It’s quite something to see the images of Hungarian dancers and musicians in national dress with the backdrop of the Smithsonian museums and the great Washington Monument.

“The peculiarity of cultural capital,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics at the opening ceremony, “is that the more you give away, the more you end up getting. The more you share, the richer you make yourself and everyone you share it with.”

“You will not only see a Hungarian program here but rather a true Central European one,” he said, “one that displays everything we are proud of in our part of the world, inspirational multi-ethnicity, various forms of influence among our peoples.”

Joining the deputy prime minister in opening the festival was Tamás Fellegi, who talked about the similarity between the festival’s goals and the new Hungarian Initiative Foundation that he heads.

“It is symbolic for us that the first program that our foundation supports is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival,” said Fellegi. The mission of the new foundation, he said, “is to build lasting value by reviving and strengthening the cultural, educational and emotional bonds between the United States and Hungary.” The United States, he reminded, is home to the largest Hungarian diaspora community, nearly 1.5 million.

Supporting the Folklife Festival, said Fellegi, is “the first important step toward our great mission of deepening understanding and ties between our great nations.”

The festival runs June 26 to 30 and July 3 to 7. You can check out the whole program here.

Source: A Blog About Hungary

This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of this portal, your opinion is welcome too via info@xpatloop.com