Even Taiwan sends dancers to Csango Festival

Bonyhád, 2017. augusztus 5. Az ukrajnai Csernovicból (Csernyivci) érkezett tánccsoport elõadása a Bukovinai találkozások címmel rendezett nemzetközi folklórfesztiválon a bonyhádi Szabadság téren 2017. augusztus 5-én. MTI Fotó: Sóki Tamás

According to szoljon.hu, the basic purpose of Csango Festival is still unchanged. This purpose is – and has always been since the beginning – to present the values of the Hungarian culture beyond the borders – Gábor Szűcs, festival director and artistic director of Jászság Népi Együttes, stated at the press conference.

This year’s Csango Festival will take place between 8-13 August, for the 27th time. It is also known as the Folklore Festival of Minorities.

Besides getting to know the music and dance of the Csangos from Moldavia and Gyimes, this event also has the opportunity to present the culture of those foreign territories where Hungarians live and the social values of the Hungarian immigrants.

The festival director also emphasized that the power of folk dance in keeping and protecting our culture is beyond dispute in any cases of the Hungarian communities’ survival or development. The festival’s undertaken mission is to strengthen these communities further and present their values.

The concerts, dance houses and flea markets of folk art provide great opportunities for the visitors to get to know the folk culture. Csík Zenekar, the Ferenczi György and the Rackajam formation and Parno Graszt are all going to perform in Jászberény among others. Dancers will also come to the festival from foreign countries such as Cyprus, Georgia, Colombia, Taiwan, and Turkey.

Another folklore festival was held in Bonyhád. The Bucovina Folklore Festival was first held in 1990, and Bonyhád joined this event in 1997. It always starts in Poland and finishes in the center of Bucovina, in Chernivtsi, the Ukraine. Ibolya Filóné Ferencz, mayor of Bonyhád stated in her opening speech that this festival is important not only for Bonyhád but also for the nearby towns, where a lot of Székelys live. According to Zbigniew Kowalski, Polish organizer of the festival, the festival is currently held in Poland, Romania, Ukraine, and Hungary, though it used to be held in other countries as well such as Germany, Moldova, and Slovakia.