Summer art and culture

Around Lake Balaton, there turns out to be a lot to do in the summer. Understandably so, as half of Hungary settles along its 200 km of shoreline. Besides sunbathing and swimming, it’s clear that Hungarians also enjoy music, dance, and art.We already took part in a portion of the annual Hungarian Summer Salsa Festival (https://hssf.eu): ideal for enthusiasts, with various workshops at all levels and a week full of dance evenings.

A week later, the “Valley of Arts” Festival (https://www.muveszetekvolgye.hu) kicked off. In terms of atmosphere, it’s a bit like Dranouter with an extra touch of hippie vibes, spread out over three charming villages (the largest being Kapolcs). Less emphasis on music (not five stages at once), but more focus on other forms of art: painters, sculptors, dancers, and artisans came to sell their works and/or offer various workshops. There were also sports activities (like group yoga) and countless food and drink stalls. It’s definitely worthwhile for families with children too. Of course, most activities are in Hungarian, but art needs no language, right? And you can simply follow along with yoga. The part where you had to “close your eyes and focus on your…” was quite a challenge in Hungarian vocabulary—though if I ended up focusing on my ankle instead of my wrist, I suppose that didn’t have any major consequences.