Hungarian Conservative

Celebrating the Season: Várkert Bazaar’s Advent Extravaganza Unveiled

Charity shop in the Várkert Bazaar during the Advent of 2021.
Balázs Mohai/MTI
With the Advent period nearing, the traditional series of programmes at the Várkert Bazaar will make sure that visitors, adults and children alike, get into the Christmas spirit while also learning about traditional Hungarian customs and cuisine.

The Várkert Bazaar’s Advent event series will welcome visitors with grand concerts, a craft fair, and family activities, starting with a concert featuring Kati Wolf on 26 November.

Deputy CEO for Tourism, Culture, and Communication at the Castle District Authority Sikota Krisztina announced at a press conference on Wednesday that the programme series, now in its ninth edition, will feature a double concert by Budapest Bár on 17 December, with the participation of popular artists.

Among the Várkert event series, Aposztróf will entertain the audience with a special Christmas edition titled The Music of Angels, Candlelight on 12 December. On this occasion, Anna Juhász will be joined by Marcsi Borbás, a programme host and editor, and Olga Szederkényi, a writer. In the Mysterious History series, Csaba Katona, a historian, will talk with Zoltán Fónagy, an associate professor at the Faculty of Arts at ELTE University and a senior researcher at the Research Centre for the Humanities, about Christmas traditions and customs related to the New Year.

Hungarian craft traditions will come to life at the Várkert Bazaar with an Advent fair in the atrium,

featuring works of popular designers and award-winning artists from the Hungarian arts and crafts sector during the first three weekends of Advent. Sikota added that in Castle District, the recently renovated Csikós courtyard will help you get into the Christmas mood with a Christmas tree, a nativity scene, a market, hot beverages, and festive delicacies. Sikota emphasized that the interdisciplinary programme includes free family activities during the Advent weekends. In the atrium of Várkert Bazaar, there will be craft workshops with the participation of artists. Organizers will also welcome the audience with interactive Christmas games and a musical-poetry performance based on the poems of Krisztián Grecsó.

The programme series is to kick off with a record release concert by singer Wolf Kati, who revealed that she herself wrote the lyrics for her new album. The songs touch on various themes, such as being a singer at this age, the challenges of being a woman in the industry, and motherhood.

Titled The Table Speaks, a culinary-themed outdoor photo exhibition will open in the Csikós courtyard. Marcsi Borbás explained that the exhibition will showcase Advent and Christmas dishes from Hungarian-speaking regions of the Carpathian Basin across 18 panels. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover lesser-known dishes at the exhibition.

The Bagossy Brothers Company, formed ten years ago, will give a double Advent concert on the first Sunday of Advent, 3 December. Norbert Bagossy, the band’s lead, revealed that the concert will feature reinterpretations of well-known Christmas and religious songs, as well as original festive compositions and their old songs.

On 9 December, Kossuth Prize-winning performer, composer, and songwriter Tamás Szarka will give a Christmas concert.  On 16 December, Irie Maffia will perform, featuring brass instruments and a gospel choir.

Krisztina Sikota drew attention to the fact that this year’s visitors to the Advent programmes can also

participate in the nationwide donation campaign organized by the Hungarian Interchurch Aid.

Additionally, donations can be made during online ticket purchases.

Kristóf Gáncs, communications director of the Interchurch Aid, explained that the donations will support those in need not only during the holidays but throughout the entire year.


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With the Advent period nearing, the traditional series of programmes at the Várkert Bazaar will make sure that visitors, adults and children alike, get into the Christmas spirit while also learning about traditional Hungarian customs and cuisine.

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