2010-03-01 Wedding in Kurpie

"Wesele Kurpiowskie" is not only about a couple getting married - it is a part of a bigger yearly event. From the 18th till 20th of June in Kadzidło the International Folklore Festival will be taking place. Over 400 artists and folklore craftsmen from Poland as well as from other European coutries - this year from Serbia, Macedonia, Nepal and Georgia – will be present.

The aim of the festival is to make popular the most interesting, valuable aspects at Kurpie and everything that is worth to be handed over to the next generations. At the same time it serves as an opportunity to promote on an international scale wedding rites. Foreign folklore ensembles will present their wedding traditions.

This year, on the 20th of June in the presence of folklore ensemble Kurpianka-Cepelia from Kadzidło, vows will be made by Kurpianka - Katarzyna Sobiech – a bride from z Kadzidło, Kurpie region and Karol Symonowicz – a groom  from Warsaw.

The folk event takes place according to the course of a traditional wedding. Participants and spectators become wedding guests. They can taste regional dishes and dance with the newlyweds. The event is accompanied by fairs and exhibitions of folklore handicrafts, cart rides, gaudy wedding processions, folk amusements and other attractions.

Getting married has always constituted an important event in the rural community – as much when it comes to economy (it resulted in merging plots of land), social (affinities, stronger village family) and cultural (wedding reception as a great occasion for amusement). Strong attachment of the forest population to the traditions of their fathers has made it possible for the wedding rite to be preserved in the Kurpie region in a relatively unchanged form.