About the events
Every year, as part of the Re:tradition Festival, we invite you to take part in several thematic meetings, offering an opportunity to learn more about selected aspects of traditional culture. This festival weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, three meetings led by exceptionally fascinating women await us.
Number of participants limited, admission on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission free.
Children – demons. Peasant childhood in Polish folklore | Violetta Wróblewska (POL) | Summer School of Tradition
The session will be led by Prof. Violetta Wróblewska, a folklorist, cultural scholar and literary scholar, and the author of the Słownik Polskiej Bajki Ludowej (Dictionary of Polish Folk Tales) profile. We will learn more about childhood in the Polish countryside in the 19th and early 20th centuries and how it was reflected in folk traditions. We will also hear about beliefs surrounding children as supernatural beings, children who died prematurely, and the dead who were believed to return to the world of the living.
Details
When: August 22 (Saturday), 15:00-16:30
Where: Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 5a, performance hall, 2nd floor
For: adults
Read more
We invite you to a meeting with dr hab., professor at Nicolaus Copernicus University, Violetta Wróblewska, editor of “Słownik polskiej bajki ludowej” and author of a profile of the same name, who will talk about childhood in the Polish countryside in the 19th and early 20th centuries and present it in the context of Polish folklore. While discussing this topic, our speaker will also introduce the context of peasant memoirs.
In the first part of the meeting, we will learn about the existential situation of children in rural areas, followed by its reflection in folk narratives (work, play, peer and family relationships). In the second part, Violetta Wróblewska will talk about the demonic aspect of children, that is, beliefs concerning the posthumous fate of minors who died naturally or violently after birth. The discussion will be supported with examples from source materials. After the lecture, there will also be time for questions and sharing observations.
The event takes place as part of the “Summer School of Tradition” project.
The Summer School of Tradition is organised by Fundacja Kultura Enter.
The project is carried out with the support of the City of Lublin.
Cooperation: Workshops of Culture, Re:tradition – Jagiellonian Fair festival, the Dominican Monastery in Lublin.
The collection of Bolesław and Lina Nawrocki – Jaroszki stop | Mariza Nawrocka (POL)
A presentation by Mariza Nawrocka about her parents’ remarkable passion for collecting, as well as the picturesque house in the village of Jaroszki, where their unique collection of traditional art was kept. It will also explore the connections Mr Bolesław made with folk artists.
Details
When: August 23 (Sunday), 11:00-12:30
Where: Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 5a, auditorium, 2nd floor
For: adults
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We invite you to an extensively illustrated meeting prepared by Mariza Nawrocka, the daughter of collector Dr Bolesław Nawrocki (1924–2008). During the meeting, Mariza will talk about her father’s extraordinary passion for collecting and his deep respect for folk artists.
Among the artists whose works were included in Bolesław Nawrocki’s collection were Stanisław Majewski, Józef Sobota, Józef Grucela, Wojciech Oleksy, Marianna Wiśnios, and Katarzyna Gawłowa.
A significant part of this unique collection, created together with his wife Lina Carminati-Nawrocka, was kept for nearly half a century in a picturesque house in the village of Jaroszki, located on the edge of the Kozienice Forest. Photographs of the interiors of this house will inspire his daughter to tell the story of Bolesław Nawrocki’s exceptional patronage of folk and self-taught art, as well as his dreams as a collector.
After the presentation and stories, there will be time for conversation and questions for Mariza.
Women | Ewa Grochowska (POL) (PJM)
This is a series of lectures by Ewa Grochowska, originally presented by us in 2021, focusing on remarkable traditional female singers and instrumentalists. In this Festival session, Ewa will introduce two more extraordinary figures: Józefa Pidek from Bychawka and Paulina Hołysz from Strupin Duży.
Details
When: August 23 (Sunday), 14:00-16:00
Where: Workshops of Culture, Grodzka 5a, auditorium, 2nd floor
For: adults
Read more
In 2021, we presented a series of online lectures prepared for us by Ewa Grochowska. Under the shared theme “Women”, the ten-part series featured stories about, among others, remarkable traditional singers and instrumentalists.
During the festival, we return to this idea, inviting everyone to meet Ewa Grochowska and listen to her stories about two more extraordinary women – Józefa Pidek from Bychawka and Paulina Hołysz from Strupin Duży.
This is how Ewa Grochowska introduces the concept behind the series:
Village women: singers, weavers, embroiderers, cooks, and leaders of traditional rituals. Mothers, homemakers, folk healers, and midwives. Also instrumentalists, church organists, makers of everyday and decorative objects. Women who initiated major social and cultural changes within their communities, and those who cared for both the living and the dead, whether family members or strangers. The life story of each of them has been shaped not only by what women, for centuries, had to accept because of their gender, social status, upbringing, and the detailed rules governing life in traditional communities. I see them through the lens of their extraordinary skills, talents, and inner strength, which enabled them to fulfil one of humanity’s strongest and most unique needs – the need to create.
These are, of course, just a few of the many highlights of this year’s festival. Discover the full programme at retradycja.eu.
About the Re:tradition – Jagiellonian Fair festival
Re:tradition is an extraordinary festival of traditional music and craftsmanship. During three August days and nights, Lublin transforms into the capital of living traditional culture.
The festival program offers a wide range of attractions for both children and adults. It provides a unique opportunity to meet master artisans who, each year, showcase their exceptional handmade creations. Traditional music is also a key element of the Re:tradition festival, presented both in its authentic form and through the interpretations of contemporary artists.
The festival also features evening dance parties with live music, workshops, exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and meetings. Younger visitors can enjoy the Re:tradition Playground, where traditional games and pastimes are brought back to life.
The festival allows visitors to hear, see, touch, and experience folk culture, which during this time completely fills the streets of Lublin’s Old Town.
Details
Re:tradition – the Jagiellonian Fair
August 21-23, 2026
Lublin, Old Town
Admission to the event is free.
Organisers: Workshops of Culture in Lublin, Cultural Institution of the City of Lublin, Lublin City of Inspiration
Honorary Patronage: Krzysztof Żuk, Mayor of the City of Lublin; the National Heritage Institute
Patron: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
Media Partners: TVP Kultura, TVP3 Lublin, TVP ABC, Program II of Polskie Radio, Polskie Radio Dzieciom, Radiowe Centrum Kultury Ludowej, Radio Lublin, Gazeta Wyborcza, Weranda Country, KulturaLudowa.pl, MuzykaTradycyjna.pl, Kultura Enter, ONET
Partners: Lublin Airport, Kultura Enter Foundation, Gardzienice Centre for Theatre Practices, Old Theatre in Lublin, Dominicans of Lublin, the National Museum in Lublin, Ivan Honchar Museum, the Association of Folk Artists
Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Culture Promotion Fund.
