This year for the 18th time, the Buda Castle district is the host of a colorful event: Folk Art Festival - a celebration of trades, crafts and professions, most of them as old as the Hungarian nation itself.
Opening on the 19th of August and lasting four days, the purpose of the festivities is to preserve traditions and customs by presenting them to the large public. Visitors will have the opportunity to get acquainted with ancient trades and watch closely how craftsmen have been working for centuries to create the simplest houselhold items in an almost artistic manner.
Close to 800 artisans have been invited on this occasion: saddlers, wheelwrights, coopers, blacksmiths and farriers will show and explain the secrets of their trade, curious bystanders can try out wood-carving, weaving, dyeing, embroidering, bone-lace making, braiding, pottery, and candles, articles of clothing, felt-hats, door-mats, honey-cakes, musical instruments, ornaments and decorations will be made right before their eyes; they can also witness the procession of the harvesters and the awarding of the Craftsman of the Year title.
Each year close to a hundred thousand visitors, most of them foreign tourists, gather to celebrate creativity and to be entertained by handicrafts, musical programs, dance performances and the genuine atmosphere of a folk art fair.
The Budapest event is part of an international meeting that takes place every four years in a different country and its priority is to encourage every nation to foster and promote traditional values like folk-music, folk-dance and old customs. More than 20 countries will be represented and their delegates will join local participants in forming a close-knit community united by the desire to transmit their culture to future generations.

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