This long-standing event, first held in 1964 in the mountain resort of Wisła, has grown into a premier platform for promoting folk culture in Poland.
This year’s festival will feature around 4,000 performers, including 74 groups from various Polish regions, such as the Beskidy Mountains, Kashubia, Upper and Lower Silesia, and other parts of the country.
International participants will come from the United States, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Greece, North Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Slovakia, Germany, and Lithuania, reflecting the festival’s global appeal.
Events will span across various towns including Wisła, Szczyrk, Żywiec, Maków Podhalański, Oświęcim, and more, with additional activities planned in Bielsko-Biała and Cieszyn.
Lesław Warpachowski, the director of the Regional Culture Centre in Bielsko-Biała, emphasized the musical and dance quality of the festival at a press conference, highlighting the range of accompanying events such as folk culture fairs and parades that demonstrate a deep love for folklore and tradition.
A notable part of the festival will be the 55th Festival of Polish Highlander Folklore in Żywiec, where folk groups will perform at the Pod Grojcem Amphitheater, and the town square will be animated with bands, singing groups, soloists and instrumentalists competing for the Golden Żywieckie Heart award.
Additionally, the 33rd International Folklore Meetings will feature Polish performances by the Żeńcy Wielkopolscy z Nietążkowa Song and Dance Ensemble and the Magurzanie Regional Group from Łodygowice near Bielsko-Biała, among other participants.
The village of Ujsoły near Poland's border with Slovakia will host the 46th Wawrzyńcowe Hudy event inspired by a 16th-century legend in which high wooden structures, called hudy, were burned to ward off a plague, according to Jolanta Kołodziej, director of the Centre for Culture, Sport and Recreation in Ujsoły.
To accommodate festival-goers, regional rail carrier Koleje Śląskie has introduced additional train services between the city of Katowice and Wisła from July 27 to August 2.
The full program of the 61st Beskidy Highlands Culture Week is available on the festival’s website.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP, tkb.art.pl