Hontian parade in Hrušov
Hontianska paráda is a folklore festival that has been held regularly in the village of Hrušov since 1996.
The two-day festival takes place during the third weekend of August in the village of Hrušov.
The name refers to the region of Hont in which the village is located. In the beginning, it was assumed that it would be a travelling festival in the individual villages of Hont, but for great success and investment, it takes place only in Hrušov. The average attendance is approximately 15-20 thousand people during the entire festival.
On Saturday, freer programs of folklorists from the near or far surroundings take place in two places, the so-called Forest scene and the scene at Vežička. The annual regular blocks include:
Friday: program of domestic Hrušovci,
Saturday: a tour of children's folklore groups, a tour of ensembles from abroad, and a program of Hontian communities.
Historical region Hont
The main distinguishing feature of the Hontian parade from other folklore festivals in Slovakia, whose program is based mainly on the stage program, are examples of almost forgotten works. Locals perform farm work with grain (hand mowing, weighing, threshing by hand or threshing machine) or baking bread and pear pastries in traditional stone ovens. Other examples of work are burning a wooden mile, carpentry and stonework. In the tens of the 21st century, examples of hemp processing and textile production were added. Visitors can try a lot of work.
In the center of the village there are craftsmen who complete the unique atmosphere of the festival. On average, there are about a hundred. As it is not possible to increase their number due to spatial reasons, the municipality prefers exclusively traditional craftsmen, preferably with the possibility of direct demonstrations of creation.
The festival will introduce you to almost forgotten ancient peasant works and various crafts.
Visitors of the festival can see many exhibitions during the program. The traditional one includes numerous exhibitions from the local collector Anton Matušov or a unique exhibition of fire helmets. In recent years (2019) there has been a presentation of tractors and an exhibition of photographs of Slovak parties.
Hrušov
The village of Hrušov lies in the south of the Banská Bystrica region in the western part of the Veľký Krtíš district. Hrušov is located in a historical region Hont.
Hont was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary. Most of its territory is now part of Slovakia, while a smaller southern portion is part of Hungary.
The first written mention of the village Hrušov comes from 1272. The origin of the name of the village is linked to the legend of the large occurrence of wild pears.
The village is characterized by a "two-residence", which has its origins in the past, when residents farmed in lazy during the week and on Sundays met in the village. This way of life was applied mainly until 1979, while there was private farming in the village. This year, Hrušov was joined by the United Farmers' Cooperative in Vinice. The spa farms are scattered throughout the cadastre individually or form small settlements. At present, the spa is mostly inhabited by older residents, other houses are used for recreation and are largely owned by people who do not come from Hrušov.
Learn more about the Hontian parade in Hrušov
Also, check our list of the best hotels in Hrušov, District of Veľký Krtíš and book your stay during the event.
