Nearly 20 concerts, parades and street animations, art workshops and integration meetings. This is the shortest description of the 21st International Folklore Festival “The World under Kyczerą”.
– For the first time, we are hosting artists from Argentina. Groups from Nepal and Colombia are returning to us after several years – says Jerzy Starzyński, the festival director, inviting the public to concerts and other events.
One of the largest folklore festivals in Poland
“The World under Kyczerą” is one of the largest folklore festivals in Poland. So far, nearly 200 folklore groups have performed there, including groups from such distant parts of the world as Wallis and Futuna, Sierra Leone, Chile, New Zealand, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Tanzania, Iraq and Togo. Its first edition took place in 1996.
This year, the festival is being held for the first time under the auspices of IOV (The International Organization of Folk Art) – the International Organization of Folk Art. “The World under Kyczerą” is also a signatory to the Agreement of Western Poland Folklore Festivals.
The event is being held with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, the Marshal’s Office of Lower Silesian Voivodeship, the Marshal’s Office of Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the Municipality of Legnica and several other local governments cooperating in organizing the event.
Admission to all concerts and accompanying activities is free.
Lemkos: the festival’s initiators
The initiator and main organizer of the festival is the Łemkowski Zespół Pieśni i Tańca „Kyczera” z Legnicy. The festival was intended to draw the attention of the local community and international public opinion to the Lemkos – a small community living in Poland. The Lemkos’ original homes were in the Low Beskids and Sącz Beskids (the Carpathians). Their number in interwar Poland was estimated at 100,000–120,000. They belonged to the Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches. They used the Cyrillic alphabet in writing. Their culture was typical of borderland regions, combining elements of Eastern and Western culture.
In 1944–1946, as part of the so-called population exchange between Poland and the USSR, they were subjected to deportations to Soviet Ukraine, and in 1947 they were displaced as part of the so-called “Operation Vistula” to western and northern Poland. Today, their largest communities are located around Legnica and Lubin in Lower Silesia, in Lubusz Voivodeship and in several municipalities of Gorlice County in Lemkivshchyna, where they returned after 1956.
For them, the festival is a bridge connecting their former and present places of residence. It enables them to present their spiritual culture and material heritage. It produces valuable experiences, new contacts and invitations.
“Kyczera” has represented Poland at many prestigious festivals around the world, including in China, Iraq, Portugal, Germany, Mexico, Croatia, Indonesia, Georgia, India, Peru, Russia, Israel and Italy.
Programme of the 21st International Folklore Festival “The World under Kyczerą”
Lower Silesian and Opole section
June 29 (Friday), Świdnica
- 4:30 p.m. – parade and street animations (Kotlarska Street – Market Square)
- 5:00 p.m. – gala concert (Market Square)
June 30 (Saturday), Chocianów, Lisiec
- 2:30 p.m. – parade and street animations in Chocianów (Market Square – stadium)
- 3:00 p.m. – gala concert in Chocianów (stadium)
- 6:00 p.m. – gala concert in Lisiec near Lubin (field stage)
- 8:30 p.m. – Nadija concert in Lisiec (field stage)
July 1 (Sunday), Namysłów
- 4:00 p.m. – parade and street animations
- 4:30 p.m. – gala concert “Folklore Knows No Borders” (Market Square stage)
July 2 (Monday), Legnica
- 10:00 a.m. – concert and animations (Nursing Home on Grabskiego Street)
- 2:00 p.m. – concert and animations (Day Care Centre on Korfantego Street)
July 3 (Tuesday), Legnica
- 3:30 p.m. – parade and street animations (NMP Street – Market Square)
- 4:30 p.m. – gala concert (Market Square)
July 4 (Wednesday), Mierczyce, Legnica
- 10:00 a.m. – concert and animations at the Nursing Home in Mierczyce
- 10:00 a.m. – dance workshop for children in Legnica (Knights’ Academy)
July 5 (Thursday), Wołów
- 3:30 p.m. – parade and street animations (start at the Market Square)
- 4:00 p.m. – gala concert (Market Square)
July 6 (Friday), Rudna
- 6:00 p.m. – parade and street animations (Market Square)
- 7:00 p.m. – gala concert (Market Square)
July 7 (Saturday), Stary Łom, Goliszów, Zamienice
- 4:00 p.m. – concerts and animations in Stary Łom (community centre)
- 4:00 p.m. – concerts and animations in Goliszów (community centre)
- 6:30 p.m. – gala concert in Zamienice (stage beside the Greek Catholic church)
July 8 (Sunday), Legnica
- 4:00 p.m. – gala concert (stage in the Concert Shell in the Municipal Park)
Lesser Poland section
July 10 (Tuesday), Gorlice, Sękowa
- 3:30 p.m. – parade and street animations in Gorlice (3 Maja Street – promenade)
- 7:30 p.m. – gala concert in Sękowa (stage beside the UNESCO church)
July 11 (Wednesday), Krynica-Zdrój
- 3:00 p.m. – parade and street animations (promenade)
- 3:30 p.m. – gala concert “Lemkos and Their Guests for Krynica-Zdrój” (stage on the promenade)
July 12 (Thursday), Krynica-Zdrój
- 2:45 p.m. – laying flowers at the monument to Epifaniusz Drowniak – Nikifor in Krynica-Zdrój
- 3:00 p.m. – parade and street animations (promenade)
- 3:30 p.m. – closing concert (stage on the promenade)