EVENTS
March
Budapest Spring Festival.
For 2 weeks, performances of everything from opera to ballet, from classical
music to drama, are held at all the major halls and theaters of Budapest.
Simultaneously, temporary exhibitions open in many of Budapest's museums.
V. 1081 Rákóczi út 65 (tel. 1/486-3300; Red line:
Blaha Lujza tér).
Hollóko's Easter Festival.
During Easter in this charming small town in northeastern Hungary, villagers
wear traditional costumes and participate in a folk festival. Traditional
song, dance, and foods are featured. For information, contact the Hungarian
Arts Festivals Federation (tel. 36/1-318-8165). Held on Easter day.
May-June
Book Fair, Budapest.
Publishers set up kiosks throughout central Pest to display the year's
newly released titles. The main attractions, such as authors' signing
sessions, are located in Vörösmarty tér. Most books are
in Hungarian, of course, but there are always beautiful books on art,
architecture, and other subjects. Last week of May or first week of June.
June-August
Open-Air Theater Programs, Budapest.
A rich variety of open-air performances are given throughout Budapest
during the summer. Highlights include opera and ballet at the Margaret
Island Open-Air Theater, folklore and dance at the Buda Park Theater,
musicals in Városmajor Theater, and classical music recitals in
the Dominican Courtyard at the Hilton Hotel. For information, contact
the Hungarian Arts Festivals Federation (tel. 36/1-318-8165). June through
August.
Organ Concerts, Budapest.
Concerts are given in the Matthias Church, in the lovely Castle District
of Buda. June through August. In addition, Budapest's largest church,
St. Stephen's Basilica, also hosts organ concerts. July through August.
"Budafest" Summer Opera and Ballet Festival, Budapest.
This 10-day festival is the only time to see a summer performance at the
wonderful Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest. (tel. 1/318-0281).
International Palace Tournament, Visegrád.
Each summer, this ancient town on the Danube hosts an authentic medieval
festival replete with dueling knights on horseback, and early music and
dance. Contact Visegrád Tours, RÉV u. 15 in Visegrád
(tel. 26/398-160). Second weekend in July.
International Guitar Festival, Esztergom.
This stately little town on the Danube hosts a guitar festival that features
performers from around the world. Classical concerts are performed in
the Basilica. For information, contact Gran Tours, Esztergom at Széchenyi
tér 25 (tel. 33/502-001). First week of August every other year;
the next festival is scheduled for 2005.
Formula One Grand Prix.
Budapest. One of the European racing circuit's most important annual events
is held at Budapest's HungaroRing in Mogyoród. Call tel. 36/2-844-4444
or check out www.hungaroring.hu. Second weekend in August.
Pepsi Island (Pepsi-sziget).
Óbuda Island in the Danube. Established in 1994 as Hungary's very
own "Woodstock," Pepsi-sziget is a weeklong music festival that
draws young people from all over Europe. The event features foreign and
local rock, folk, and jazz groups on dozens of stages playing each day
from early afternoon to the wee hours of the morning. Camping is available.
You can get details and pick up a program schedule at Tourinform. Usually
begins the second week of August.
Traditional Handicraft Fair, Budapest.
The Castle District is the site of a 3-day annualhandicraft fair, which
draws vendors from across Hungary and from Hungarian enclaves in neighboring
countries, especially Romania. The wares are generally handmade and of
high quality. This is a part of the St. Stephen's Day celebrations. August
20.
St. Stephen's Day, Budapest.
This is Hungary's national day. The country's patron saint is celebrated
with cultural events and a dramatic display of fireworks over the Danube
at 9pm. Hungarians also celebrate their Constitution on this day and ceremoniously
welcome the first new bread from the recent crop of July wheat. August
20.
National Jewish Festival, Budapest.
In 1999 this new annual festival arrived on the Hungarian cultural scene.
The festival features a variety of Jewish culture-related events -- from
klezmer music to a book fair, from ballet to cabaret -- held in "Gödör,"
a new cultural center that opened in Deák tér in 2004 (on
the site of the former central bus station, which was at one time slated
to be the location of a grandiose new national theater in Budapest). For
information, contact the Tourism and Cultural Center of the Budapest Jewish
Community, 1075 Budapest, Síp u. 12 (tel. 36/1-343-0420; the not-quite-up-to-date
website is at www.interdnet.hu/Zsido/zsikk/festival_en.html). Late August
or early September.
Szeged Summer Festival, Szeged.
Szeged, the proud capital of the Great Plain, is home to a summer-long
series of cultural events (ballet, opera, rock opera, open-air theater).
For information, call tel. 62/471-411. June through August.
September
Budapest International Wine Festival.
This festival, in Budapest's Castle District, features wine tastings,
displays, and auctions, as well as folk and classical music performances.
The sponsor is the Hungarian Viniculture Foundation, XI. Bartók
Béla út 152 (tel. 1/203-8507; www.kertnet.hu/HungarianHorticulture/gb/226s.htm).
Early September.
Budapest International Fair.
For 10 days, Budapest's HungExpo grounds are filled with displays of Europe's
latest consumer goods. Contact tel. 36-1/263-6000; www.hungexpo.hu. Mid-September.
Budapest Art Weeks.
In celebration of the opening of the fall season, special classical music
and dance performances are held for 3 weeks in all the city's major halls.
For information, contact the Hungarian Arts Festivals Federation (tel.
36/1-318-8165). The festivals' traditional start is September 25, the
day of Béla Bartók's death.
Contemporary Music Weeks, Budapest.
Held in conjunction with the Budapest Art Weeks, this 3-week festival
features contemporary music performances in all the capital's major halls.
For information, contact the Hungarian Arts Festivals Federation (tel.
36/1-318-8165). Starts September 25.
Public Holidays
25 Dec - Christmas Day
1 Nov - All Saints’ Day
23 Oct - 1956 Remembrance/Republic Day
20 Aug - St Stephen’s/Constitution Day
May/Jun - Whit Monday
1 May - Labour Day
Mar/Apr - Easter Monday
15 Mar - 1848 Revolution/National Day
1 Jan - New Year’s Day
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