Festival parade and inaugural concert

Freedom is a sacred word. One of the most beautiful. It was this very word that shone bright on Sunday afternoon over the sparkling, laughing, dancing, and singing parade of the FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAINS. Later on the horizon, two fighters for that freedom from Poland’s complex history appeared. One fought for it with words, the other with a sabre at the head of united Poles from all walks of life. Over this path towards the heart of the town, patronage was also held for a few moments by those who shaped the most brilliant era of our country's history: a great dynasty and its associated teacher.

A riddle? Let us solve it!

The parade of the thirty-third FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAINS set off from Stara Sandecja Common (which was its finish line a year ago) along Aleja Wolności (Freedom Avenue), to turn at its end (or beginning, depending on how you look at it) into the street named after Mickiewicz, the great bard of the partition era. Then came a left turn. This street is named after Jan Długosz, tutor to the children of King Casimir IV Jagiellon. It is also on this street that SOKÓŁ proudly spreads its wings—the SOKÓŁ Małopolska Cultural Centre. By its delightfully charming headquarters, the Festival participants turned left into Kościuszki Street, named after the leader of the insurrection in which peasants valiantly fought shoulder to shoulder with the nobility. The final stretch before entering the Old Market Square took the parade along Jagiellońska Street.

I have seen 21 inaugural concerts so far. Most of them took place right here, in the Old Market Square by the Town Hall. They were very similar. Always a few words from distinguished guests, the handing over of the keys to Nowy Sącz, the music of those keys. Finally, all the ensembles present a few minutes' excerpt from their main performance. In the past, there were also fireworks.

On this thirty-third Sunday, it was much the same. Patryk Rutkowski and Hanka Rybka welcomed the audience and the ensembles entering the market square. Representatives from each group took the stage with a name board and their national flag. Andrzej Zarych, Director of MCK SOKÓŁ and Main Festival Director, officially opened the 33rd FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAINS. Brief speeches were given by notable guests: Jadwiga Wójtowicz – Vice-Chairperson of the Małopolska Regional Assembly, Magdalena Trzaska – Head of the Programme Department at the National Institute of Rural Culture and Heritage, and Michał Nowak – Board Member of the Nowy Sącz District. These guests, along with Dorota Majerczyk – Chairwoman of the FESTIVAL'S Artistic Board, and Father Stanisław Kowalik – Festival Chaplain, then presented the keys to Nowy Sącz to the ensemble representatives. With a symbolic clashing of key against key, the children officially began their buddying up and assumed control of the town for the next six days.

The adult ensemble PIĄTKOWIOKI appeared on stage, as is also a tradition of the Festival, followed—in what is now another, albeit much younger tradition—by the Bartuś Obrochta Regional Ensemble BARTUSIE. They performed, as tradition dictates, as participants of the International Festival of Mountain Lands Folklore, a partner festival of ours.

Then, one by one, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... that is, the ensembles we will be able to watch on those days at the MOSiR hall by the Kamienica River, took to the stage.

So, you might say, Kamil, everything was just as it used to be! Well, not entirely. I will remember this concert because it was the first to take place largely in the rain. And one can “look at it in two ways”, as the late, irreplaceable Joanna Kołaczkowska says in her famous sketch: indeed, it rained, it was wet, and many spectators gave up, leaving only the most persistent to tough it out. On the other hand, it was “only” raining. All around Nowy Sącz, thunderstorms with lightning, hail, and walls of rain were raging.

At the end, the hosts revealed the values that will guide the upcoming evening concerts on Nadbrzeżna Street. Patryk and Hanka did not say it was a secret, so I am sharing it: on Monday, the central theme will be “mother”, on Tuesday... yes, you guessed it, “father”. Then “home”, “love”, and finally, on Friday, what the world so desperately needs and what is to be built through childhood friendship at the FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAINS: “peace”. We also began learning the new festival song dedicated to this year. I can reveal its lyrics as well:

Good night, my dear friends,
for our time has come,
and we must hurry home,
where mother waits for us.

Let us sleep well all night,
may the angels guard us too,
for tomorrow we shall meet again
and we’ll be waiting here for you!

Good night, sleep tight.

And I too say, if you are reading these words in the evening: “good night”; if at another time of day... well... night will come eventually... Just as it came after the thirty-third inaugural concert of the FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAINS.