Tea festival for environmental education: The Svátek čaje
Svátek
čaje is a multicultural festival, which is held yearly since 2009 on
the castle grounds in Cieszyn near the Polish-Czech border. This area
offers unique atmosphere created by the historically significant
buildings surrounding the castle hill. The organizers of the festival
(come from both sides of the border and) are the civic associations
Laja Foundation and Petrklic help z. s. The event promotes cultural
diversity and creates a platform for meetings and exchanges between
people from the tea production and trade.
The
first edition of Svátek čaje
in Cieszyn and Český Těšín was held from 12th to 13th June 2009.
The event, which was originally intended as a technical meeting of
owners of teahouses. Gradually it grew into a public event focused
not only on the culture of drinking tea, but also on traveling and
learning about music and customs of foreign nations. The event took
place in the courtyard of Castle Hill on the Czech-Polish border, in
Laja tearoom on Polish side and in Dobrá
Čajovna
in Český Těšín. Visitors could enjoy book readings and lectures
from places such as India, Turkey or Tibet, they could attend
workshops for shaping bonsai, yoga and tai-chi, drumming, juggling
and many others. The stage hosted local bands - Karviná All Ska bear
and Ostrava Café Industrial,but also artists representing different
cultures from around the world. Aside from Japanese theater Kyogen
Shakuhachi, performance lead by Czech musician and musicologist
Vlastislav Matousek, numerous visitors listened to a concert of
excellent instrumentalists, one of the best Czech players of the
Indian sitar - George Mazanka. Organizers invited the ensemble
Marimba Trio Band, who arrived after a series of charity concerts in
Kenya. The festival fulfilled its main mission - with help from
voluntary donations, entrance fees and a charity auction, it managed
to collect over 50,000 crowns, the equivalent of half of the price
for building health clinics in Nepal, a project prepared by the Dolpo
Association.
Over the years, the festival has
become a true oasis for all those in love not just with tea and its
culture, but also with a passion for music and travel - in short, all
those who seek self-development, enjoy exploring the unknown and
revel in sharing it with others. Visitors can enjoy a wide variety of
tea tastings prepared by tea masters from the Czech Republic, Poland
and Slovakia, workshops, concerts and travelers’ meetings, which
are lead by some of the most passionate people.
In 2017, the participants of the EU project "Inclusion is Fusion" could support the festival with environmental workshops during their second project meeting. The most significant moments were the implementation of the "Living Library" as well as workshops on natural cosmetics with Italian procucts. The participation of the youth workers and their active involvement in the festival proved that a festival is an educational approach of high level to reach the local community sustainably.
Living Library - Inviting for chats with human books
Talking with the "Living Library"-books
Improvisational theatre about social inclusion
Workshop "Natural Cosmetics"
With an open heart we
say that we hope to see you in Cieszyn in 2018!
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