About
This year, for the 20th time, we will gather at the Re:tradition – Jagiellonian Fair festival (August 21-23, Lublin) to once again explore together the roots and contemporary interpretations of traditional music and craftsmanship. The festival’s central theme will be children and childhood. This year, the festival’s main stage will be located in Dominikański Square.
The full programme of the Re:tradition – Jagiellonian Fair festival is available on our website in the Programme 2026 section.
See you at Dominikański Square
During the revitalisation of the grounds at the foot of Lublin Castle, the festival’s main stage will be located in Dominikański Square. It is here that Friday evening will begin with a special concert featuring both experienced musicians and children continuing their family musical traditions. Kaja and Janusz Prusinowski, Muzykancka Kompania Dziecięca and Friends will take audiences – not only the youngest ones – on a musical journey through the four seasons. Filled with singing, dancing and shared fun, the performance will introduce Polish folk culture, which in many ways follows the timeless rhythm set by the Sun. The concert will celebrate the group’s work on a series of four albums filled with traditional music – the music of winter, spring, summer and autumn, all guided by the Sun. Young performers together with slightly older artists will present songs once sung throughout the changing seasons. The repertoire will include Christmas and spring carols, old games, dances, songs accompanying work, rest and celebrations, songs of the fields, forests and weddings, as well as brand-new original compositions.
The stage will also host performances by: Ewa Grochowska and musical wanderers (POL), Caamaño&Ameixeiras (ESP), Poolidor (FRA), Biele and fie.dronowicz (POL), and Gordan (SRB/AUT/DEU).
The Re:tradition – Jagiellonian Fair festival would not be complete without its traditional dance parties. In keeping with this year’s theme, each band will prepare a traditional children’s game in which adult participants will also be invited to join. This year, on Friday and Saturday evenings, the open-air dance floor in Dominikański Square will come alive to the music of the Burdalski Family Orchestra, Kapela Fedaków, Kapela Murchole and Kapela Niwińskich, as well as the Jagiellonian Fair Orchestra, Kapela Braci Dziobaków z Woli Destymflandzkiej, Bodej Kapela and Kapela Zwieże.
Childhood through the lens and in practice
The festival’s central theme will also be reflected in the exhibition “Children of Średnia Wieś Through the Lens of Jukka Male”. The Finnish photographer first visited the village of Średnia Wieś in the Bieszczady Mountains of southern Poland in 1979. Over the next 36 years, he repeatedly returned to document its people and places. He captured everyday life, family celebrations, work and leisure. Thanks to his long-term project, we can witness remarkable changes – children seen in black-and-white photographs later reappear as teenagers in colour images taken in the “new Poland.”
The exhibition is part of the Summer School of Tradition programme, organised in cooperation with the Kultura Enter Foundation, which this year is also dedicated to children.
Re:tradition Playground
One place that is sure to attract entire families is the Re:tradition Playground. Here, adults can revisit the games of their childhood, while children discover the extraordinary richness of traditional games and play. Due to the revitalisation of the grounds at the foot of Lublin Castle, the playground will also move to a new location. This year, it will be set up in the garden of Dom na Podwalu (Podwale 15, entrance from the castle grounds).
As every year, visitors will have the opportunity to set wooden toys crafted by Jan Puk, a folk artist from the Lasowiacy region, in motion, assemble block puzzles featuring paintings by renowned Lublin artist Stanisław Koguciuk, or try playing the Kashubian burczybas and devil’s fiddle prepared by Tadeusz Makowski. There will also be colourful wooden horses, pecking hens and merry-go-rounds from Stryszawa and Pewla Wielka, villages famous for their traditional toy-making.
In addition, visitors will find special tables for playing tiddlywinks, a mud kitchen, bottle-cap racing tracks, and opportunities to play elastic skipping games and Lubartów pick-up sticks. Alongside the toys and games, the space will also host music workshops for children. Kapela Fedaków will introduce participants to traditional Silesian music, games and dances, while Agnieszka Kontny and Teatrzyk Raz-dwa-trzyk will present a performance in which stories are told using string figures woven around the performer’s fingers. Audiences will also enjoy performances by Katarzyna Jackowska-Enemuo and Mateusz Szemraj, as well as the Kukaj Kukawko group.
A diverse workshop programme
As always, the workshop programme promises to be extensive. One of this year’s highlights is an open workshop session with the Jagiellonian Fair Orchestra, returning to the festival after several years’ absence. The workshops are intended for musicians playing instruments such as the violin, accordion, Polish button accordion, cello, bass, wind instruments, frame drum or baraban. The repertoire will be taught entirely by ear. Participants will learn polkas, obereks, podróżniaks, marches, waltzes, foxtrots and other melodies drawn from archival recordings, family traditions, and direct learning from both the oldest generation of folk musicians and orchestras whose traditions date back to the early 20th century.
The festival will also feature singing and dance workshops, as well as numerous sessions led by folk artists taking part in this year’s Jagiellonian Fair. Participants will learn, among other things, how to make traditional straw chandeliers, Bamberski embroidery patterns, historic Christmas ornaments and decorative paper cut curtains. The workshops are designed for both adults and children accompanied by their guardians. Registration opens on August 11.
The Jagiellonian Fair with exceptional folk art
One of the key elements of the Re:tradition festival is the Jagiellonian Fair. This three-day marketplace of folk art and traditional crafts once again offers an opportunity to discover the heritage of many regions of Poland, as well as Lithuania, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic. As every year, visitors will find traditional weaving, decorated Easter eggs, paper flowers, straw chandeliers and ornaments, toys, basketry, ceramics, woodcarving and much more.
The festival provides an opportunity not only to admire and purchase remarkable works of folk art, but also to see first-hand the extraordinary skill and precision of the invited artisans.
Many of them will demonstrate how they create their work, and some will also lead workshops during the festival. Under their expert guidance, visitors will have the chance to try these traditional crafts for themselves
– says Agata Turczyn, coordinator of the Jagiellonian Fair.
The programme will also include talks, exhibitions, film screenings and presentations showcasing local Polish traditions as well as those from other regions of Europe.
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.
