Living Traditions: A Multi-Day Event with Folk Music and Folk Dance

A meeting of Hungarian folk dance ensembles, folk bands, craftsmen, artisans, farmers, and creative artists from the Carpathian Basin will be held from Friday to Sunday in Lakitelek (southern Hungary), at the Carpathian Event Hall.

At a press conference in Budapest on Monday, Sándor Lezsák, Vice President of the National Assembly and patron of the event, said that the birthday of the Hungarian national anthem (January 22, also the Day of Hungarian Culture) is celebrated with a ten-day series of events in Lakitelek, the closing event of which will be the three-day event this weekend.

Some 800 folk dancers, 18 adult, and 14 youth folk dance groups, and seven bands will come from different parts of the Carpathian Basin, including Transylvania, Slovakia, and southern Hungary.

The event will not be a competition, but a meeting to strengthen contacts between folk dancers, Lezsák pointed out.

Gabriella Sütő, director of the Lakitelek Folk High School and leader of the Kösöntyű (a type of jewellery) folk dance group, noted that many folk dance groups and traditional elderly people from the Carpathian Basin had been invited, including Ceuaș (Szászcsávás), Voivodeni (Vajdaszentivány), Cristuru Secuiesc (Székelykeresztúr), and Csángó Land (Csángóföld), who share similar ideas about folk music, folk dance, tradition, and how to express them in the community.

The word “kösöntyű” can also be found in the name of the meeting. It is a decorative pin made of precious metal and decorated with gemstones that was used since the end of the 14th century. It was used to hold clothes and overcoats together instead of buttons, remarked Gabriella Sütő, adding that the weekend meeting also aims to unite and connect the Hungarian folk music community.

The director of the Lakitelek Folk High School added that 1,500 guests are expected to attend the three-day event at the Carpathian Event Hall, and the programs will be free of charge.

The detailed program of the event can be found at www.nepfolakitelek.hu.

Via MTI; Featured image via Facebook/Szegedi Nemzetközi Néptáncfesztivál és Martin György Néptáncfesztivál