RUMFORD — The Lithuanian Heritage Club of Greater Rumford will host its fifth annual summer picnic at noon Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Black Mountain ski resort.

Club member Matt Kaubris, who has been involved with the Lithuanian Heritage Club since its inception five years ago, said the picnic was one of the first events the club came up with and has since become popular in the community.

“We used to have it outdoors, and we’d all gather outside for a cookout with authentic Lithuanian food,” Kaubris said. “Now, we hold it indoors at Black Mountain, but we still get a good amount of people.”

In 2012, Kaubris said around 150 people showed up, with some people traveling from as far as Connecticut to attend.

“There are some folks of Lithuanian descent who live in the Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield area who aren’t able to show up, but at the same time, we have people from Connecticut and Massachusetts making the trip up,” Kaubris laughed. “We’re proud of the way we’ve built the picnic up over the years.”

Kaubris said the picnic will feature live music and “authentic Lithuanian food cooked by club members.

“One of the biggest and most well-known Lithuanian dishes is kielbasa,” Kaubris said. “It’s the kind of food you can buy through the supermarket, but it doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as the authentic Lithuanian kielbasa. We have a few folks around here who still have an old Lithuanian recipe for kielbasa.”

Besides the kielbasa, Kaubris said there is a good chance of somebody cooking kugelis, which is a “tasty potato dish.”

“Someone may also make potato pancakes, something I ate as a kid,” Kaubris said. “You basically just take the potato pancake and spread some sour cream on it. Sour cream is pretty popular with Lithuanians.”

Despite the popularity of the live music and the food, Kaubris said that, for him, the incentive to attend lays in the different stories that the community shares with one another.

“There’s a lot of interesting old-timers out there with some incredible stories to tell,” Kaubris said. “They’ve lived here for about 80 or 90 years and have seen all kinds of things.”

Kaubris said he hasn’t been as active in the club as he used to be, but sees the picnic as the perfect time for the community to gather and celebrate Lithuanian culture.

“I’m 54 years old now, but I remember that back when I was 5 or 6 years old, my grandparents could speak fluent Lithuanian,” Kaubris said. “My dad’s generation was able to speak it as well, but I can’t speak a word of it. I figure that getting together like this, it gives people a chance to reconnect with their heritage, eat the food that our grandparents ate, all that good stuff. I wish I had more time to be involved, but the picnic is always the best time to get together.”

For more information, call Barbara Arsenault at 364-3966, Connie Cassidy at 364-2444 or Olga Richardson at 364-2306.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com