Budapest’s largest Easter event will be held on 5-6 April at the Buda Castle. The holiday festival includes a crafts, art and gastronomy fair where, in addition to traditional programs, there will also be a Hungarian artisan wine terrace. Try a range of Easter dishes such as chimney cake, sweet and salty oven-baked dishes, dill and ham pies, herbed rabbit sausages or some hare ragout with wild garlic. Wine will be on offer from the small producers of famous Hungarian wine regions such as Eger and around Lake Balaton. As a specialty, there will be fruit wines on offer as well.
The festival begins with a rather spectacular event on Sunday, the consecration of the tree of life by the Csillagszeműek Dance Ensemble and a walking pole performance. The tree of life is made by Boldizsár Kő and is decorated with Easter eggs as per Hungarian Easter traditions. After this exciting starting point, a variety of programs will spill out onto the Castle’s cobble-stone streets.
The palette includes a concert by the Misztrál Együttes and Bea Palya, a folk dance meeting of Vízbevető Húsvét Hétfő, a music performance by Márta Sebestyén and Judit Andrejszki, and a festive concert by Ági Szalóki. Plus there will be a traditional Hungarian folk "dance house," where you can join in and learn some dance steps.
One of the best part of the festival will be the “locsolás” on Monday, which, like in previous years will know no bounds.
For those who are not familiar with this tradition “locsolás” is when men and boys throw (a bucket) of water at women and girls, or (more politely) sprinkle the lady's hair with perfume. This pagan ritual is associated with fertility, but is usually considered a kind of gesture to women so that they don't “wither” like flowers.
In addition to this fun traditional Easter ritual, which is filled with squealing and excitement, another major attraction of the event will be the distribution of the country’s largest milk loaf. According to the plan, 2000 people will receive a share of the gigantic baked item, which probably gives you a rough idea of the loaf’s size (huge!!).
Another important bonus of the event is the so-called combined ticket. With this combined ticket, visitors get entry to the National Gallery’s permanent and temporary (József Rónai RippI) exhibitions, the Budapest History Museum and of course the Easter event at the Buda Castle. The cost of this ticket is 3400 forints. There is also a family ticket, which costs 5000 forints and grants entry to 2 adults and 4 children.
The tickets are valid for both days (with the exception of the National Gallery, which you can only enter one time).The host of the event is Ági Szalóki, who anyone can “sprinkle” with water on Monday. The detailed program and ticket information can be found here.
