About
This year, for the 20th time, we will gather at the Re:tradycja – Jarmark Jagielloński festival (21–23 August, Lublin) to explore together the roots and contemporary interpretations of traditional music and craftsmanship. This time, the event’s central theme will be children and childhood. Their presence in tradition will be reflected in many parts of the programme, which will complement one another and create a broader cultural context. The theme will also accompany the Summer School of Tradition, organized in cooperation with the Fundacja Kultura Enter.
“Through the Summer School of Tradition, we want to demonstrate how music, dance, play, and artistic activities inspired by folk culture can become valuable tools for working with children. We invite adults who, in their professional or personal lives, wish to pass on traditions to the youngest generation to take part in these intensive three-day workshops,” says Karolina Waszczuk, Director of the Re:tradycja – Jarmark Jagielloński festival.
The Summer School of Tradition offers participants the opportunity to join one of five thematic groups focusing on instrumental music, emotional and social development, dance, visual arts, and early childhood education.
The thematic groups will be:
- INSTRUMENT, melody, voice, harmony, dance – play for dance | Led by Paula Kinaszewska
- Tradition as a tool for supporting children’s DEVELOPMENT | Led by Marta Urban-Burdalska
- DANCES and games in education: the example of Silesia | Led by Iga Fedak
- VISUAL ARTS, or traditional DIY | Led by Anna Kaźmierak
- Tradition for TODDLERS and youger children | Led by Marta Domachowska
The organizers welcome both those who already have experience in this field and are looking for new inspiration or opportunities to exchange ideas, as well as those who are only beginning to incorporate traditional culture into activities for children.
The event is intended for parents, as well as teachers, preschool and early primary education educators, specialists working with children in schools and other institutions (including social skills training, social-emotional development programmes, special education support, pedagogy, and sensory integration), animators, educators, cultural workers, museum professionals, and anyone who feels connected to the topic.
The main goal is to demonstrate the many different ways in which children can be introduced to the heritage of folk culture, while also highlighting the potential of traditional repertoire to develop a wide range of skills that are useful for both children and adults in everyday life.
How to register
Registration is open until 22 July via an online application form. Participants are required to attend all workshop sessions (20–22 August or 21–23 August, depending on the thematic group selected).
The workshops are free of charge and intended for adults (18+). However, a refundable deposit of PLN 200 is required. The deposit will be returned to participants who attend the workshops in full.
Admission to the workshops is based on the answers provided in the application form.
Descriptions of the Summer School of Tradition thematic groups | Select the name of the group that interests you below
INSTRUMENT, melody, voice, harmony, dance – play for dance
Instrumental music is an important element of tradition. Old melodies contain the virtuosity of previous generations, the character of particular regions, and a wealth of potential that can be explored and applied in many, often unexpected, ways.
Participants
These workshops are intended for people who play an instrument and have their own instrument, including teachers, educators, cultural animators, and professionals working with children and young people who would like to use traditional music as an educational, developmental, and community-building tool.
During the workshops
The workshops will combine both theoretical and practical aspects of transmitting traditional instrumental music. An important element will be the exchange of experiences. Together, we will explore different approaches to teaching traditional music and discuss the benefits that dance, singing, and making music together can bring to children, including those attending music schools.
The practical component will focus on singing, melodies, and rhythm-based activities. Topics and exercises will include:
- ways of encouraging children to play instruments and methods of introducing them to traditional repertoire;
- exploring the characteristics of mazurek and polka rhythms, as well as the musical worlds that emerge from them; participants will experience, among other things, the trance-like qualities of triple-meter music;
- vocal warm-ups through sound games, playful experimentation, imitation, and imagination-building exercises;
- practising freestyle approaches to traditional melodies, including creating original songs and improvised verses based on traditional tunes;
- movement as a tool for supporting natural voice production, including breathing and relaxation exercises as well as bodywork techniques for singing.
The aim of the workshops is to demonstrate how traditional music-making functions in practice, how traditional musical forms can support the development of creativity, a sense of community, vocal expression, and confidence in group work, and how traditional village fiddle repertoire can be effectively passed on to both children and adults.
Schedule
20–21 August (Thursday–Friday) – 16:00-20:00
22 August (Saturday) – 9:00-13:00
About the speaker
Paula Kinaszewska is a violinist, singer, theatre actress, educator, researcher, and collector of folklore. She learned from traditional folk fiddlers and singers and performs traditional, archaic fiddle repertoire from the Polish lowlands, as well as lyrical and ritual folk songs.
For the past eight years, she has led groups learning traditional music through living performance practice. She is a cultural animator and educator and a two-time recipient of scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. In 2016, she received First Prize in the Warsaw Cultural Award for an educational project introducing children to traditional music.
Her educational work is enriched by extensive stage experience gained through theatre productions and concert performances, as well as by her training in voice, breath, and bodywork acquired at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. She is a graduate of the Academy and was awarded the ZASP Critics’ Award named after Piotr Nardelli for her stage debut in 2000. She is a regular collaborator with the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw.
She co-creates the musical groups WOWAKIN, Poleski Skład Smyczkowy, SenJawaZabawa, Maryna C., and Zaświatycze. Since 2017, she has led the Wesołe Mazurki z Pragi Traditional Music Centre for children in Warsaw, and since 2021 a parallel programme for adults. Through these initiatives, she develops methods for teaching traditional music, learning by ear, and collective music-making.
She completed first-level music school training in violin performance. Her family originates from the village of Kolano in the Lublin Polesie region, with which she feels a strong emotional and spiritual connection.
She studied with singers Maria Siwiec, Krystyna Ciesielska, Tetiana Sopiłka, and Teresa Marciniuk, and with fiddlers Tadeusz Jedynak, Piotr Gaca, Jan Kmita, Władysław Kosylak, Stanisław Głaz, and Edmund Brożek.
Tradition as a tool for supporting children’s DEVELOPMENT
In this workshop group, participants will learn how singing and traditional musical games can become effective tools for supporting children’s social and emotional development. This is a space where you will first experience the methods yourself and only then learn how to work with children in a conscious and effective way.
Participants
The workshops are intended for teachers, preschool educators, and early primary school educators (grades 1–3), as well as specialists working with children in schools and other institutions (including social skills training programmes, social-emotional learning classes, special education support, pedagogy, and sensory integration).
We also welcome professionals who work with children individually or in groups and who:
- would like to incorporate singing, songs, and traditional musical games into educational, developmental, or therapeutic activities;
- are open to innovative approaches to traditional music as a tool for supporting children’s emotional and social development, including self-regulation and co-regulation;
- are willing to engage in personal experience and reflection as the foundation for helping children develop psychological and social skills;
- are interested in neuroscience and body-based approaches to learning and development.
During the workshops
Participants will learn the fundamentals of emotional regulation based on mindfulness, breathing, and gentle bodywork, as well as gain an understanding of the autonomic nervous system and stress responses.
You will also experience voice work aimed at developing the natural vocal production characteristic of traditional singing (often referred to as “white voice” singing), within an atmosphere of safety, acceptance, and kindness.
In addition, participants will explore selected traditional musical games from both practical and psychological-therapeutic perspectives and learn how to apply these tools in individual and group work with children.
The workshops are designed as an in-depth learning experience focused on understanding processes and lived experience. For this reason, we will work practically with selected musical games that hold therapeutic potential, while also examining the mechanisms behind their effectiveness.
Schedule
20 August (Thursday) – 16:00-20:00
21–22 August (Friday–Saturday) – 9:00-13:00
About the speaker
Marta Urban-Burdalska is a traditional singer, educator, and psychologist working within a somatic approach. She is a certified trainer of the Polish Psychological Association and the founder of IN THE FLOW – Voice, Body, Songs from Tradition.
She learned singing and music directly from rural musicians and their families, including the Gaca Family and the Meta Family. She sings, leads workshops and community gatherings, facilitates dance events, and plays the folk bass and frame drum.
Marta creates educational and artistic projects that bring traditional songs and music back into communal singing, play, and intergenerational encounters. She works with adults, children, and entire families.
She is the initiator of projects including the Traditional Games Laboratory, Introit, and the Burdalski Family Orchestra. She lives in Olsztyn and comes from Lublin, where she grew up in a multi-generational farming family. She is also the mother of three children who play music.
Her work is grounded in the belief that traditional singing, old customs, and shared play constitute a natural language through which people of all ages can meet, connect, and build community.
DANCES and games in education: the example of Silesia
Tradition is also movement—movement that emerges through dance, but also through the games and activities that form an important part of children’s folklore. In this Summer School of Tradition workshop group, we will explore this theme through the heritage and traditions of Silesia.
Participants
This workshop is intended for people working in preschools, schools, cultural institutions, or in independent educational and artistic initiatives where dance and movement play an important role. We also welcome those who are only beginning to consider using dance as part of their work with children.
Whether you are looking for inspiration or would like to exchange experiences with others who introduce children to the world of traditional dance, this workshop is for you.
During the workshops
Participants will immerse themselves in the world of folk dances, games, and songs originating primarily from Silesia, the home region of workshop leader Iga Fedak.
The workshops will provide an opportunity not only to learn specific dances and games but also to receive practical guidance on adapting activities to different age groups, abilities, and group dynamics.
Participants will learn:
- how to tailor traditional dances and games to the needs and characteristics of different groups;
- how to lead activities when no musical accompaniment is available but enthusiasm for movement and play remains high;
- how to ensure a lively and engaging transmission of traditional music and dance within educational settings;
- how elements of children’s folklore can support musical development, coordination, and cooperation skills;
- where to find further resources, inspiration, and knowledge related to traditional music and dance in education.
The workshops will also explore aspects of children’s folklore that can play an important role in developing musicality, movement awareness, and the collaborative skills essential to dance and group activities.
Schedule
21 August (Friday) – 16:00-20:00
22–23 August (Saturday–Sunday) – 9:00-13:00
About the speaker
Iga Fedak is an ethnologist, ethnomusicologist, and folk dance instructor specializing in the traditional dances of Silesia.
She teaches the course Traditional Dance as part of the postgraduate programme in Polish Traditional Music at the Academy of Music in Katowice. Since 2015, she has led traditional dance workshops for children and adults, as well as professional development courses for teachers, including programmes such as Mały Kolberg and training initiatives organized by the WOM and Metis teacher education centres in Katowice.
She teaches both in open workshop settings—including every edition of the Silesian Tabor and community projects such as From Preschooler to Silesian—and with organised groups, including music school students, students of the Academy of Music in Katowice, and members of regional folk ensembles such as the Children’s Regional Ensemble “Jedynka” from Pszczyna, the Regional Ensemble Pszczyna, and the children’s ensemble “Dąbrowa” from Dąbrowa Górnicza.
Iga also organizes and leads traditional dance parties, where she performs and teaches dances together with her family ensemble, Kapela Fedaków. As a member of the group, she sings and plays the baraban (traditional drum), performing Silesian traditional music in dance rhythms.
VISUAL ARTS, or traditional DIY
These workshops offer three days of creative exploration with Anna Kaźmierak, during which participants will discover how tradition—craft, folk art, and elements of ritual culture—can be used in visual arts activities with children.
Participants
The workshop is designed for anyone seeking fresh inspiration in regional education. It is intended for educators who want to learn a range of simple craft techniques that can be used in working with children, based on folk art traditions.
If you are looking for inspiration for your workshops, or would like to begin introducing tradition to children through visual arts activities, this group is for you.
During the workshops
Anna Kaźmierak offers a fresh perspective on traditional culture: she takes historical crafts and folk games and combines them with a contemporary artistic practice. She will share her original methods for translating traditional techniques into a language accessible to small hands, showing that tradition is a rich source of inspiration for all kinds of visual art activities.
Materials and techniques we will explore:
Paper and scissors:
We will enter the world of contemporary paper cutting and printmaking. Participants will create decorative brooches, experiment with gel printing matrices, and design stencils for cards and decorative “carpets.” We will also try paper weaving and create cut-out “paper worlds” inspired by wafer decorations.
Brushes and colour:
Here, pattern and paint take the lead. We will explore decorative painting techniques, painting on glass and wood. Participants will create their own tools for painting Kujawy roses and Silesian ribbons. We will also co-design wall decorations and print original textile-inspired wall hangings.
Natural materials and 3D forms:
Returning to roots and natural resources, we will weave with willow, construct spatial straw spiders and straw hearts, fluff feathers for pillows, and write using a goose quill. We will also model ritual figures such as *byśki* and *busłowe łapy*, and explore simple techniques of weaving and embroidery.
Schedule
21 August (Friday) – 16:00-20:00
22–23 August (Saturday–Sunday) – 9:00-13:00
About the speaker
Anna Kaźmierak is an illustrator, graphic designer, and ethnography enthusiast. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, she specializes in creating children’s books inspired by Polish folklore.
She leads original workshops in which traditional crafts, historical visual techniques, and folk games are combined with contemporary artistic practice. She conducts her programmes in libraries, art galleries, and museums—most recently in 2025, she led workshops on Polish traditions at the Museum of Modern Art MAMbo in Bologna.
Her books have received numerous awards, including the IBBY Book of the Year Award (2020) for Turonie, żandary, herody, the Most Beautiful Book of the Year (PTWK, 2023) for Gdzie ty jesteś, koguciku?, and a nomination for the Warsaw Literary Award (2024).
Tradition for TODDLERS and younger children
Can children be introduced to tradition from the very beginning of life? Of course they can. It looks different than in the case of older children, with whom we can explain and explore much more, but contact with the youngest can also be joyful, creative, and developmentally enriching.
Participants
The workshop is intended for people who, due to their profession or daily work, engage with children aged from 6 months to several years and are looking for ways to use tradition to support the development of various skills.
It is particularly suitable for those working in nurseries, preschools, cultural centres, and museums, as well as for parents seeking inspiring and developmentally enriching ways to spend time with their children.
Participants are expected to be open to play and body-based activities (all exercises will be experienced practically), as well as to wear comfortable clothing.
During the workshops
The workshop focuses on early childhood education (children aged 6 months to several years) through engagement with folk culture, especially those elements that are most suitable and accessible for this age group.
We will pay particular attention to developing children’s skills through play, movement with singing, and sensory experiences. These tradition-based activities will be designed to support relationships: between the child and themselves, between children, and between children and adults.
It will also be important that adult participants feel comfortable engaging with the activities according to their own abilities and skills—for example, without the need to read music or acquire specialised materials.
The workshop will also offer an opportunity to explore good practices from various practitioners and teams working in this field, as well as sources of valuable and accessible materials that can be used in the future.
Schedule
21 August (Friday) – 16:00-20:00
22–23 August (Saturday–Sunday) – 9:00-13:00
About the speaker
Marta Domachowska is an ethnologist, museum educator, and researcher passionate about tradition. For 25 years, she has been studying, practising, and promoting Polish traditional music.
She learns through living transmission from village singers, dancers, and musicians from the Radom region and Kujawy, as well as from archival recordings. In her daily work, she is involved in education and event organisation at the Ethnographic Museum named after Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa in Toruń.
She regularly leads her own singing meetings, dance workshops, traditional children’s games sessions, and musical activities for families. She is a co-creator of the Traditional Games Laboratory.
She is also a folk craft enthusiast and practitioner. She plays bass and sings in several music groups, including Zedel/Rosik/Domachowska, Kapela Wiesławy Gromadzkiej, Bodej Kapela, and vocal ensembles such as MZK Toruń (2014–2018), Łęczycki Singing Club (2017), and Środa Kujawska (since 2024).
She is a co-founder of the group “n obrotów” and the Forum of Traditional Music, and editor of muzykatradycyjna.pl. She enjoys when things are in rhythm and rhyme.
About Re:tradition – the Jagiellonian Fair
Re:tradycja is the largest festival of folk art and culture in Poland. During three days and nights in August, Lublin transforms into the capital of living traditional culture. The festival program is full of attractions for children. The youngest visitors can enjoy the Podwórko Re:tradycji, where workshops and performances take place, and where traditional games and pastimes are recreated. It is also a unique opportunity to meet master artisans who each year present their exceptional, handmade works. The festival allows visitors to hear, see, touch, and feel folk culture, which during this time completely fills the streets of Lublin’s Old Town.
An important element of the Re:tradycja festival is traditional music, presented both in its original form and in interpretations by contemporary artists. The festival also features night dance parties with live music, workshops, exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and meetings.
Details
Re:tradition – the Jagiellonian Fair
August 21-23, 2026
Lublin, the Old Town
Admission to the event is free.
The organiser of the Summer School of Tradition is the Fundacja Kultura Enter. The project is implemented thanks to the support of the City of Lublin.
Partners: the Workshops of Culture in Lublin, the Re:tradycja – Jagielloński festival, and the Dominican Basilica and Monastery in Lublin.
