3, 2, 1 …KRAKÓW!

This year’s edition of Bulwar[t] Sztuki (Boulevard[t] of Art) includes over 150 events: theatre performances, film screenings, concerts, workshops, community singing, dancing and outdoor exercising. All this as a part of two anniversaries: the 70th anniversary of Nowa Huta and the 15th anniversary of Łaźnia Nowa Theater. An open-air exhibition composed of archival photos of famous photographers – Wiktor Pental and Henryk Makarewicz, who recorded the creation of this district of Kraków, will be devoted to Nowa Huta.

The last two picnic days, when  Krakow’s parks turn into huge picnic spots! Come to Podgórze to the Bednarski Park on 31 August or to Krakowski Park on 1 September! You can catch up with friends, maybe do a bit of exercise, and – obligatory at a picnic! – snack on a little something directly from local producers and restaurateurs. There will be outdoor games for kids, artistic workshops and meetings with experts in all kinds of fields. Activities include culinary demonstrations, acrobatic exercises, bike polo tournaments, activities for expecting mums and yoga on the grass. And you’ll be able to hire free picnic blankets!

This year, the Summer with the Radio Festival brings its grand finale to Kraków. On 30 and 31 August, we will hear classic hits, premieres and surprises performed by Poland’s top stars, including Monika Brodka, Katarzyna Nosowska, Smolik/Kev Fox and Mazolewski/Porter duos, and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra performing some of the greatest hits of film music.

The 44th Music in Old Cracow Festival perform in some of the most beautiful spaces across the city.

• 27 August, Tuesday, 8pm Bernardine Church, ul. Bernardyńska 2 Collegium Zieleński Festival Orchestra Piotr Gąsior – conductor in programme: Music from New Spain
• 28 August, Wednesday, 7:30pm Church of Sts Peter and Paul, ul. Grodzka 52 Alina Mazur – soprano Camerata Polonia Marek Kudlicki – conductor in programme: C. Stamitz, A. Scarlatti, G. Paisiello, G. Caccini, G. Giordani, A. Caldara, F. Durante, I.J. Paderewski, Ch.W. Gluck, A. Caldara, S. Moryto
• 29 August, Thursday, 7:30pm Tempel Synagogue, ul. Miodowa 24 Chanticleer in programme: Trade Winds
• 30 August, Friday, 8:15pm Franciscan Church, pl. Wszystkich Świętych 5 Chanticleer in programme: Faith of Our Fathers
• 31 August, Saturday, 7:30pm St Catherine’s Church, ul. Augustiańska 7 Steven Isserliss – cello Sinfonietta Cracovia Maciej Lulek – concertmaster in programme: L. Boccherini, W.A. Mozart, J. Haydn

How better to contemplate classical music than listening to it performed live in the atmospheric setting of Kraków’s Wawel Castle on a summer’s evening? The 12th Summer Music Festival Wawel at Dusk. The festival closes with a performance by acclaimed soloists and the CORda Cracovia orchestra under the baton of Sebastian Perłowski recalling music by Stanisław Moniuszko as part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth: on 31 August, the Arcaded Courtyard resounds with The Fairytale Overture and excerpts from Halka.

Booksellers by the Vistula are waiting for you. In good weather, Cracovian booksellers hold stalls on the roof of the Powiśle 11 Pavilion at the foot of Wawel Hill. They present classic Polish and world literature, academic works, albums and publications about Kraków.

Between 6 and 8 September (9am-7pm), the Wolnica Square hosts producers of delicious honeys and other apiary products, and we will learn about their medicinal and cosmetic properties. At noon on 8 September a Bee Parade sets off from the Main Market Square to Wolnica Square, accompanied by an orchestra.

Little legs, long bodies, wagging tails and eyes full of devotion – everyone loves dachshunds! On 15th September, a pageant of these delightful (if stubborn!) hounds walks from the Barbican to the Rynek Główny as part of the 25th anniversary Dachshund Parade. The event is dedicated to all fans of sausage dogs providing plenty of fun, advice and support for our best friends and their humans.

The leading motif of this year’s events (27 September – 4 October) is neighbourhood, and the explorations take us to Lithuania. The music presented at Sacrum Profanum is the result of innumerable cultural interactions, collisions, conflicts and rebellion. The festival expands the category of aesthetic pleasure, builds bridges between independent and academic music, thus leading to their meeting. The programme of this year’s edition includes concerts by, among others, Kwadrofonik, ICE Ensemble, Mick Barr or Aaron Turner. The musical work by Artur Zagajewski composed to the fragments of „Inni Ludzie” (“Different People”) written by Dorota Masłowska is also arousing a lot of interest. The main programme is complemented by a number of accompanying events, including meetings, debates, performances, interviews with musicians, workshops or yoga classes.

The 13th PZU Three Mounds’ Run  is the only mountain run that leads through the city centre. It confirms that Kraków offers not only monuments and modern infrastructure, but also picturesque landscapes and genuine nature. Participants have to overcome a 13-kilometre route between the three Kraków mounds – Krakus, Kościuszko and Piłsudski. Due to the diversity of terrain, the race has been classified as “Anglo-Saxon” in the international classification, i.e. one where the route leads alternatively up and down, as opposed to the “Alpine” races, where the route is mostly only climbing.

Unsound Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Kraków, dealing with evolving and mutating forms of music, as well as related visual arts. Apart from the main festival, Unsound regularly takes place in cities around the world such as New York, London, Adelaide, Toronto, and Minsk. This year eddition is presented around the theme Solidarity, the festival will take over the city of Krakow, bringing not only music but an extensive discourse program of talks, workshops and film screenings.