The three-day International Country & Folk Picnic Festival in the northeastern Polish town of Mrągowo promises a lineup of performers to entertain crowds at the local open-air theatre overlooking scenic Lake Czos and in other venues around the area.
With the coronavirus still a public health threat, the event will be held with COVID-19 safety precautions in place.
Headline acts include Polish country music heavyweight Lonstar and a progressive country-rock group called Colorado Band, formed by musicians based in Poland’s central city of Łódź.
Several international acts, including Robert Anthony, a Polish American musician from Phoenix, Arizona, are also scheduled to perform this year.
Image: Press kit
“Now celebrating our 40th year, we are one of the oldest music festivals in Poland,” the event’s artistic director, Jerzy Głuszyk, said ahead of the event.
"Will the circle be unbroken," he added in English, citing the lyrics of the 1970s country hit song by Willie Nelson.
Jerzy Głuszyk, artistic director of the International Country & Folk Picnic Festival in Mrągowo, northeastern Poland. Photo: Wojciech Kusiński/Polish Radio
Mrągowo Mayor Stanisław Bułajewski described his town as "the Polish Nashville" and voiced hope that "everyone will have a great time" at this year's festival.
"Come to Mrągowo and I guarantee that you will return home satisfied," he said at a virtual press conference.
"It is easy to find us because all roads lead to Mrągowo," he added, referring to a song by popular Polish country musician Cezary Makiewicz.
The song, entitled Wszystkie drogi prowadzą do Mrągowa (All Roads Lead to Mrągowo), has over the years become the unofficial anthem of the festival.
Hosting this year's concerts will be Polish media personality Korneliusz Pacuda, one of the founders of the Mrągowo festival, and Paweł Sztompke, a music journalist with public broadcaster Polish Radio.
First held in the early 1980s, the International Country & Folk Picnic Festival is now in its 40th incarnation.
It opens on Friday and runs until Sunday in the heart of Poland’s picturesque lake district, with a variety of attractions to celebrate this otherwise quintessentially American genre of music as well as all things American.
American flags on sale in the town centre during the 2019 Country Picnic Festival.
Yee-haw, folks! A band performs at a previous Country Picnic in Mrągowo. Photos: Polish Radio
Over the years, the festival has hosted musicians from across Europe as well as the United States, including Rosanne Cash, the eldest daughter of the iconic singer-songwriter Johnny Cash.
Other US performers have included George Hamilton IV, Johnny Rodriguez, Mickey Newbury, Charlie McCoy, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Shawn Camp, Brady Seals, Gail Davies and Rattlesnake Annie.
International names for the event have also included Raymond Froggatt from Britain, Western Union from Germany, and Kelly's Revenge Bush Band from Australia.
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Source: Polish Radio, mragowo.pl