Wrocław Festivals in 2018 [CALENDAR]

April

Musica Polonica Nova Festival

20–28 April 2018, National Forum of Music

The festival showcases the music that is hardly obscure or for connoisseurs only, but creates a dynamic with the world around us.

54 Jazz nad Odrą Festival

26–30 April 2018, Impart

Each spring the festival brings the most intriguing artists and events to provide a wide array of jazz genres and jazz experience.

May

3-Majówka Festival

1–3 May 2018, Pergola by the Centennial Hall

This three-day outdoor festival brings celebrated artists from Poland and across the globe. The highlight of this year’s festival is Ayọ and Polish artists such as Kult, Perfect, The Dumplings, Ørganek, Nocny Kochanek and Pidżama Porno.

15 Millenium Docs Against Gravity

11–20 May 2018, Lower Silesia Film Centre (DCF)

DCF hosts Poland’s largest documentary festival.

3. Silesius International Poetry Festival

The festival is combined with the Silesius Wrocław Poetry Award Gala, which has been held for ten years now. The audience are in for meet-the author sessions with Silesius nominees in both categories (poetry début and poetry book of the year) and lifetime achievement award winners at the Silesius Salon.

International Biennale of Media Art

The largest overview of contemporary media art in Poland brings not only presentations and meet-the-author sessions, but also academic conference that bring together artists and researchers.

Long Night of the Museums (19 May)

Wrocław museums, galleries, exhibitions spaces and many cultural institutions are open until small hours throughout the night. Visitors are admitted free of charge or at a nominal fee.

International Crime Story Festival 2018

Meet-the-author sessions with crime story writers (including Lisa Marklund, Jo Nesbo and Alex Marwood in previous editions), lectures on investigation work, screen writing and literary workshops and even crime story classes for schoolchildren.

Leo Festival

The Leopoldinum Orchestra Festival is developed by the former artistic director of the orchestra and eminent violinist and conductor Ernst Kovacic. The Leopoldinum Orchestra have performed in a variety of locations, including the Wrocław Main Railway Station or the inner yard of the Ossolineum Library. The festival programme brings a variety of works that are both intriguing and rarely performed.

Dobre Strony Book Fair for Children and Young People

25–27 May 2018, Wrocław Congress Centre

The fair caters to children, young people, their parents and teachers.

Wroclove Design. International Festival of Good Design

The festival brings together design, architecture, art and business. The programme features a variety of exhibitions, meetings, workshops and lectures.

SIMCHA Jewish Culture Festival

The very heart of the Four Temples District serves as a venue for a variety of concerts, meetings, film screenings, workshops and fairs for people passionate about art, knowledge and contact with Jewish tradition, open to dialogue and with the need for mutual tolerance and respect.

May with Ancient Music

The festival showcases the music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque. All concerts are organised in Wrocław's historic interiors.

June

Europe on the Fork

The festival celebrates regional produce and brings back the memory of local flavours. As usual, a grand feast to the sounds of music in Wrocław's Rynek is the highest point of the festival. The residents of Wrocław and visitors are in for a selection of dishes from a dozen or so different countries across Europe.

New Children’s Theatre Review

1–8 June 2018, Wrocław Puppet Theatre

The spectators are in for the best shows across Poland and selected plays from abroad, all of them ground-breaking, creative and courageous.

9. Wrocław Good Beer Festival

8–10 June 2018, Wrocław Stadium esplanade

The celebration of draught and bottled beers from several dozen regional, craft, contract and restaurant breweries, mainly from Poland, the Czech Republic and Belgium, but also Ukraine, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, England and Scotland.

Art Of Improvisation

The AOI is not merely a musical project, the line-up featuring a variety of performance, dance and theatre arts, each of which based on improvisation.

Non Sola Scripta International Organ Festival

One of the earliest and most prestigious organ festivals in Poland and Europe, held every summer Sunday at the the historic Holy Cross Church in Ostrów Tumski (Cathedral Island).

Festival of High Temperatures

22–24 June 2018

The festival is Poland's one and only artistic event in which masters of fire share their knowledge and experience with the public while showcasing the secrets of their trade. The festival is held in the ateliers and garden of the Fine Arts Academy in Wrocław

Survival Art Review

The overview features buildings, building complexes and factory floors that are located close to the city's central spots, as well as public spaces that attract the everyday life of the city.

14 Speculative Fiction Days

29 June–1 July 2018, “Zamek" Culture Centre

A veritable feast for speculative fiction fans, book and comic book readers, film and TV series fans and gamers, including board game fans, video games, RPG or LARP.

July

Meet-the-Author Month

The festival features a variety of Polish and foreign writers and brings daily meet-the-author sessions at Wrocław’s Mediatheque.

Evenings at Arsenal. Chamber Music Festival

Concerts are held in the courtyard of Wrocław's Arsenal at the turn of June and July.

Summer at the White Stork Synagogue

The festival brings a series of concerts (Sundays in July and August) from European artists showcasing the diverse musical legacy of ethnic minorities as well as the influence of klezmer and folk music on other genres such as the avant-garde or jazz.

Brave Festival

As suggested by its founder Grzegorz Bral, the festival caters to the bold and brave. Those who turn their otherness into their greatest strength most deserve to be called the brave. The festival’s focus is not on artefacts but people who harness art to save forgotten or abandoned cultures. The festival returns after one-year absence to explore the idea of Visible-Invisible.

August

18 New Horizons Festival

26 July – 5 August 2018, Nowe Horyzonty Cinema

FIND OUT MORE

BuskerBus

The festival promotes street art in a variety of forms, including music, circus, clowns, jugglers, dancers and many more. The shows are held simultaneously in 5 or 6 locations.

Forum Musicum.

The artistic director of the festival offers his own angle on ancient music to bring intriguing ensembles and unique programmes.

September

Wratislavia Cantans

Each September, the festival brings celebrated performers to Wrocław. To date, Wratislavia has hosted Cecilia Bartoli, Riccardo Muti, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Renee Fleming. Find out more.

Asymmetry Festival

The core focus of the festival is on music that goes beyond generic boundaries of metal, rock, jazz, electro or folk.

International Children’s Theatre Festival

This theatre festival caters to children. This is also a wonderful opportunity for them to engage with theatre at its international best.

Wrocław Dwarf Festival

The festival showcases Wrocław dwarves and has been designed for children. The greatest attraction of the festival is the dwarf parade and the Great Dwarf Village, where children can practice their skills as visual arts. The festival also provides a variety location-based games, concerts and cabarets.

TIFF Festival

The festival's focus is on photography and selected topics that are relevant and inspire creativity, both in photographers and their audience.

October

Dialog Theatre Festival

This is one of the most prominent theatre festivals in Poland. Wrocław attracts highly celebrated artists globally, and shows often spark heated debates.

Avant Art Festival

The festival's focus is on music, including experimental music, and contemporary theatre. Performers are also invited. The organisers think little of labels and stylistic divisions. What they seek is quality.

Bruno Schulz Festival

The festival is also a great opportunity to discuss Polish-Jewish-Ukrainian-German relations and their traces in literature and visual arts.

8. American Film Festival

The festival's idea is to showcase both latest films from celebrated directors and works from emerging artists.

International Short Story Festival

This veritable celebration of the short story promotes ambitious literature while showcasing original narrative forms and exploring the impact of literature on other art forms.

Guitar Masters International Festival

The festival showcases a unique mixture of classical guitar music and fingerstyle, as well as jazz, flamenco and folk.

WROsound

Known formerly as Wrocławski Sound, the festival has featured over 90 different artists and brought 100 hours of live music to date.

WROSTJA

The world’s first monodrama festival showcases only select monodramas and small plays.

DOFA Lower Silesia Archtecture Festival

This annual event is focused on raising architectural awareness and quality public space. The programme features a variety of exhibitions, workshops, lectures, seminars, multimedia presentations and concerts.

November

Jazztopad

With ingenious ideas and American jazz classics on stage, the festival has become one of the leading jazz festivals not only in Wrocław, but also elsewhere in Poland.

17. Wrocław Industrial Festival

This is the only such festival in Central and Eastern Europe. The Festival showcases avant-garde art: music, visual arts and performance.

15. One Love Sound Fest

17 November, Centennial Hall

This is the largest dance hall festival in Europe. The artists showcase the latest and the most ambitious and exciting projects from all over the world.

December

Ambient Festival

The festival promotes ambitious electronic music that straddles ambient, minimal, lounge and trip hop.

27. Wrocław Good Book Fair

from 29 November to 2 December 2018 at the Centennial Hall

With best publishers from all over Poland, a fantastic publishing offer and a wealth of meet-the-author sessions, Wrocław Good Book Fair brings a veritable celebration of literature.