What makes this fair unique among the many other Christmas markets in Europe first of all is the location itself. The Saint Stephen Basilica sets a magical stage not just for the fair but also for the uniquely beautiful and artistic way the historical surrounding is used to become part of the event.

Light painting
The organizers have created a gorgeous way to use the Basilica building as canvas to an incredible light show, using the architectural elements of the church. Every day from 5:30 pm the visitors can enjoy 3 different types of light painting shows every half an hour.

The Advent Fair by the Basilica provides beautiful surroundings to be able to stop for a second and remember the important things in life, to emphasize the real values of Christmas by putting the focus on family, culture and charity. The key goal of these events is to safeguard traditions and to contribute to Advent in terms of religion and culture while providing a place for quality entertainment through a long list of events.

Culture at the Advent Fair by the Basilica
In the name of culture the organizers have brought together gastronomy with Budapest’s favorite theaters and a lot more, even a third of the exhibitors at the fair are folklore artists, selling real, valuable, quality gifts.

Art theme

Installations of Gábor Miklós Szőke - A very special experience is offered by the installations of Gábor Miklós Szőke on the Advent Fair. The artist creates a forest of his Christmas trees on one of the most beautiful squares of the inner city. These “pine sculptures” are prepared in different forms, colors and sizes made of special organic laths and boards having become a “trademark” of the artist. A part of the concept is that the smaller installations are sold for the same price as an ordinary cut pine tree. And yet they are durable, special and environment-conscious.

Birds - A special spectacle of our show is the “angel dance” of Middle-East origin. It has great traditions in many European countries too, but it is new to Hungary. The dancers have huge wings and with the colorful swirling of them they can tell you beautiful stories. They put you in a special mood merging components of classical ballet and that of belly dance. The impact is similar to the show of “flag throwers”.

Katona József Theater
One of the most popular theaters in Budapest has decided to get in touch with the audiences with a unique approach. In order to remind people of the value of theaters and encourage them to enjoy culture more often, the artists and actors of the theater visit the Fair every weekend to mingle with the people interested, take pictures, give autographs and to get to know their audience while promoting their upcoming shows and selling tickets.

Family, children and the environment in focus

Skate rink and the environment
Being environment friendly is slowly becoming more and more important in Central and Eastern Europe and this event is a perfect example for this phenomenon. Not only is the decoration on the Christmas tree made with energy saving bulbs, the waste collected selectively but also the free skating rink provided for children is the SummericeTM technology which requires zero energy consumption.

Every day children under 14 can enjoy skating, also on weekends from Friday to Sunday trainers will help to teach the smallest ones to skate all free of charge.

Juggler Play House
Children and adults can test their reflexes, adroitness, endurance and balancing skills. Many juggler tools are presented to the visitors like simple balls, maces, poi, devil’s stick, long stick, yo-yo, diablo or contact ball. These tools, exercises and techniques can develop the general movement coordination, sense of balance and physical condition not even to mention the joy of playing and experience of success.

Photo opportunity with Santa
Samsung, one of the main sponsors of the Fair has brought a special photo opportunity for the crowds. Little ones can take pictures with Santa, personalize them with their own messages to create special memories this year. The pictures are showcased on a large projector every evening at the fair and can be downloaded from Samsung Hungary’s Facebook site making a perfect gift for the family for Christmas.

Gourmet theme
Visitors are not limited to visual experiences at this fair. A carefully created gourmet theme runs through the 4 weeks of the festivities. A specially designed new treat is being introduced, called the Kolbice. While on December 14 -16 the Gourmet weekend features star chefs to bring new novelties into our accustomed world of tastes at Christmas. The organizers didn’t forget children either, they can try some tricks in the gingerbread decorating workshop.

Detailed program of the Gourmet weekend
The Boook publishing company has brought together some of Hungary’s best chefs – Tamás Bereznay, Eszter Horváth, Dóra Havas and Zsolt Serényi – to visit the Fair and help people prepare for the holiday menu by providing ideas. They even set up on the spot to make a few delicious meals teaching everyone a few useful tricks:

December 14., Friday, 12:00:
Tamás Bereznay - Pumpkin fried with ham, polenta and beetroot salad dressed with goat cheese

December 14., Friday, 04:00 pm:
Tamás Bereznay - Roast duck with red cabbage and apple stewed with thyme

December 15., Saturday, 11:00 am:
Dóra Havas - Home made Christmas candies and other sweets

December 15., Saturday, 04:00 pm:
Eszter Horváth - Christmas muffins, crèmes, hot chocolate

December 16., Sunday, 05:00 pm:
Zsolt Serényi - Christmas menu

KOLBice
The plan was to create a traditional Hungarian treat made of organic materials but with a twist. The harmony of the taste stayed the same but it was dressed up in a drastically new way. KOLBice looks like ice-cream in a cone, but in this case the cone is a savory pastry with sausages as the topping.

Charity at the Advent Fair by the Basilica

The Hungarian Olympic Committee along with Samsung have created the „Smart Sport for Children” program. 10 million Hungarian Forints worth of donation was handed over to support sport organizations for children in Budapest.

Charity campaign of the mayor of Belváros-Lipótváros
The mayor of Belváros-Lipótváros, Antal Rogán will hand out presents to 30 underprivileged elementary school pupils of District 5 on December 18 at 12 o’clock. Red Cross helps the municipality in finding the persons to be presented.

Society of Respect
2012 is the year of “active aging” and the solidarity among generations in Europe. In this spirit pensioners above 60 show us everyday how it is possible to live an active life in an elderly age. All incoming donations are forwarded to Ódry Árpád Home of Artists that helps elder people.

December 14. - Kamilla Kockásné Villányi patchwork and pearl maker
December 15. - Gábor Szalka ceramist
December 16. - Ferenc Markovics photographer
December 17-18-19. - Juilanna Nábrádi glass painter
December 20. - Márta Dósa silk painter
December 21. - Veronika N. Simon painter
December 22 -23-24. - Tünde Gulyásné Tokaji paper miller
December 27-28-29-30. – paintings of Mrs. László Bilcsik, László Buhnényi, Tamás Márk, Gábor Tóth, Zoltán Bende, Katalin Csomós
December 31. – Exhibition of New Year ’s Eve piglets, tradition holds that petting piglets bring good luck in the New Year.

Shopline
Shopline, as a key online partner, has joined to the Shoe Box Campaign of Baptist Charity Service. The carefully compiled gift packages can be bought online too, making donating simpler and quicker. However, the gift boxes can also be bought on-site and we are happy to help you too to compile your own shoe box of gifts.

Catholic Caritas
Catholic Caritas collected donations for underprivileged people under the „One million starts for the poor” campaign. Volunteers of the organization were selling candles for donations, each candle representing someone in need.

Source: Advent at Basilica