Debrecen Flower Festival

The Celebration of Flowers in Debrecen
A myriad of flowers, a wonderful festive atmosphere, and star performers to boot: all this is offered on the bill of fare at the Flower Festival in Debrecen, which has recently come to mean not just a single day of fun but a week-long fiesta in the spirit of music, dance, and flowers...
One of the most popular events in Hungary, this festival of flowers keeps attracting large crowds from year to year, rewarding them with a truly memorable experience. The show must go on this summer, too, yet with a bunch of freshly added new attractions.
Traditionally, the floats in the parade display the most imaginative scenes possible, made exclusively of various floral components. In fact, there may be as many as 3 million flowers used for the individual arrangements, most often including asters, carnations, dahlias, gerberas, pine or spruce twigs, and compositions of dry flowers. Between the individual floats in the procession, there is a fine selection of celebrated art ensembles from home and abroad, interspersed with dance troupes, orchestras, bands, and baton twirling majorette squads, delighting the audience with spectacular performances.
During the more than 100-year history of the festival, several millions of visitors, who decided to spend the time commemorating St. Stephen and the celebrations of new bread (baked out of flour ground of recently harvested wheat) in Debrecen, have had a chance to see as many as 600 floral arrangements on floats and several tens of thousands of parading participants...

Program details may be subject to change without notice.

40th Debrecen Flower Festival
August 14-21, 2009

The Debrecen Flower Festival has arrived at a jubilee
In 2009, the city of Debrecen will host its Flower Festival for the 40th time, which round anniversary will present a splendid occasion to invite the entire city to celebrate during the festivities centered around the figure of St. Stephen. The festival itself, which has recently evolved into a week-long fiesta, routinely offers a wide variety of events, curiosities, and novelties year after year. The floats clad in flowers and the art ensembles from home and abroad parade along the main street of the city called Piac utca [Market Street] to make it to Nagyerdei Stadion [verbatim: Stadium in the Big Forest], where the spectators may take an even closer look at the individual floral compositions. According to earlier traditions, the series of festive events will come to a close with a fireworks spectacular and street party this year, too. However, in 2009, there will also be an encore on the 21st...

Friday, August 14

5:00 p.m. Kölcsey Convention Center
The Fight of Flowers
The 1st flower arrengement competion of Debrecen

8:00 p.m. Kölcsey Convention Center
From Violetta to Carmen...
Eszter Horgas and friends

On the opening night of the Debrecen Flower Festival, flutist Eszter Horgas and her friends, including Ilona Meskó (piano), Antal Tabányi (violin), and Krisztián Kurucz (cello), will give a concert that is truly appropriate for the special occasion by being passionate with virtuosity yet also spiced with melodious delicacy and genuine flowery finesse.

9:30 p.m. Baltazár Dezső Square
Fire Theater Magma - Fire Show

This is a spectacular theatrical performance in which you will discover an amazing amalgamation of unique animation techniques, impressive costume and stage prop creations, intriguing juggling tricks, and majestic motion-histrionic elements. Its chief component though is fire, which alone is able to create a peculiar atmosphere by its sheer force or its moving and attractive presence.

Saturday, August 15

Baltazár Square Nights
4:00 p.m.: Handicraft skills practice for kids
5:00 p.m.: Spectacular magician show with doves, rabbits and leather flowers
6:00 p.m.: Dolce Dance - Cuban Salsa Show
7:00 p.m.: Funky Donet's - pop concert
8.30 p.m.: How was it...? - 40 years in pictures

5:00 p.m.: Sports Center at Oláh Gábor Street

Football Gala
Actors vs. Journalists football match
Players from the national championship-winning team of Debrecen called DVSC
Olympics national team

8:00 p.m.: Kossuth Square
Bánk Bán, Hunyadi László - Opera Gala

Ferenc Erkel's opera, performed by the artists of the local Csokonai Theater, may also be regarded as a grandiose musical reconsideration of József Katona's play that bears the unmistakable touches of a consistently constructive director.

Sunday, August 16

Baltazár Square Nights
4:00 p.m.: Handicraft skills practice for kids
5:00 p.m.: The tricky miraculous healer - puppet show
6:00 p.m.: Exposition of flower compositions in the making
7:00 p.m.: Concert by the band "Gallery"
8:00 p.m.: How was it...? - 40 years in pictures

8:30 p.m.: Kossuth Square
Dance of Joy (Örömtánc)

Joy, jubilance, and plenty of audacious drive are the basic features of this rapturous play in performing arts, which it is still full of cultural values. With five regions representing five cities, the folk music and folk dance traditions reach across the present state borders, thus giving us a flavor of the ethnic cultures of the regions surrounding the individual cities. This competition is basically a contest between musical compositions, complemented by the performing mastery of the star singers and the spectacle of the dance choreographies.  
Special appearances by Magdi Rúzsa, Andrea Mahó, Edina Szirtes, Aladár Laklóth and the members of Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.

Monday, August 17

Baltazár Square Nights

4:00 p.m.: Handicraft skills practice for kids
5:00 p.m.: Vitéz László - puppet show
6:00 p.m.: Exposition of flower compositions in the making
7:00 p.m.: "Csinibaba" soundtracks by the Jazz Five
8:00 p.m.: How was it...? - 40 years in pictures

8:30 p.m.: Kossuth Square
Miklós Fenyő concert

Miklós Fenyő has been present in Hungarian pop music since the end of the sixties. During the past 40 years, he has released as many as 28 albums and has been managing the release of altogether 7 albums by 3 of his protégés. In the meanwhile, he produced 27 albums and there are countless top hits related to his name.  His success is marked by the fact that the albums that are still very popular today just kept on coming out.  Apart from the oldies but goldies, like Hotel Mentol, Isztambul, Csavard fel a szőnyeget [Roll up the carpet], Csók király [Kissing Champ]..., you will also get a chance to dance to more recent hits.

Tuesday, August 18

Baltazár Square Nights
4:00 p.m.: Handicraft skills practice for kids
5:00 p.m.: Frakk a macskák réme - musical fairy play
6:00 p.m.: Exposition of flower compositions in the making
7:00 p.m.: Show time - pop music concert
8:00 p.m.: How was it...? - 40 years in pictures

7:00 p.m.: Kossuth Square
ABBA Singers Tributes Band - ABBA Show
This ABBA-formation has sung the old ABBA hits in Hungary for several years in the original key and faithfully following the original instrumentation. Even their costumes help to recall memories of the unforgettable ABBA age.

8:30 p.m.: Kossuth Square
Első Emelet [First Floor] concert
It was as long as a quarter century ago that the first all-boy band In Hungary was formed Although the ban called Első Emelet: was active only for a couple of years, they left a decisive mark on the history of Hungarian popular music. The original line-up of Gábor Kisszabó, Csaba Bogdán, Kiki, Gábor Berkes, and István Tereh are now back again to galvanize their audience. A sample of their hits, without which no houseparty used to come up to scratch, are: A film forog tovább [The movie goes on], Angyali vallomás [Angelic confession], Csakazértis szerelem [Love despite all odds], or Állj, vagy lövök [Freeze, or I'll shoot].

Wednesday, August 19

Baltazár Square Nights
4:00 p.m.: Handicraft skills practice for kids
5:00 p.m.: Showtime on stage for kids
6:00 p.m.: Exposition of flower compositions in the making
7:00 p.m.: Evening streer dance show - Carmen TSE
8:00 p.m.: KGST disco
9:00 p.m.: How was it...? - 40 years in pictures

8:00 p.m.: Kossuth Square
SARAGOSSA BAND concert
The German pop band called Saragossa Band began their career in 1977 and, although they have a different line-up today, they continue to be alive and kicking even in the 21st century. Their cheerful songs combine the music of the Caribbean Islands with the tuneful quality of eurodisco, i.e., they have followed the same blueprint for success as, for example, Boney M., Gibson Brothers, and Goombay Dance Band. Their repertoire contains their own songs as well as some derivative work from other bands. A handful of their best-known hits are: Big Bamboo (Ay Ay Ay); Zabadak; Rasta Man; Ginger Red; Agadou; Aiko, Aiko; Buona sera.

Thursday, August 20

8:00 a.m.         Festival running race

8:00 a.m. -12:00 noon Flower Festival - the procession of floats and artistic
ensembles on the streets of Debrecen
10:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.   Nagyerdei Stadion
Live Image and Live Music: Festival Show Spectacular

2:00 - 6:00 p.m.   Nagyerdei Stadion
Floats "face to face"

3:30 p.m.    Nagyerdei Stadion
Music, dance, and fun
Performed by dance ensembles invited to the Festival

4:00 - 6:00 p.m.   Baltazár Dezső Square
The show of Tamás Mezőffy, the european champion of flower arrengements

8:00 p.m.   Evening festival in the downtown area of Debrecen

Fireworks

Street party with the band Abrakazabra

Friday, August 21

Let the show go on - on a nostalgic note
Featuring: Kati Kovács, László Komár, Tóni Solymos, Vera Tóth,
and the band Abrakazabra

Further attractions and curiosities:
Attendant events at the Debrecen Flower Festival

August 16-21 - Old Town Hall (Piac u. 20.)
The world of flowers in Fairyland

August 14-19 - Kossuth Square
Marketplace of arts and crafts and flower market

August 15-21 - Kossuth Square
"Encore" - Snapshots about 40 years of the festival

August 15-20 - Kölcsey Convention Center
Cactus and succulents - exhibition and fair


August 16-21 - Baltazár Dezső Square
"Let's make it together." - making flower sculptures

August 21 - Csapó Square
Floats "face to face" for the last time in 2009

For further information, please contact:
Főnix Event Organising Prominent Public Benefit Status Non-Profit LLC
Tel.: +36 52/ 518 400
www.fonixinfo.hu

Ticket info:
Kölcsey Convention Center
4026 Debrecen, Hunyadi u. 1-3. Tel.: + 36 52 518-497
Apolló mozi [Apolló Movie Theater], Tel.: 52/ 417-847
Tourinform, Tel.: 52/ 412-250
Interticket network (www.interticket.hu)

Program details may be subject to change without notice.

[Download attachment]