Stretching from the Buda riverfront by the grand Gellért Hotel to the “bottomless” Lake Feneketlen, Bartók Béla Boulevard was a historic haunt for many of Hungary’s best writers and artists. Continuing this tradition for the third time now, this weekend’s ELEVEN Tavasz event highlights diverse exhibits, installations, and other cultural programs at the street’s galleries, design shops, and eateries. During May 6-8, a total of 24 locations are participating in the event, welcoming everyone to attend occasions ranging from a Portuguese literary evening to a sometimes-surreal design auction.

The image of Buda’s Bartók Béla Boulevard in District XI cannot be separated from the coffeehouses and galleries that many notable Hungarian artists and writers visited on a regular basis. While this part of Budapest may not be as culturally active as it once was, the neighborhood’s residents and contemporary artists are continually striving to revive that creative spirit here, so three years ago the owners of local restaurants and galleries joined urban-development experts and volunteers to organize and created the art festivals ELEVEN Tavasz and ELEVEN Ősz (meaning “ELEVEN Spring” and “ELEVEN Autumn”, respectively). Their goal is noble: they’d like Bartók Béla Boulevard to be filled with life again, and to become a popular community site, the bohemian center of Újbuda.

The next stage of this movement is this weekend’s ELEVEN Tavasz. For this wide-ranging event, the street’s 24 public businesses will be filled with unique programs for three days during May 6-8, both for adults and children. These programs include day-starting yoga at DownDog, a Sunday brunch with Portuguese dishes at the Gellért Hotel, and even community knitting at Gárdonyi Square.

When browsing the programs, we might notice the frequent occurrence of the word “Portuguese”, which is no coincidence. This year’s featured theme is centered around Portugal, which means that among others, we can get more acquainted with the exhibitions, movies, and books of Portuguese artists, and with the country’s culinary specialties. Our personal favorite is the Portuguese menu at
Kelet Café: in addition to their usual food and drink assortment, they will also offer a special mystery selection based on Portuguese novellas and novels. Our order is served in just a few minutes, whatever we might end up choosing. Additional programs can be found here (in Hungarian); other participating locations include Palack Wine Bar, Faur Zsófi Gallery, and La Nube Café.

Another exciting program will be an initiative that is unique at a European level, called 1 Művész 1 Porta. For this creative endeavor, 11 artists will renovate old objects from the street’s galleries, and exhibit them for a week. On May 7th, these rethought and sometimes-surreal items will also be available for purchase through a charity design auction, starting at 6pm at the Gellért Hotel.