From August 29 to 31, the Old Town Festival – Jakuby – will take place in the Nysa Suburb on the Polish side of the border river. Zgorzelec’s Jakuby means great fun, plenty of attractions and an encounter with living history that will remain in the memory of those who decide to visit during these days. The idea for an event that would be a Polish response to the Old Town Festival held on the other side of the Nysa Łużycka and would echo the character of Gdańsk’s famous St. Dominic’s Fair is already more than a dozen years old. The first Jakuby took place in 2002.

“In principle, it was meant to recall the figure of the famous shoemaker and philosopher Jakub Boehme (1575–1624), who lived and worked in the Nysa Suburb. Hence the shoe motif that accompanies the event,” says Grażyna Smaś-Grudzińska, director of the Municipal Cultural Center in Zgorzelec, the festival’s main organizer. The beginnings of Jakuby were very modest—several sales stalls, a few historical demonstrations and fairly unsophisticated stage performances. However, the event grew each year. “The breakthrough came in 2007, when we focused more strongly on history and art than on the commercial side,” adds Grażyna Smaś-Grudzińska.

This year’s Jakuby is also being prepared in that spirit. Although the festival program is not yet finalized, it already includes several items worth noting. Street performances will certainly be an interesting proposition for residents and tourists. Among others, Krakowski Teatr Uliczny – SCENA KALEJDOSKOP will visit Zgorzelec and present, on the Nysa-side pavement, the show “Don Juan’s Heart,” enhanced by spectacular pyrotechnic effects, as well as two performances for children. The first, inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,” is titled “Eunika”; the second, titled “Graal,” combines elements of a performance, a radio play and dance theater.

TEATR TRÓJKĄT from Zielona Góra will also come to Zgorzelec with a large dragon. That is hardly surprising, since the performance it will present bears the self-explanatory title “The Story of the Dragon.”

Who knows whether the giraffes will not be even larger than the dragon... Spanish giraffes, animated by actors from one of the theaters invited to Jakuby from the Basque Country. Undoubtedly, artists from around the world will also offer a large and exceptionally varied selection of street performances; as last year, they will come to Zgorzelec as part of the BuskerBus festival.

There will also be people to dance with and performers to listen to. Hungarians from the SZELINDEK band, who were so popular during last year’s festival, will once again appear on the Jakuby stage. In addition to local folk bands, the stage will also feature excellent folk groups such as BURAKY, POD PRETEKSTEM, ETHNOHOLIC and BUM BUM ORKeSTAR.

And that is not the end of the attractions. This year, cyclists on unicycles will appear in Zgorzelec in a special parade, while an amusement park set up on Scultetusa Street will take care of the youngest visitors’ good moods. Historical demonstrations accompanying festival participants throughout all three days will be another significant attraction. As in the previous year, this time too we will travel four centuries back, to the 17th century.

When visiting Jakuby, it is also worth bringing a full purse, because merchants will set up their stalls along the entire Nysa Suburb. Goodness, what won’t they have! Fragrant herbs and spices will certainly delight visitors, as will healthy food, wooden products, ceramics and all kinds of handicrafts. There will also be a flea market, with thousands of antiques. All that remains is to shop.

(Zgorzelec Municipal Office/ii)