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In Lithuania, the best place to mark April Fools Day may be the Uzupis Republic, a Vilnius district celebrating the 10th anniversary of its playful independence. Everyone interested in attending should bring their passport — because they will need to pass customs to join Sunday's celebration.

Uzupis — which means "place beyond the river" — is actually a former district of Bohemian types who in 1997 decided to enliven their artistic doldrums by declaring independence. Since 1997, the neighborhood's 30,000 residents celebrate their mini-republic's April 1 birthday with a motley parade and festivities.

Indeed, Uzupis has a constitution, president, airport, fleet, customs and until recently — an army of 10 men, which was "dissolved" when Lithuania joined NATO three years ago.

"Do not fight back. Do not surrender," the constitution of Uzupis reads.

Romas Lileikis, president of Uzupis Republic, is probably the only head of state who wears a clown's hat during official occasions.

"From the very start we did not want to take it seriously, we want people to smile when they come to our place," says Marius Abramavicius, photographer and Uzupis' mock ambassador to Tibet.

To give their arrangement a sense of verisimilitude, Lileikis and his friends invited foreign diplomats to bestow credentials upon the self-proclaimed republic. Foreign dignitaries stationed in Lithuania play along with the charade and visit the Uzupis Republic on April Fool's Day to pay respects to residents.

Located in the heart of the capital, Uzupis was neglected during the Soviet era and acquired a murky reputation as a haven for crime and prostitution.

In the first years of independence in the 1990s, struggling artists snapped up dilapidated apartments in the neighborhood for as little as US$2,000, and to give themselves a public relations boost, they declared independence in 1997.

Nowadays, Uzupis is a posh neighborhood dotted with galleries, artists' workshops and trendy cafes. With a mix of baroque and neoclassical architecture, winding cobbled streets, sylvan hills with a grand view of Vilnius, Uzupis is one of the reasons why the city's downtown area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On Sunday, when Uzupis marks its 10th anniversary of independence, visitors are encouraged to bring their passports to get a stamp when crossing a checkpoint, erected on 16th century bridges over the Vilnia river.

Cynics claim that Uzupis residents have become unabashedly commercial with their April Fool's independence. Even Mayor Arturas Zuokas has invested in property in the neighborhood.

Organizers, however, stress that they are just out to have a good time.

"This is going to be fun. We will dance, sing our anthem and release hundreds of fish into the river," Abramavicius said.

"Lithuania has been occupied for 50 years and has a lot of sad dates to remember, but our neighboring friendly republic is established to make people even happier," he said.