Summer in Podlasie: festivals, family and a meeting of traditions

Podlaskie Spotkania, and a memory before our wedding

Podlaskie Spotkania was one of the events we particularly loved. The original gallery moved between performers from different countries, and we enjoyed both the performances and the moments when we could speak with the people taking part.

One group of photographs in the old post was introduced as 2013, the day before our wedding. Others came from later summers. The gallery therefore should not be treated as a record of one afternoon or a list of artists appearing together at the next edition.

That distinction is useful when reading an old festival story: the photographs show what made an event memorable for us, while a current organiser’s programme is what tells you who will actually perform, where and when.

Białystok, smaller stages and Czeremcha

At Podlaska Oktawa Kultur, the original account remembers main concerts in Białystok and appearances by visiting groups in other places around the region. We went to two concerts and enjoyed the chance to encounter different kinds of performance without turning the day into a long journey.

The organiser’s 2026 edition page is now an archive of that completed summer, not an announcement for the next one. Use the organiser’s latest notices when planning a new visit; the dates and line-up in either our 2016 story or a completed edition do not establish next summer’s arrangements. 1

Czeremcha offered a wider mix of folk music and arts in our old list, including workshops, films and meetings. Its organiser’s website is the useful place to check the chosen edition and its actual programme. We remember the variety rather than treating every activity mentioned years ago as a permanent feature. 2

Białowieża and theatre at a small child’s pace

The Peretocze photographs from Białowieża include one of our favourite kinds of festival moment: grandma with Zosia and a visiting group before the concerts. A performance is only part of a day like this; waiting, meeting and being together can be just as memorable.

At Wertep, the original journal recalls ten-month-old Zosia watching a Teatr Malutki performance with fascination. That was one child’s response to one particular show, not an age recommendation for every performance under the festival’s name.

Wertep presents theatre in different places, so check the venue, location and age guidance for the specific show. Its current programme is a better guide to the shape of a new outing than the performances named in our earlier account. 3

Other names in the old notebook

Our earlier list also included Kupala celebrations in Dubicze Cerkiewne and historical re-enactment performances in Drohiczyn. We were impressed by the music, staging and atmosphere. Their particular dates and arrangements belong to those visits.

Sabantuj in Kruszyniany appeared as something we hoped to attend. We had not been when we wrote the post, so it is not an experience we can describe first-hand here. Keeping a wish separate from a visit makes the older list more useful.

For a family festival day now, start with the exact event rather than assuming the region follows one shared calendar. Check travel between venues, toilets, shade or shelter, seating and a way to leave when someone needs a rest. Leave enough time around the performance for the ordinary parts of a day with children.

What we carried home

The strongest memory is of a region where several traditions could be visible at once, with visitors bringing others into the same space. Our enjoyment came from listening and talking, rather than deciding that one costume or language could explain a whole community.

That kind of unexpected connection also shaped our Munich birthday-celebration memory. It began close to home, with a conversation and an invitation. Both stories remind us that a family’s interesting journeys do not all need to begin with a long-distance ticket.