IV Masovian Culture Festival brings music, food and tradition to Warsaw this Saturday
The final weekend of August will bring a taste of the wider Mazowieckie region to the heart of Warsaw, as the IV Masovian Culture Festival takes over the Multimedialny Park Fontann at Podzamcze on Saturday, 29 August.
The free festival is designed as both a celebration of regional culture and a relaxed way to mark the end of the summer holidays. From traditional crafts and regional food to theatre, workshops and live music, the programme offers plenty for families, culture lovers and anyone curious to discover more about Mazowsze.
A day of Mazovian traditions in Warsaw
Throughout the day, visitors will be able to explore stalls run by museums, open-air museums, cultural institutions, rural women's associations and folk artists from across the region.
There will be opportunities to learn about local customs, see examples of folk art and craftsmanship, and even try on traditional regional costumes.
The programme also includes thematic exhibitions and demonstrations covering subjects ranging from the history of Mazovian coats of arms and ethnographic collections to railway heritage and medieval traditions.
For visitors interested in hands-on activities, workshops will include elements of Kurpiowska culture, linocut printing, clay decoration and traditional crafts. It is a particularly useful introduction to Mazowsze for visitors who know Warsaw well but have had less chance to explore the cultural traditions of the wider region.
Theatre, folk music and family activities
The festival is not limited to exhibitions and displays. A varied programme of performances will run throughout the event, with activities aimed at both younger visitors and adults.
Teatr Barnaby will present “O najwspanialszym Piecuchu”, a story about a boy brought up beside a stove in a traditional Kurpiowska cottage.
Teatr Dzieci Miłość will stage “Wielkie śmieszne twarze”, using large-scale masks and drawing on different cultures and customs.
Later, Stowarzyszenie Przez Teatr will present “Welesowa noc”, a performance inspired by Slavic mythology and the cultural heritage of Mazowsze.
Music will also have a strong traditional flavour. The Piaseczyńska Orkiestra Dęta, conducted by Michał Wojnarski, will perform alongside Kapela Niwińskich, whose repertoire draws on the musical traditions of south-eastern Mazowsze, including Powiśle Maciejowickie and the Radom region.
Expect traditional oberki, kujawiaki and polkas, bringing some of the region's village dance traditions into the centre of Warsaw.
A taste of Mazowsze
Food will have its own place at the festival, with a dedicated tasting area offering regional specialities based on traditional recipes.
Visitors can expect a mixture of savoury dishes and traditional sweets, making the food area another way to discover the character of different parts of Mazowsze.
For anyone visiting with children, the combination of food, workshops, performances and interactive displays should make the festival easy to enjoy as a full afternoon and evening outing.
Meet the region's cultural institutions
One of the festival's strengths is the number of cultural organisations taking part.
Visitors will be able to learn more about institutions including:
Teatr Polski im. Arnolda Szyfmana w Warszawie
Państwowy Zespół Ludowy Pieśni i Tańca „Mazowsze” im. Tadeusza Sygietyńskiego
Mazowiecki Instytut Kultury
Muzeum Zbrojownia na Zamku w Liwie
Stacja Muzeum
Państwowe Muzeum Etnograficzne w Warszawie
Muzeum Romantyzmu w Opinogórze
Muzeum Szlachty Mazowieckiej w Ciechanowie
Muzeum Regionalne w Siedlcach
Muzeum Kultury Kurpiowskiej w Ostrołęce
Muzeum Historii Polskiego Ruchu Ludowego w Warszawie
Europejskie Centrum Artystyczne im. Fryderyka Chopina w Sannikach
Biblioteka Publiczna Warszawy – Biblioteka Główna Województwa Mazowieckiego
Mazowiecki Teatr Muzyczny im. Jana Kiepury
Muzeum Literatury im. Adama Mickiewicza w Warszawie
Muzeum Mazowieckie w Płocku
Muzeum Jana Kochanowskiego w Czarnolesie
For international residents and visitors, this part of the programme could be particularly useful. Rather than having to travel across the region to find out what its museums and cultural organisations offer, the festival brings many of them together in one Warsaw location.
Three concerts to finish the evening
As the daytime programme gives way to the evening, the focus will shift towards the main stage.
The concert line-up moves between folk, urban music, the nostalgic sounds associated with pre-war Warsaw and contemporary pop-rock.
Performers include Justyna Jary i Alegancka Kapela, Warszawska Orkiestra Sentymentalna and Patrycja Markowska.
That mix gives the festival a distinctly broad musical character, moving from traditional regional influences to the modern Polish concert scene.
See more: The Story of Wars and Sawa That Gave Warszawa Its Name
Source and image credit: mazovia.pl
