26. - 29. 6. 2025
Dear Friends,
we are pleased to welcome you to the 79th Strážnice International Folklore Festival and the 42nd Strážnice Children’s Folklore Festival. The Dramaturgy and Programme Councils of the Festival have prepared a wide range of performances, which we cordially invite you to attend.
In 2024 we celebrate the Year of the Czech Music to honour the anniversaries of our prominent composers - Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Bohuslav Martinů, Leoš Janáček, and Josef Suk, whose works drew inspiration from folk music. The performances Born from the Soul of the Country and The Song, an Eternal Inspiration are dedicated to them. The programmes Vivat in Memoriam and Meeting at the Bust of Slávek Volavý will commemorate important personalities of folklore.
The National Institute of Folk Culture is the seat of the Czech national section of CIOFF (the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts with the status of a UNESCO consultant) and maintains contacts with national sections on all continents. This year guests from Mexico, Colombia, Macedonia, Kurdistan, India and Slovakia will share their folk culture with us. A UNESCO conference adopted a document on the safeguarding of traditional and folk culture, which includes support for folk crafts. The craftsmen who have been awarded the title of "Bearers of the Tradition of Folk Craft" by the Minister of Culture will demonstrate their skills in the open-air museum. The National Institute of Folk Culture in Strážnice also focusses on educational projects for children and young people, the results of which we can enjoy in the programmes A Journey for the Song, Little Singers and Little Music Bands. Regional programmes are an integral part of the Festival. This year, the performance What a Chod, That a Peculiar Personality will be complemented by a performance called Folklore School - Folk Costumes from the Chod Region. Together we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Czech Radio, which regularly broadcasts programmes from Strážnice and is one of the leading partners of the Festival.
I believe that you will have a good choice from more than forty performances.
Let's experience the Festival with humility and respect for the people who preserve and develop our rich folk culture, let's remember with gratitude those who taught us about its depth and beauty, let's admire with pleasure the creative approaches of authors and the performances of dancers and musicians, let's be thankful for listening to songs and meeting friends from all over the world.
Be cordially welcome!
Mgr. Jana Polášková
Chairwoman of the Senate of Strážnice IFF Programme Council