How it all started…

A brief history of Eurofolk

Our artistic director and choreographer, Mrs. Jolanta Kalinowska Obst, had been dreaming of giving the ensemble the chance of going on tour, giving many concerts and attending festivals Poland and beyond its borders, as well as inviting other ensembles from Poland and abroad. Thus she put forward a proposal of organizing an international festival in Zamość to the management of the Association of Friends of the Folk Song and Dance Ensemble “Zamojszczyzna”. The management of the time held a meeting and started to consider the effort and costs involved, and subsequently decided to take up the challenge. However the initial opinions were that the festival might be the first and last, mainly because of the costs, which the Association could not cover on its own, or that it would be held biannually in the best case scenario (fortunately, those predictions have proven false). The management held an assembly of the members of the Association, informed Mrs. Jolanta of its decision and asked for assistance in organizing such a big event. The idea met with great approval of everyone present. The preparations had begun. Sponsors and volunteers were sought after. Most of them were found in members of the Association and its management, dance instructors, dancers and their families. During one of the meetings of the management, Mr. Stefan Gościcki, its chairman at the time, came up with a name for the festival-to-be. Thereafter it would come to be referred to as

The 1st INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL “EUROFOLK – ZAMOŚĆ”. As it would turn out later, the festival was to become a cyclic event, due to the great help from the sponsors and selfless efforts of everyone involved in its organization and realization.

Everyone wished for the festival’s mission to not only involve folklore and artistic presentations, but also integration with the European Union, in which everyone should feel at home. Thus the name of the festival, “EUROFOLK”, seems very fitting. Another motivation was the awareness that by taking part in the ensemble’s curriculum and activities, children and youths are spending their time in a well-organized and wholesome manner. All of the age groups go on tour, giving many concerts in Poland, as well as abroad. They always come back with prizes and commendations.

Wishing to reciprocate and present Zamość, the Pearl of the Renaissance, and the scenic landscapes and storied history of the Zamość region, now mainly an agricultural region, we decided to organize the festival in our city, with the approval of the local authorities. All those arguments contributed to Eurofolk becoming an integral part of the cultural agenda in Zamość and an annual event, as evidenced by the fact that another International Folklore Festival “EUROFOLK” is just around the corner

SEE YOU SOON!