Highlander Folklore Festival

The Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Folkloru Ziem Gorskich has run in Zakopane since 1968 and takes place over about a week in late August. Its subject is narrow and deliberately so: music, dance and costume of mountain peoples, so alongside Polish Podhale groups the programme brings ensembles from the Carpathians, the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Andes, the Himalayas and elsewhere, judged in competition. The prizes are ciupagi, the carved shepherd's axes of the Tatra highlanders, in gold, silver and bronze. Concerts run in the town amphitheatre and other venues, with processions through Krupowki, the main street, and workshops and craft stalls alongside. It is one of the older festivals of its kind in Europe and is a serious event rather than a tourist show, though Zakopane in late August is busy regardless. Highlander music here means fiddles, a bass and singing at the top of the voice.

What you actually see

• Mountain groups from several continents - Carpathian, Balkan, Andean, Himalayan.
• Competition for carved axes - ciupagi as the prizes, in gold, silver and bronze.
• Processions on Krupowki - costume through the main street.
• Podhale music - fiddles, bass and full-voice singing.

When to go

Late August, over about a week. Several days.

Honest expectations

Zakopane is at its most crowded in late August and accommodation is expensive and scarce. Concert tickets go early. Much of the programme is in Polish with no translation. Rain moves events indoors.

Nearby

The Tatras rise above the town; Chocholow is west.