Traditional Palóc and Town Days in Fiľakovo

MTI-Hungary Today 2023.07.28.

The 32nd Palóc Days will be held in Fiľakovo (in Hungarian, Fülek, in today’s Slovakia), combined with the Fiľakovo Town Days, and the town’s awards will be presented at the event.

Éva Tóth, Director of the Municipal Cultural Center, said that the 27th Nógrád International Folklore Festival will be part of the Palóc Days again this year, and will take place in the Fiľakovo Castle Courtyard on July 28.

Facebook/Palócnapok Parád

Besides bands from Spain and Turkey, a gypsy orchestra and a cimbal orchestra will also perform. In the afternoon, there will be a competition with a barbeque, and in the evening a folk pub.

On August 11 at 4 p.m., the jubilee exhibition of Alfréd Balázs (Hungarian painter and graphic designer who attended school in Fiľakovo) will be opened at the Municipal Museum of Local History, followed by the official opening of the 32nd Palóc Days and Fiľakovo Town Days at the Town Hall, where the town’s awards will be presented. In the evening, a Slovak band will perform songs in the courtyard of the castle, followed by a concert by one of the most successful Slovak singers, Adam Durica.

Castle of Fiľakovo. Photo: Facebook/Füleki Vármúzeum

On Saturday, children will enjoy a concert and music workshop and a puppet theater performance. In the castle courtyard there will be craft activities, folk games, and a hand-crafted carousel and archery. A traditional market will be held in the upper Castle Street.
In the afternoon, wine lovers will be treated to an open cellar day on Sávolyi Street, followed by the opening of the new gate to the city park, and at 5 p.m. Swing a la Django will take to the stage.

Photo: Facebook/Nyitott Pincék Napja

On Saturday evening, a ska orchestra will perform in the courtyard of the castle, followed by Charlie and the Charlie Band.

On Sunday there will be a festive mass and procession. In the early evening, theater lovers can enjoy a Hungarian musical comedy in the courtyard of the castle.

Fact

The Palóc are a subgroup of Hungarians in Northern Hungary and Southern Slovakia. While the Palóc have retained distinctive traditions, including a very apparent dialect of Hungarian, they are also ethnic Hungarians by general consensus. Although their origins are unclear, the Palóc seem to have some sort of connections with the Khazar, Kabar, Pechenegs, Cuman, and especially with the Avar tribes. The writings of Kálmán Mikszáth gave new prominence to the people in 1882, with his work The Good People of Palóc. The Palóc village of Hollókő was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, because of its preservation of traditional Palóc architecture and land use.

The Palóc Days and the Fiľakovo Town Days are organized by the Fiľakovo Municipal Cultural Center, the town of Fiľakovo, and their partners with the contribution of the Thorma company and the support of the Minority Cultural Fund.

Fact

The first Palóc Day was organized in Parád (village in the region of northern Hungary) in 1961, on the initiative of Bertalan Kovács, President of the Council (administrative unit under socialism). Ilona Borsai, ethnographer, Tiborné Somfai, Miklós Nagy, and János Manga from the Music Institute visited all the settlements of the Péterkei District (around Pétervására). In each village, Borsai listened to their own songs and selected the original Palóc folk songs, and each settlement was prepared to participate in the 1,000-member choir and to perform the lifestyle stories presented in the procession.
On the first Palóc Day, dances specific to the Palóc were performed (circle and wedding dances). The lifestyle demonstrations included spinning, harvesting, making snail pasta, and blacksmithing. Every two years (later every four years), there were parades, galas, exhibitions, and gastronomy, and the participants, driven by a sense of belonging, demanded frequent gatherings.

Photo: Palócnapok Parád

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Featured images: Facebook/Palócnapok Parád