site.btaFestival in Bucharest Presents Balkan Crafts, Flavours and Music

The 11th Balkanik Festival, one of the largest festivals in Southeast Europe and the first to be entirely dedicated to the music and values of the Balkans, is taking place in Bucharest between September 6 and 9.

The venue is the Gradina Uranus, in a part of the city where traders and craftsmen once occupied old Bohemian houses. In the 1980s, Communist bulldozers demolished everything to make way for Nicolae Ceausescu's mammoth dreams and his Palace of Parliament - now the world's second largest office building. 

The water tower is the only survivor of the onetime Uranus. This weekend, it is awash with video mapping and attracts visitors and locals. When they cross the Festiva's threshold, they find themselves in a sort of open-air museum or crafts fair. 

Mihaela Plescia from a village near Galati shows how to turn common clay into earthenware.

"I decided to carry on the tradition back when I was seven years old. I found my inspiration in the potter's wheel. It usually takes me about a week and a half to make a clay pot, including glazing and painting," the girl told BTA.

Nearby, Nicoleta Uta from Domnesti on Arges is demonstrating her embroidery and weaving skills. She makes no secret of the fact that she has dedicated her life to preserving and passing on traditional stitching, inspired by the folk costume she received from her grandmother.

Miron Cosmin Georgian from Vrancea inherited from his grandmother the passion for weaving. Visitors are fascinated by his skillful spinning with a distaff.

A tour of the stalls will also immerse you in the living secrets of woodcarving, you will learn how copper, brass and silver are processed, how to make slippers from papyrus or leather goods, including details of Roman and Dacian clothing. You will be able to take pictures in front of playful art installations made of metal and plastic waste, try on one of the personalized jackets and blazers printed with portraits of Bulgarian clarinetist Ivo "Ibryama" Papazov or Bosnian musician Goran Bregovic, buy a unique denim bag made from old clothes, or find out what the future holds for you at a tarot card session. 

All this is happening against a backdrop of live ethnic music from Romania, Armenia, France, Turkey, Belgium, Serbia, Hungary, Greece and Poland. The rhythms mingle with the smell of sarma wafting through the air. The dish of rice stuffing wrapped in leaves, which is part of the national cuisine of many European and Asian nations, is not the only delicacy to tempt gourmets. Fresh meat on a skewer, creamy vegetable soup, fried meatballs are just some of the offerings in the festival's culinary corner.  

There are also stalls with a cause, like that of Michi Pereanu, who wants to make a million angels for autistic children. 

"I've made about 10,000 so far. The project is my way of doing good. I paint and model angels out of clay, with half of the proceeds going to therapy for children with special needs. I came up with the idea in 2018 and actually started the project in 2019. I donated my birthday. I wanted to give this day a much more beautiful and broader meaning than just wishes, flowers and chocolate. I organized a charity workshop. The money raised was donated for a playground for children with special needs, somewhere about 30 km from Bucharest, in the village of Piscu, the last village of potters in the area of Ilfov," the Romanian told BTA. 

The poster of the 11th Balkanik Festival features a black-and-white photograph of Renee Perle, a Romanian born in Iasi who arrived in Paris a hundred years ago, where she met the famous photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue. She became the first professional photo model in history, with the artist immortalizing her in 341 images in just two years. Renee Perle's list of Parisian friends included celebs such as Roland Garros, Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. More than once, the Romanian has been lauded by the great John Galliano, and portraits of her have been auctioned at Sotheby's.