FF “Podluží in its Songs and Dances”

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54^th Folklore Festival “Podluží in its Songs and Dances”

 5 to 7 June 2009, Tvrdonice 

The festival is focused on the south Moravian ethnographic area Podluží, although its program is regularly enriched with performances by ensembles from various parts of the Czech Republic and several foreign folk groups. It originated in a first so-called ethnographic afternoon in 1946 on the occasion of the laying of the cornerstone of the “Moravian-Slovakian Cottage”, a prototype of the typical regional country dwelling. Part of the festival is a competition for the title of “Stárek of Podluží” (‘stárek’ is a lad elected by the village youth to organize and command the traditional village feast). There is also a concert of brass bands and dulcimer bands, performances by child and adult folk ensembles and Moravian Slovakian circles, and a parade. An accompanying program includes the tasting of local wines and regional culinary specialities, a display of artisans´ crafts, and an exhibition in the Moravian Slovakian Cottage. Tvrdonice lies in the southernmost corner of Moravia between Břeclav and Hodonín, not far from the Lednice-Valtice cultural-natural complex, a UNESCO world Heritage Site.