festivals in hungary: cozy ones

just after the bigger ones, there are three quite similar happening in the three corners of the country. if you are around hop in. they are more familiar, people are more opened for new connections, beer is much cheeper, ticket prices are lower (a daily is around 20 euros). in the north-east corner, the capital of the famous wine region, Tokaj has the hegyalja festival. the main attractions are Katatonia, Juliette & The Licks, Adam Freeland and N.O.H.A.. four days, 9th-13th of July.
on the west side has another on the coast of the big lake Balaton, but it's on the north side in the youth camp of Zánka. the balatone advertises itself with RZA from the wu tang clan, beatsteaks and the real mckenzies. 24th-27th of July.
the third is in Szeged, next to the serbian-romanian border. szin - youth days of szeged - is the oldest music festival in hungary held since the '60s. this year, you can have joy with Morcheeba and several hungarians. at the end of the summer, 27th-30th of August.

and one more, a unique one. it's more an open air goa party, but for four days, 6th-10th of August. the ozora located in the middle of the country, in a hilly region, just in the nature.

not too late for festivals

although, there's one within a week. yeek, that means it's really summertime. you don't need to stuck in 36 celsius in the city. i mean, you have to come here to see the pool above the Gödör club and drink some bottles of beer in the park or just to see the panorama from the fishermen's bastion. but, maybe, in the summertime you would prefer the festivals. let me introduce some.
the big ones.
first of all, the sziget at the beginning of august (12-18). the biggest name from hungary in this scene. it's really a huge happening on an island, not very far from the downtown of budapest. so you can even stay in a tent or in a hostel in the city. on last.fm, you can see a quite long list with the performing artists. but the festival last for six (plus two pre) days.


if you buy the tickets (online) a daily one is 32 euros, the weekly ones are for 120 (without camping) and 150 euros. cheaper than roskilde, hm?


second is volt (2-5 july !). right next to austria, and not very far from bratislava. so you can use those airports and probably it's way easier to get an international ticket to those capitals. and the lineup: manu chao, the offspring, cypress hill, exploited. four days for 60 euros if you buy it in advance (70 at place). daily ticket is 24 (28) euros.

the electronic one is the balaton sound (10-13 july) with massive attack, fatboy slim, goldfrapp and many hungarians, of course. the place is just next to the lake balaton, you can swim in it. best for the hot summertime with bit of hangover. tickets for 28 (36) euros and passes for 70 (85) euros.

there'll be a next post with the cozy, smaller fests. i just need some sleep now. cheers.

special events on 21st of June

as it was like last year this day also celebrates the night of museums. there still isn't an english official page. as i know, the ticket is 1200 huf (5 euros) and it's valid to all the museums. the shows start during the afternoon and end late night after midnight, but it depends on the institutions. you can grab a free program list from cinemas or cafes, there's a big EXIT sign on the front page. whatever.

there are two more events, more self-organized. the bicycle messengers do the traditional yearly war in the downtown. you know, that game where everybody has a number on his/her forehead and has to hide it from the opposite team. protect your flag, read as much enemy number as you can and run. or ride, because you have the bike. according to their weblog, the meeting is at 3 pm on the birthplace of the hungarian cycling sport.
probably you don't have a bike. you can find some rent a bike on the bottom of this page, under the kerékpárkölcsönzés title.

and the other is also a battle. like in the medieval times, one team has the castle and the other's attacking. a bit like hide and seek and the other catch game we all played in elementary. the attackers have to take their flags to some determinated places without catching them by the others. you have red or blue ribbon and have to give it to the other, if you get catched - and they've got a point. the meeting is at 7 pm, here (Vérmező park, Moszkva tér side). and a link.