Barbora Botošová will perform with students at Gipsy Bashavel (source: Courtesy of Cigánsky Bašavel)
The 9th edition of the traditional Roma festival, Cigánsky Bašavel / Gipsy Bashavel, will come to the Eurovea embankment on August 19. Part of the Bratislava Cultural Summer and Castle Festivities, the event offers an afternoon (15:00-22:00) full of authentic Roma music, dancing, singing, a circus, and more. The highlight will be a two-hour-long gala celebrating the performances of young artists from the Divé Maky / Wild Poppies project, as led by violinist Barbora Botošová and her guests – the Credance dance group.
The multi-genre open-air festival provides entertainment for the whole family, offering accompanying events like traditional Roma meals, demonstrations of circus shows, a visual art workshop, face painting, animations for children, a moveable café for adults, handmade items, and more, organisers informed.
"We are happy that Cigánsky Bašavel has already become the traditional site of joint experiences that help people know each other and become closer, while also removing blocks,” Barbora Kohútiková, founder of the Pro Donum civic association that organises the Divé Maky project, said. She added that Bashavel is organised each year to showcase the young talents of Divé Maky while changing their fate with the support of the wider public.
Admission is free but visitors will be able to support talented Roma children and youth by texting (DMS MAKY) to the number 877, or by making a financial donation on the spot.
More information, along with the programme, can be found at ciganskybasavel.sk. The whole project and its structure is described on divemaky.sk.
