This weekend was the 45th Horehronské Dni Spevu a Tanca, a three-day folklore festival celebrating the Horehronie (Upper Hron River region). The festival takes place every year in a town called Heľpa. Although it’s not the biggest folklore festival in Slovakia--that one’s probably the Detva festival, in two weeks--it’s still a pretty big deal, and it’s fairly close to Tisovec.I love Slovak folklore because it really does bring people together. In the States we do not have one culture, and we are not an old country, so we lack these unifying elements. But in Slovakia, people know the songs and dances, and they join in the celebration. During the performances, people sang along, or clapped, at the very least; and after the main program on Saturday night, we saw a crowd of all ages, from teenagers in baseball caps to old men in traditional dress, singing with a young guy rocking out on the accordion.
As I mentioned earlier, the festival goes for at least three days. Bear and I arrived on Friday afternoon to stay with an awesome family that she knows. The general setup was that there was a market, craft displays, and a small stage in the square, and the main stage in the amphitheater. On Friday night we saw the opening of the festival, which included el presidente of all of Slovakia, Ivan Gašparovič (at left; it kind of blew my mind that he was there, because my idea of "the president" is that he's surrounded by guards and only viewed from afar, not just sitting in the front row, hanging out). Then several groups performed. Friday night was beautiful, and the amphitheater wasn't crowded so we had good seats. Saturday night was the big show, with more local groups and then the national professional folklore group, Slovenský Ľudový Umelecký Kolektív or SĽUK. They were obviously really good, and they represented the traditions of different regions of Slovakia, not just Horehronie.At some point I might be able to get videos to work, and then you'll be able to see and hear some of the folklore. Otherwise, pictures.
When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way
Tota Heľpa, tota Heľpa
To je pekne mesto
Lenže málo, lenže málo
Švarnych chlapcov jesto
Koho jesto, toho jesto
Nie po mojej vôli
Len za jedným, len za jedným
Srdiečko ma bolí
Za Janičkom, za Ďuričkom
By som neplakala
Za Mišičkom, za Pavličkom
Dunaj preplavala
Dunaj, Dunaj, Dunaj, Dunaj
Aj to šire more
Len za jedným, len za jedným
Potešenie moje
