Between August 5th and 7th, Ipolyszécényke hosts the VII. Palóc World Meeting. An important event for Palócföld and the Hungarian community is being organized for the first time in a settlement in the highlands.
Preparations for the world meeting have been going on for a long time, in addition to central consultations, calls for events have already been announced. The main organizer of the event is the Csemadok Nagykürtösi Regional Election, its main partner in Hungary is the Tarr Lőrinc Friends' Circle.
Éva Kliment, the secretary of the Csemadok Nagykürtös Regional Election, reported to the Felvidék.ma portal about the preparations, the program plan, and the developments.
The three-day event stream offers a very colorful program. On Friday, for example, there will be exhibition openings, then the Blue Ribbon folk song, folk story telling and folk music competition will take place. A conference on palócs will also take place. On August 6, Saturday, the programs will be held continuously on two stages. In addition to the cultural program of traditionalist groups, a craft fair, children's programs, an archery, falconry and equestrian demonstration, a writer-reader meeting, and a gastronomic festival await visitors. In addition to all this, there will also be a wedding party, a Familiar Faces concert and a dance hall. The program of the world meeting continues in Ipolybalog on Sunday. After the celebratory mass, the performers of the world meeting will give a cultural show on Calvary Hill in the afternoon.
The world meeting will be held after a forced break of two years, and for the first time outside the motherland. According to our ideas, there are two possibilities: compared to the past, there will either be few people, because they are already used to social life, or there will be many people, because people want to have a personal relationship with the culture. We really hope the latter is true. So far, 31 groups have applied, with more than 400 people, but if we look at the applications for the various programs, we already have almost 100 applications, which is certainly well over 500 people.
Fortunately, there are quite a few people who help with the preparations, especially the Csemadok members, who can always be counted on. The municipality is also trying to provide a worthy place for the Palóc World Meeting. I can say with a calm heart that those who have not visited the village for more than a year, or more precisely the part of the village where most of the world meeting will take place, will be quite surprised.
The surroundings of the recently renovated castle received a new asphalt surface, but significant changes and renovation work are also taking place in the park. Of course, there is still plenty to do. We advertised volunteer work not for one or two days, since there is work to be done almost until the end of July, and even until August 10, since there is still work after the event. The point is that, as the main organizer, we asked in a letter the municipalities of the settlements inhabited by Hungarians and the Csemadok foundation organizations to help with the preparations. So far, we have already received feedback from a few places, for which we would like to thank you.
On the Feast of the Holy Crown, the main celebrant of the Mass is dr. Cardinal Péter Erdő will be the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, whose personality will greatly raise the standard of this famous event. In addition to the traditional programs, the cardinal will consecrate the bust of János Esterházy to be erected in Erzsébet Park. After the celebratory mass, we, the organizers of the world meeting, will also provide the afternoon cultural program, at the end of which we will officially close the VII. Palóc World Meeting.
Source, full article and featured image: velvidek.ma
