Someone might think that the Zagórze Highlanders live somewhere far, far away over hill and dale... And if that person really thought that, they would be wrong. This is because they do not live that far, but - as Wincenty Pol would explain - it does not matter whether we are headed for Mszana Dolna, the region’s capital, or for Jurków, the hometown of MALI JURKOWIANIE, and whether we are coming from the Tatra Mountains or from the Vistula River and Kraków, we will always have to cross the mountains. And it is there, in the basin behind the mountains, that you can find the Zagórze Highlanders...
And since they have their own traditions, the Zagórze culture, dialect and dances - like many other ethnographic regions - they do their best to take care of this little motherland with its intangible wealth, so that it does not sink into oblivion. Thanks to the JURKOWIANIE Folk Ensemble, this activity has been going on for nearly 60 years; and for less than a decade the world of Zagórze children’s games, songs and dances has also been included in the preservation activities undertaken by MALI JURKOWIANIE, the children’s folk ensemble from the Commune of Dobra (September next year will mark the tenth anniversary of these activities).
On their national day, the ensemble, which operates under the direction of Karolina Czech-Dziadoń (the granddaughter of the late Maria Czech, the first director of JURKOWIANIE) will take us to “chłopisko” so that we can see what it was like “Przy pasioniu gosi” over the mountains - not so far away, but a long time ago. And when we marvel at the enthusiasm shown by the children in games like skokanka, or dances like suwany, let us bear in mind that they are a really young ensemble, and although they have already given some major performances, the FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF MOUNTAINS is their first international festival!
On their national day, the ensemble, which operates under the direction of Karolina Czech-Dziadoń (the granddaughter of the late Maria Czech, the first director of JURKOWIANIE) will take us to “chłopisko” so that we can see what it was like “Przy pasioniu gosi” over the mountains - not so far away, but a long time ago. And when we marvel at the enthusiasm shown by the children in games like skokanka, or dances like suwany, let us bear in mind that they are a really young ensemble, and although they have already given some major performances, the FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF MOUNTAINS is their first international festival!