39th Fest­iv­al of Folk Arts, Day 3

During the Festival of Folk Arts, the courtyard of the Hungarian Heritage House becomes the home of folk crafts: a playhouse featuring all-day activities, handicrafts, woven bracelets, felted jewellery, rush wreaths, and painted pendants is waiting for visitors between 10 am and 7 pm. As part of the program, two times a day, folk costume shows reveal the richness of folk attire. The folk puppet theatre, the live music dance party, the storytelling sessions and folk music concerts ensure a great atmosphere.

Detailed programme

From 10 am to 2.30 pm    
Folk Playhouse
Led by Mara Bárány

Folk Playhouse, where you can create mat-woven headbands adorned with husk flowers at the craft tables, led by Mara Bárány, an instructor at the Hungarian Heritage House, alongside the students from the craft courses of the Hungarian Heritage House.  

From 2.30 pm to 7 pm  
Folk Playhouse    
Led by Zoltán Kovács

Folk Playhouse, you can create wicker windmills at the craft tables, guided by Zoltán Kovács, a basket-weaving folk artist based in Járokszállás, and the students from the craft courses of the Hungarian Heritage House.  

From 10 am to 7 pm    
Fabatka Porta 
Folk playground

The Fabatka Porta folk playground is a small family business, where the couple who dreamed up the toy designs initially aimed to arouse their children's interest in natural materials, Hungarian folk motifs and traditions. Thanks to the impact of new ideas, new tools and inspiring feedback, over the years, a whole little playground has come about under their wings, where the main jewel of the "Porta" is the carved wooden carousel decorated with painted tulips. Looking at the toys, it becomes clear that their favourite flower is the tulip, and many old objects are beginning to take on new life by being given new functionalities: a stool made from a mill table or the old beam scale turned into a balance toy. Young and old are all welcome who would like to test their skills at the Fabatka Porta playhouse. It's certainly worth it!
 

Klárisok Band, Photo by Dániel Göndör 

From 11 am to 12 pm    
Klárisok Band: Walking in the Skye 
A fairy tale concert for the family

The Klárisok Band is one of the most popular formations of the Hungarian folk-world music palette, playing music (not only) for children. The band combines the wisdom of folk tales, the joy of playing and music-making and the tools of child psychodrama and fairy tale therapy in its tale concerts. Klára Korzenszky, a singer and child psychologist, and her fellow musicians create a tale that serves as a safe guide for all of us. They sing and play together with the children, while emphasising their imagination and role-playing,

Performers:
Klára Korzenszky - voice
Attila Buzás – cobza, saz, cello tamboura
Dávid Eredics - saxophone, tamburica, kaval, clarinet, recorder
Áron Porteleki – viola, derbuka, tapan

From 1 pm to 2 pm    
"Land of Iasi" 
Folk costume show presented by the Jászság Folk Art Workshop Association and the Jásztáncosok dance ensemble.  

The Szűcsrózsa group of the Jásztáncosok dance ensemble has been engaged in the reconstruction and revival of the Iasi folk costumes. The professional advisor for this work is the ethnographer Dr Edit Bathó. The creators are folk artisans: Valéria Borbászné Buda, Tünde Donkóné Birkás, Ildikó Besenyei, and Erzsébet Tajti. The youth from Jászapát present peasant-bourgeois costumes from Jászapát, characterised by elegance and richness of materials. People living in this area of the Great Plains would use Brussels tulle lace, Spanish bobbin lace, and Lyon silk for women's clothing and headdresses at the turn of the 19th century. They would also procure expensive woollen cloth and elaborate metal appliqués, elaborate buttons, and cords for men's clothing. At traditional events of the Iasi region, folk costumes, dances, songs, and music play a strong role in the expression of the Iasi identity. The Jászság Folk Art Workshop Association created the show in cooperation with the Jásztáncosok dance ensemble.

From 2 pm to 2.15 pm    
Live storytelling  
with Kata Kertész, storyteller of the Living Tale Association  

Kata Kertész is a storyteller, a lifelong listener of tales, and an art and story therapist for adults. Fairy tales have been an essential part of her life since childhood. Walking the adventurous paths of life, she realised that fairy tales, especially folk tales, were not only for children. As an adult, she plunged into the world of fairy tales again, listening, reading, learning, writing and telling tales for her own pleasure and edification and of others.  
We can draw strength, courage, faith, and wisdom from them and learn from the follies. We go on a fictional journey, connect, rejoice, worry, cheer, laugh or become sentimental, and last but not least, delight in the beauty of our mother tongue. Listening to and telling each other stories is one of the most human and wonderful things in the world!

From 3 pm to 3.30 pm     
Márkus Theatre: Prince Laci 
Puppet show

In a fit of rage, little Prince Laci wishes that his sisters would go underground. No matter how much he regrets it, he must go after the princesses. On the journey, he fights three dragons, but he can only be triumphant with the help of the magic shirt and magic sword received from the serpent princess. This is how he finds his spouse by the end of the tale.

Elek Benedek's tale was adapted and directed by Zsuzsanna Vajda and Gábor Pilári.
The set and the puppets were designed and created by Zsuzsanna Vajda and Gábor Pilári.
Folk music adaptation: Ferenc Morvai
Music by Áron Pilari / Lili Eszter Pilári
Awards and recognitions
Special Prize I - Children's Theatre Review, Budapest 2001.
 

From 3.40 pm to 4.45 pm     
Dance of the Little Ones 
Lap games, dance instructions for young and older kids with Andrea Szerényi; music played by Kristóf Gundy and Tamás Czirók

This family program aims to introduce the youngest children to a broader range of traditions in a high-standard and authentic interpretation. They should actively (not as passive recipients) participate in the live music dance house for kids, in such a way that the dissemination of traditions is on a par with the entertainment factor. Our goal is primarily to help the kids discover the joy of dance, to teach the basics of dance movements, to create a rich play repertoire, and to create a civilised form of co-playing. In this form, the entertainment, meaningful leisure time and the dissemination of information are presented appropriately to the given age group, enjoyably embedded in activity. During the whole school year, on Friday afternoons, we offer a taste of the Dance of the Little Ones with the help of those who join us in this hour, our excellent session leaders and musicians.

From 4.45 pm to 5 pm     
Live storytelling  
with Kata Kertész, storyteller of the Living Tale Association  
 

From 5 pm to 5.30 pm     
"Land of Iasi" 
Folk costume show presented by the Jászság Folk Art Workshop Association and the Jásztáncosok dance ensemble.  

From 6 pm to 7.30 pm     
Folk music concert, with sing-along and instrument show with Sarjú Band and Anita Vrencsán   
Népzenei koncert énektanítással és hangszerbemutatóval.

The Hungarian audience encountered the young musicians in 2015 at the Hungarian Television's talent show "Fölszállott a Páva". At that time, they showed their skills in the individual acts category, but behind the scenes, they already started making music together. A close friendship and a new band were born, supported by their family and their artistic director, Barbara Kuczera. In 2016, they entered the competition under the name Sarjú Band and won the Country's Best Folk Band award. Sarjú means offspring or a sprout re-hatching from the base of the fibres of a plant. The calling of the band is to learn, preserve and pass on genuine Hungarian instrumental folk music. They learn it with pleasure and respect from the masters, traditional musicians, and pass it on on stage and in dance houses. This time, Anita Vrencsán, who appeared in the talent competition in the same year, also joins the band. Anita, a Csango singer from Gyimes, was born and grew up in Kostelek, in one of the most remote valleys of Gyimes and the Ciuc Mountains. There, folk music and dance are still a living tradition and an integral part of everyday life. Anita learned the Csango songs and dances of Gyimes from her parents and the village community. Her unique voice and talent were noticed early, both in Hungary and Romania.