About the ESK Festival 2016, Rzeszów
The Rise of Eastern Culture Festival – the European Stadium of Culture takes place for the fourth time in Rzeszów. This interdisciplinary and multi-faceted festival is a fusion of music, photography, dance, theater and literature. It is the most important and anticipated cultural event in Rzeszów which gathers together several thousand people in the audience.
The main concert which has become a cultural landmark of the city takes place at the Municipal Stadium on the 24th of June at 9 p.m. During the concert the international collectives give performances so guests can expect the unique musical offering combined with an interesting visual setting. We can hear: Natalia Nykiel and Golden Parazyth from Lithuania, Dawid Kwiatkowski and The Hardkiss from Ukraine, Skubas and Jono McCleery from the UK or Sarsa with Green Room & Dato Lomidze from Georgia. The star of the evening is Within Temptation which performs at the stage with Piotr Rogucki within the framework of a collective. The event is opened by Kortez and his band.
40 various events, including concerts, exhibitions, performances, film screenings, workshops, meetings with authors and much more are held during the European Stadium of Culture. 150 artists from 10 countries is going to visit the city.
An official opening of the festival takes place at the stage of the Multimedia Fountain on the 23rd of June at 9 p.m. It’s ennobled by a performance of the Art Color Ballet group which presents the spectacle „Slavic Prelude” reaching to the roots of the Slavic culture. Earlier that day, there are openings of the following exhibitions: „Dreams of an artist” in the form of an open „a house for the art” structure, „Popamiątki”, „Portraits”, „Edik” and the interactive „Slavic Beasts” in the Underground Tourist Route. The performance of „Romanticism – New Catharsis” prepared by the Wanda Siemaszkowa Theatre is also held in the Underground Route. The workshops of wet plate collodion – „Written on the glass”, which take place in the Nierzeczywista Gallery are a great opportunity for photography lovers.
The next days bring even more surprising musical and artistic events, including the performance of „Emigres” by Sławomir Mrożek with the actor Piotr Cyrwus in the cast as well as KISFF – Kiev International Short Film Festival in the festival club, a concert of the Ukrainian artist – Jamala, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in the Market Square, numerous meetings with authors, exhibitions and an interdisciplinary project of the Provincial and City Public Library.
The ambitious schedule of the festival is completed by Battle of the South – a break dance battle for which artists from the Eastern Partnership countries are invited and a concert of Art Celebration during which at the stage we can see i.a. Michał Urbaniak. Te-Tris, Eskaubei and Ten Typ Mes also present their own songs but to the accompaniment of the band and with arrangements written especially for this occasion by Zbigniew Jakubek.
There are leisure activities for children during the festival too so we invite the youngest participants to the Kids Zone. The European Stadium of Culture is also the climatic club festival located at Boulevards of Rzeszów with a rich plan of involved events, a catering area, a relaxation zone and numerous attractions for children.