held every year since 2014. The first event was held at Viršuliškės School in Vilnius, and since 2015 it has traditionally been held at the Culture Centre in Varėna.
The event is organized by the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania together with “Ąžuolo” Gymnasium of Varėna.