SLOVAKIA

Folklore festival Východná

The Východná Folk Festival is the oldest and largest folk festival in Slovakia. Its main organizer is the National Center of Culture and Further Education in Bratislava, co-organized by the municipality of Východná, and other partners and organizations such as the Center for Folk Art Production and others also collaborate. The festival takes place in the beautiful mountain village of Východná, in the Liptov region under the High Tatras. It is held under the auspices of the highest state representatives and, since 2019, also under the auspices of the Slovak Commission for UNESCO. It is the only festival with nationwide coverage, organized on behalf of and financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.
The Východná Folklore Festival is the pinnacle of the folklore movement in Slovakia, showcasing the winners of folklore competitions announced and professionally guaranteed by the National Center of Culture and Further Education. The program is also presented by public television and radio media, which broadcast individual programs.
The festival was first held on July 3, 1953, on the initiative of the local folklore group Kriváň. Since 1970, the main organizer has been the National Center of Culture and Further Education. In 1980, CIOFF included the Východná Folklore Festival in its system of folklore festivals.
The festival program reflects the dramaturgical concepts and statutes of the festival. It is led by a preparatory committee, a program council, and an external expert body, the dramaturgical council. The programs are created by renowned experts from the ranks of ethnologists, ethnochoreologists, ethnomusicologists, dance and music teachers, and choreographers.
The festival concept respects the objectives of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Concept of Care for Traditional Folk Culture, presenting it on the basis of expert knowledge, including interactive and educational programs as well as current trends in open-air art. Every year, the festival presents 1,400–2,000 performers from various regions of Slovakia and abroad in dozens of programs. It is attended by tens of thousands of visitors. The program zones consist of the Main Stage, Small Stage, Barn, Košiarik (zone for children), Dance Tent, Ethno House, Evangelical House, House of Východná, Municipal Office, and the village area. The following types of programs have become established in the dramaturgical structure:
• presentation programs on the Main Stage (grand opening ceremony, programs of foreign groups, programs of regional groups, multi-genre fusion, thematic programs of children's folklore ensembles and folklore groups, presentation of professional ensembles, program of winners of folklore competitions, evening authorial thematic programs, gala programs);
• presentation programs on the Small Stage (programs reflecting the leitmotif of the festival, regional programs of authentic folklore groups and ensembles, educational and presentation programs, parade through the village);
• music and singing programs in the church and memorial programs dedicated to deceased folklorists at the cemetery;
• exhibitions (the oldest woodcarving plein air, exhibitions in the area and in a traditional wooden house in the village, presentation of traditional housing in Východná in the past);
• educational programs (discussions with experts, lectures, Etnodom organized in cooperation with the Department of Ethnology – presentation of publications, museums, and educational facilities, ethnographic films, exhibitions, discussions, cyclical educational thematic programs, lectures, presentation of phenomena included in the Representative Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage);
• interactive programs (dance schools, singing schools, dance and singing schools with audiences in the amphitheater, children's dance and singing schools, traditional children's games, verbal expressions and crafts in the children's world zone, interactive craft schools and craft fairs under the auspices of ÚĽUV, presentation of traditional gastronomy);
• entertainment events (world music concerts, evening entertainment with folk music);
• programs in the online environment and in the media (music programs, live radio broadcasts, online documents on craft techniques and virtual exhibitions, video documents on traditional folk culture);
• publications.
A complexe evaluation of the festival is carried out in the autumn of each year with the participation of all entities involved. The Východná Folk Festival respects strategic conceptual materials in the field of traditional folk culture and intangible cultural heritage, including the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Its dramaturgical content has the potential to be a unique tool for disseminating knowledge about intangible cultural heritage and its scenic manifestations to the general public in a sophisticated way.