Polish Aviation Museum

On Tuesday, July 23, 2024, an extraordinary musical event took place at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, which we hope will mark the beginning of a long-term
collaboration between the Museum as a Małopolska Cultural Institution and the Małopolska
Cultural Centre SOKÓŁ — the organizer of the Festival of the Children of the Mountains, which promotes
the musical traditions of mountain regions from around the world.

At 4:00 PM, the ensembles and guests were welcomed in the Museum’s main building by Tomasz Kosecki, Director of the Polish Aviation Museum, and Andrzej Zarych, Director of the Małopolska Cultural Centre SOKÓŁ.

Welcome of the ensembles and guests before the concert by the directors of the Polish Aviation Museum and the Małopolska Cultural Centre SOKÓŁ

We are extremely pleased to host the participants of the Festival of the Children of the Mountains at our Museum in Kraków — today for the first time, but I hope this will become a tradition. The Polish Aviation Museum is tasked not only with protecting Poland’s aviation heritage, but also, as a Małopolska Cultural Institution, with actively participating in cultural events promoting our region, both in Poland and worldwide — were the welcoming words of Director Tomasz Kosecki.

Dance performance by a children's dance group

Artistic performances during the festival celebrations

Children’s ensembles from Colombia and Lipnica Wielka performed in the main building:

COMPAÑÍA INFANTIL ESCUELA DE DANZA FUNZA – Funza, Colombia

MALI LIPNICZANIE – Lipnica Wielka, Poland

Dance performance by a youth dance group

Admission to the concert was free.

Organized this year for the 31st time, the International Festival of Children’s Regional Ensembles “Festival of the Children of the Mountains” draws on the programmatic principles of the Festival of the Mountains — a pre-war event initiated by the Union of Mountain Lands in 1935. Children’s regional ensembles from mountainous areas on all continents participate in the Festival. The Festival will continue until Saturday, July 27, when a grand final concert will take place on the main stage at the SOKÓŁ Cultural Centre in Nowy Sącz, during which all ensembles participating in this year’s festival will perform.