The fourth edition of PonavaFest will feature performances from 50 acts on five stages over three days from 24th to 26th May. As in previous years, the festival will have no fences and free admission. Photo: Courtesy of PonavaFest.
Brno, May 1 (BD) – PonavaFest has become a key event on Brno’s cultural calendar, with over 4,000 visitors attending last year’s festival across the weekend. This year’s festival will be even bigger, with a variety of new additions to the festival program.
Musical highlights of the festival include renowned Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen, one of the biggest names in contemporary jazz, who will be performing with Slovak guitarist David Kollar. The pair released an album together last year, “Illusion of a Separate World”, showcasing the interaction between two very different worlds, geographically and culturally. Performing on the main stage will be cellist and singer Dorota Barová, known to the Czech audience from the bands Tara Fuki and Vertigo. Barová released her first solo album, “Iluzja”, last year, receiving the Anděl Award for the Best Jazz Album of 2018. Other highlights will include the iconic band Tornado Lue, Czech-Swiss duo Songs From Utopia, Limbo Jazz Quartet, singer Vladivojna La Chia, and jazz pianist Tomáš Veselý and his quintet, returning after a long break.
Various Brno theatre ensembles will be present to perform for the theatre lovers in the audience at the literature and theatre tent, including: SVČ Lužánky Brno – NEMÁME a Lachtánci, who will present the mobile performance piece “Krysař” [“The Pied Piper”]; Divadlo Aldente, who have been staging performances with mentally-handicapped actors since 2014, presenting “Kdopak by se toho bál?” [“Who would be afraid of that?”]; and Divadlo Druhý Pád, presenting their new play “Obraz” [“Picture”]. Saturday evening will see Improzář nad Ponavou, a whirlwind of improvisation interspersed with songs under the guidance of actor and director Dalibor Buš and his colleagues from the Goose on a Wire Theater.
The same venue will also host poetry performances, including the popular poet and songwriter Jiří Dědeček, and the Slovak-Czech duo Marián Hatala and Jiří Vondrák, whose performance will also include a musical component. The Host publishing house will present some of its authors, with two new Ponava special editions released during the festival. Creative visitors will then be invited to present their own works.
A new addition this year will be the Green Public Spaces Brno (VZMB) Tent, where Kino Art will run screenings throughout the weekend, including many beautiful animated films for children of all ages, this year’s blockbuster hit Bohemian Rhapsody, short films from Brno 16, the cult film Kouř [Smoke], and the animated 80’s classic The Great Cheese Robbery.
The festival program will also include art and creative workshops, a petanque tournament and artistic performances. More details of the program can be found at www.ponavafest.cz.
The festival is sponsored by the City of Brno and supported by the South Moravian Region. The festival’s partners are Green Public Spaces Brno and Ears & Wind Records.
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