For the 19th time, Re:tradition – the Jagiellonian Fair festival will demonstrate that village culture is still alive and continues to inspire new generations. One of Poland’s largest traditional culture festivals will take place in Lublin from August 22 to 24. It’s a time for extraordinary concerts, passion-fueled workshops, inspiring exhibitions, and unforgettable encounters. This year, the main theme is traditional dance.
Festival Quick Guide
- When: August 22–24, 2025
- Where: Lublin Old Town, Poland
- Admission: Free
- Main theme: Traditional dance
- Festival map, schedule & more: soon
Tip: Some events are in Polish, but music and dance are universally accessible!
Featured events
Traditional dance has always accompanied our festival—in evening dances, music-driven concerts, workshops, and children’s activities. This time, however, we want to take a closer look, highlight its diversity, and show how much it has to offer today’s audiences.
Kartellet Company with “Danse staur, danse staur”
This year, the Friday “re:tradition” concert will take the form of a dance performance. The Norwegian company Kartellet will perform „Danse staur, danse staur” on Błonia greenfield near the Lublin Castle – a show inspired by old dance customs from the Lofoten archipelago.
Kartellet draws on tradition to seek out unique modes of expression. Over the years, the group has helped bring elements of traditional dance into the realm of contemporary Norwegian dance. Their shows are unconventional, with a strong dose of improvisation, interactivity, and audience engagement. The performers use movement as a language grounded in teamwork, individuality, and personal expression.
The title Danse staur, danse staur refers to an old tradition from northern Norway. Men gathering for seasonal fishing in the Lofoten Islands would form temporary communities. They worked, rested, played, and danced together—often in same-gender pairs. These dances embodied strength, rivarly, playfulness, and mutual respect.
The group will also lead workshops on dance and movement customs specific to northern Norway
Rällä and North Ostrobothnian Dances
Join Finnish group Rällä for dance workshops focused on the musical traditions of North Ostrobothnia. Based in Oulu on Finland’s west coast, the trio was formed in 2019 by Osmo Hakosalo and his musical friends. Their goal is to preserve their regional heritage with sensitivity and flair.
Rällä balances raw, old-school style with moments of creative spontaneity. Their performances are shaped in real-time through connection with dancers, creating a communal, trance-like rhythm.
In the workshops, you’ll learn two of the most popular Finnish folk dances— schottis and polska.
Afterwards, you will also explore a circle dance set to a Finnish adaptation of an old European tune.
No previous dance experience is needed, just bring comfortable shoes and curiosity.
PoMore TanzOrkiestra: Dance Music from Pomerania
Traditional dance will also be central to Saturday’s concert by PoMore TanzOrkiestra, a Polish-German collaboration breathing life into the folk music of Pomerania, a region spanning northern Poland and Germany.
These musicians, educators, and researchers come together across borders to play, teach, and revive traditional singing and instrumental music. Their aim? To reconnect contemporary audiences with the vibrant, diverse heritage of Pomerania—both east and west of today’s border.
“The group’s dream is to revive traditional music from Pomerania in a broad historical and cultural context, spanning both sides of the Polish-German border,” says Ewa Grochowska, one of the initiators and performers.
Evening Dances with Music from Across Regions
Dancing under the stars is a signature part of Re:tradition. Each evening, the open-air dance floor near the Castle turns into a vibrant celebration of regional styles and rhythms:
Brass Band Zaburze – 100-year-old brass band from Roztocze (oberki, polkas, tangos)
Kapela Biskupianie – Dance tunes from the Biskupizna Microregion (Wielkopolska)
Kapela Ozimkowicza – Melodies from the Przemyśl and Dynów Foothills and beyond, also eastern Poland/western Ukraine
aggregandado & Skrzypkowie Dzielni – Kujawiaks, mazurkas, and polonaises and more from Kujawy, Pałuki, Kurpie, and even Sweden
Rällä –Traditional music from Finland’s Gulf of Bothnia, around Oulu.
Żemerwa – Traditional Folklore Studio of Podlasie Belarusians – Belarusian tunes from the Podlasie region
Wędrowna Orkiestra Gimplów – Inspired by historic folk bands from southeastern Poland, such as Kapela Bednarzy and others from Roztocze)
Diabubu – Folk and Jewish music from Łódź and the Łowicz–Łęczyca borderlands
Daytime Dances & Fun at Plaza Lublin
On Friday and Saturday (Aug 22–23), Yan Gisawa Band will fill Plaza Lublin (a local shopping centre) with danceable tunes from the Lublin region—using both traditional and experimental instruments. Warm-up workshops and playful dance games make this perfect for families and newcomers.
Even more dance
The dance theme continues with exhibitions and film screenings
“Dance Captured”– archival photos and videos from the Hungarian Dance Archives (HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities in Budapest)
“Dance. Trance, Emotion, Collectivity” – A photo exhibit from the Muzyka Odnaleziona Foundation, paired with a talk and film screening by Andrzej Bieńkowski, who explores the emotional and taboo-breaking power of village dancing
Film: Fly Bird, Fly – The Hungarian Dance House Story – Simon Broughton’s documentary about the Hungarian “Dance House” revival and its influence abroad
The Summer School of Tradition
Traditional dance will also take center stage at the Summer School of Tradition, organised by Kultura Enter Foundation in collaboration with Workshops of Culture. The four-day school offers themed workshops, lectures, and exhibitions. Learn regional dances such as the Kujawiak, mazurka, and polka, explore the rhythms of Biskupizna and Podlasie, and sing traditional songs.
Additional Festival Highlights
Sacred Songs in the Dominican Basilica
On Sunday, join the Podlasie Belarusian group Żemerwa and the male vocal ensemble Osoczniki at the Dominican Basilica in Lublin. Their powerful, polyphonic repertoire includes sacred songs from Belarusian hymnals, Christmas carols, Easter songs, and wandering minstrel tunes.
El Khat – Music rooted in Yemeni heritage
Sunday evening ends with El Khat, a boundary-pushing band led by Israeli musician Eyal El Wahab, whose Yemeni roots echo through his music. El Khat blends traditional Yemeni rhythms with raw, modern textures, creating deeply personal and globally resonant performances.
Expect handmade instruments, stories of migration, and bold reinterpretations of old cassette recordings passed down from Eyal’s grandmother.
GMM and the Roots of Mazovian Tradition
Polish trio GMM closes the festival with tracks from their debut album Wesele (The Wedding), a modern spin on village wedding music from Mazowsze. Drawing inspiration from Oskar Kolberg’s 19th-century ethnographic work, they combine traditional melodies with avant-garde arrangements and high-voltage energy.
The Jagiellonian Fair – handicrafts fair
Running throughout the festival, the Jagiellonian Fair brings together master artisans and craftspeople from Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Hungary, and Romania.
Expect handmade crafts including:
- Traditional weaving and embroidery
- Painted Easter eggs (pisanki)
- Tissue paper flowers
- Straw mobiles and toys
- Ceramics, sculptures, and basketry
Many artists will demonstrate their techniques live, and some will lead hands-on workshops where you can try your hand at folk crafts.
The programme also includes
performance | The Little Passion: The dog who walked with Christ
Catch this intimate, family-friendly play by Teatr Latarnia at the Old Theatre on Saturday, August 23. Based on an apocryphal passage in Władysław Reymont’s The Peasants, the tale follows a poor man recounting the story of Burko, the first domesticated dog, who walked the Earth with Jesus and became humankind’s friend..
Registration required, starts August 11.
Re:tradition Playground – Traditional games and activities for kids
Families will love Re:tradition Playground —a playful zone where children can:
- Spin hand-crafted wooden toys by folk artist Jan Puk
- Assemble puzzle blocks with images by painter Stanisław Koguciuk
- Try the burczybas (a Kashubian friction drum) and the devil’s fiddle
- Ride old-fashioned carousels from southern Poland
- Play traditional Polish games like rubber-band jumping, marbles, and caps races
- Experiment in mud kitchen
Workshops for kids will be led by:
- Zofia Szyrajew and Anna Psuty-Zając (Fiksum Dyrdum) – introducing folk music and dance
- Żemerwa – with a special programme of Podlasie-style games and dances
Also: don’t miss the interactive children’s show „Secrets of the Clay Jugs” by Teatr Mozaika, held at Dom na Podwalu on Sunday, August 24.
More workshops will be held at Plaza Lublin.
The festival also features engaging lectures and discussions, including:
Talks: The Origins of Polish Bagpipes
Don’t miss a special discussion with Rafał Miśta, who will trace the fascinating origins of Polish bagpipes using ethnographic maps, historical sources, and evolutionary biology.
“Using ethnographic maps, historical records, and basic principles of evolutionary biology,” Miśta explains, “we can begin to outline potential scenarios for how bagpipes emerged and developed across what is now Poland.”
Re:tradition– The Jagiellonian Fair Festival
22–24 August 2025
Lublin, Stare Miasto
Admission free
Organisers:
Workshops of Culture in Lublin, Municipal Cultural Institution
Lublin – City of Inspiration
Honorary Patronage:
Krzysztof Żuk – Mayor of Lublin
National Institute of Cultural Heritage
Media Partners:
TVP Kultura, TVP3 Lublin, Polish Radio 2, Folk Culture Radio Centre, Radio Lublin, Gazeta Wyborcza, KulturaLudowa.pl, MuzykaTradycyjna.pl, Kultura Enter, ONET
Partners:
National Museum in Lublin, Ivan Honchar Museum (Ukraine), Dominicans of Lublin, Gardzienice Centre for Theatre Practices, Association of Folk Artists, Kultura Enter Foundation
Sponsor:
Inter Broker
Co-financed by:
The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland
