The 59th Folklore Festival Under Poľana (FSP) in Detva begins on Thursday with accompanying events and stage performances. The festival will run until Sunday, July 12. The first performance on the main stage of the summer amphitheater will be an evening program titled Echo of Poľana, which pays tribute to the power of song that connects generations of people from the Podpoľanie region. FSP program committee member Jaroslav Černák said the opening will be followed by a folklore dance theater production by the local Podpoľanec Folk Ensemble titled The Shepherd of the People of Detva. Inspired by the life and work of Karol Anton Medvecký, the production explores the beauty of the Podpoľanie region through the eyes of a priest who documented it in his writings. More than 140 artists from the region will bring this historical story to life on the open-air stage.
The festival will also showcase the culture and traditions of the region beyond the main amphitheater stage through exhibitions, crafts, creative workshops, and traditional courtyards. On Thursday afternoon, organizers will open several exhibitions in the historic part of Detva. Visitors will be able to explore the festival’s history through photographs from previous years at the cultural center near the church. Černák added that the Podpoľanie Museum will present the work of sculptor Ján Hlinica, a native of Detva, whose realistic clay sculptures portray traditional figures such as musicians, brides, and nativity performers. An exhibition at Vagač House will show what a bride’s traditional wedding collection included from the first quarter of the 20th century through the 1960s, featuring quilts, pillows, bed linens, towels, carpets, handkerchiefs, and scarves.
The traditions of Podpoľanie and a tribute to folklorist Viliam Ján Gruska will be featured in Friday’s (July 10) program on the festival’s main stage. The first performance, titled Different Yet Our Own, celebrates the diversity of Slovakia’s regions while emphasizing their shared connection to ancestral traditions. “It celebrates the diversity of our regions, which are different, but remain united in their love for the heritage of their ancestors,” Černák explained. The program will primarily feature local folklore ensembles and groups, followed by a performance titled Traces in the Circles of Time, prepared in honor of what would have been Gruska’s 90th birthday.
Source: TASR
