1/8
Carnival in Hungary
In Hungary, the Carnival Season – called “Farsang” – is a colorful festival period that stats during Epiphany on January 6th and goes on for about six weeks until Ash Wednesday. It is generally associated with fun festivities, cheery feasts, masquerade balls, and folk celebrations that all aim to scare the cold months away, and welcome the springtime’s warmer weather. One of the main events of this vibrant parade – the “Busójárás” (translating to “Busó-walking”) – takes place during February 23-28 in the southern city of Mohács, where scary-looking men wearing wooden masks, horns, and woolly cloaks noisily run around and frivolously chase women. Budapest often boasts various Farsang events as well, such as festive feasts and playful parades, where visitors can enjoy the special Carnival atmosphere, like a Doughnut Festival in Buda, a space-themed party at Mika Tivadar Mulató, or a Gatsby-style jamboree at Black Cat Pub.
2/8
Finnish Film Days
Within the framework of Finnish Film Days, nine prominent Finnish productions screen throughout five days – between February 8-12 – at an alluring Budapest art cinema, presenting some of the major talents of the Nordic country’s film industry. The festival opens with a drawing documentary, Pixadores, that follows four passionate graffiti artists around São Paulo; the director, Amir Escandari, will also attend the screening. Besides the showings of documentary and fiction films, the festival is also complete with other exciting events, such as club nights, workshops, and roundtable talks investigating the topics of sound design and female roles in the contemporary film industry. All of the films screen with original Finnish audio and English and Hungarian subtitles, unless indicated otherwise. More details
3/8
Budapest Mangalica Festival
Every February, Budapest’s central Szabadság Square is the site of a celebration for a Hungarian breed of domestic pigs, Mangalica, in a buoyant festival featuring a wide range of Mangalica-based meals cooked on the spot under the open sky, alongside handcrafted goods of local producers, Hungary’s finest wines and pálinka specialties, and live-music performances during February 10-12. One of the major attractions of the festival is usually the live animal exhibition, where animals of the three breeds (blonde, red, and swallow-belly Mangalica swine) and a sow with her piglets are moved into a temporary corral on the square. This folk festival is accessible to anyone free of charge. More details
4/8
Púder Bárszínház és Galéria
“Every fear hides a wish.” On February 12th, Theatre on the Roof presents “Edmond”, an English-language one-act play by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and playwright David Mamet, within the eclectic interior of Púder Bar and Gallery. In the play, an encounter with a fortune-teller leads white-collar worker Edmond to confront the emptiness of his life and marriage, embarking on a journey into New York’s seedy underbelly. However, to Edmond’s surprise, it’s dark outside: hookers charge, pimps are violent, and the guy on the corner is a con man. With nothing to lose but his liberty, Edmond spirals further out of control, towards prison, disintegration and a very brutal redemption...
5/8
Budapest Dance Festival
An exciting exhibit and prodigious dance performances of talented troupes from Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Spain form the Budapest Dance Festival, happening from February 18th through March 1st at several stunning cultural venues in Budapest, such as the Palace of Arts, the MOM Cultural Center, the National Theater, the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, and the Pesti Vigadó. Visitors to this festival can enjoy performances of the Nederlands Dans Theater 2, La Veronal from Spain, and the Szeged Contemporary Dance Company, among others. More details
6/8
Alex Clare Concert
Alex Clare’s fantastic voice often fills festival venues and concert halls all around the world. The 31-year-old British singer and songwriter released his debut album, titled “The Lateness of the Hour”, in the early 2000s, and even though the record – on which Clare collaborated with Major Lazer – was full of excellent tracks, it didn’t top the charts straight away, so Alex Clare was fired from Island Records. However, not long after, Microsoft used his now biggest hit, called “Too Close”, for an international campaign, which brought him immense and unstoppable international success. Being primarily a soul singer, Alex Clare often experiments with dubstep, d’n’b, dancehall, and even with electronica. There is hardly ever a chance to see him perform at a small club concert, so don’t miss the opportunity to hear his superb songs howl in A38’s great hall on February 23rd. More details
7/8
Ball of Hungarian Wines
The Ball of Hungarian Wines annually welcomes an elite crowd to sample 100 of the country’s finest reds, whites, and sparkling whites amid the exclusive interior of the Corinthia Hotel Budapest. Beginning at 6:30pm on February 25th, Magyar violin virtuoso Norbert Döme welcomes visitors with live melodies, while from 7pm guests can enjoy beautifully presented mouthwatering dinner meals, such as creamy camembert with Granny Smith apple and radicchio, confit goose leg with butternut squash textures and savoy cabbage, or beef tenderloin with foie gras and root vegetables, all amid jazz and swing melodies. More details
8/8
Lindsey Stirling Concert
In only four years – since the release of her 2012 eponymous album – American violin virtuoso, dancer, and performance artist Lindsey Stirling humbly became one of the 21st century’s most innovative impresarios by pursuing her dream of popularizing cinematic violin-driven electronic music. At the moment she tours around the world with her third full-length album, “Brave Enough”. “It draws on the same contrast of light versus dark, but the flow is very different. (note: compared to her second album, “Shatter Me”) It starts in a place of less surety. As the record progresses, it softens and turns more optimistic and hopeful. I’m way closer to the place I’m seeking than when I started this album.” – says Lindsey about the record. On February 27th, Lindsey Stirling bursts on stage like an energy bomb at the Budapest Sportaréna, alluring the audience with magical violin melodies and wonderful visuals. More details and tickets
