Cluj's summer festivals

Hello all!

Cluj is a wonderful and busy city with an amazing nightlife. During the academic year (from October to June) student parties are held actually every weekend, and also on weeknights. During the academic year Cluj never sleeps. But what happens in the Summer? Well, in the Summer party schedules are as full as any other period of the year. There are many festivals and open-air parties. I won’t be able to describe and present each group of them, but I try to focus on the most important ones.

In the Summer the city’s clubs are not so crowded as in the rest of the year. Students are on vacation, people leave the city and go on holiday somewhere abroad. But still, there are festivals with big names and brands, where young people (and not only) are present regardless of season, weather or the location. In my ‘6 questions about Cluj’ post I’ve talked generally about party life in Cluj, about which places are worth visiting if You just want to hang out with Your friends and go to dance and have fun. Now it’s time for a short overview on medium-sized or small festivals and good-quality music events in an around the city.

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As I already mentioned in my previous posts Cluj is multicultural. Near Romanian citizens, there live approximately 50. 000 Hungarians as a minority group. This has always been like this. I am Hungarian as well, my family is Hungarian, I studied in Hungarian school and we always speak Hungarian with my friends and family members. There are many Hungarian high-schools and universities in Cluj-Napoca, so there is necessary to give birth to projects and establish opportunities which are targeting Hungarian culture. ‘Hungarian Cultural Days of Cluj’, ‘Mera World Music Festival’ and ‘Double Rise Festival’ are the three most popular music and art events in Cluj. Dedicated mostly to Hungarian inhabitants, but of course everyone else is warmly welcomed. I would recommend visiting these three events regardless anyone's nationality. Each festival is multilingual, translated in Romanian and English. Of course there are Hungarian film and theatre festivals during the year, and of course Hungarian folk dance and folk music has another important role in Cluj, but it’s impossible to enumerate every artistic event in only one post. Consequently, I'll write about the best music festivals.

Then there’s ‘Electric Castle’ festival at Bontida, a little village close to Cluj. This festival is (as its name shows) dedicated to electronic music. MOX, or ‘Maguri Outdoor Experience’, and ‘Green Sensation Festival’ are organized outside the city, in forests of the Western-Carpathians. For those who don’t want to get out of the city, but still desire to party the whole Summer, ‘Alandala Events’ are the best ‘solution’. Now let’s start discussing about these festivals step by step. I already attended most of them, and I can admit that Cluj and Transylvania does know how to party. Furthermore, festivals are absolutely different. The bases, the line-up, the style is absolutely different. Each of them has a unique character, it couldn't be compared with any other festival in the World.

First, the Hungarian festivals:

1) Hungarian Cultural Days of Cluj- The perfect combination of tradition and innovation in a multicultural atmosphere.

These Cultural Days are organized in August, around the national day of Hungary (20th of August). This festival is held in the Old Town, and brings together nationalities and generations. The first and most important characteristic of this festival it’s that it is totally gratis. There’s no entrance fee. In the daytime there are different events where every citizen of Cluj are welcomed. Sport competitions, outdoor cooking competitions, fairs, workshops and discussions about public topics (Gay people’s status in Romania, Violation and Aggressiveness, Education, The role of religion in everyday life of Cluj, Volunteering, Social Work, Environment Protection, Health and well-being, and EU Projects) invite people to think together and speak to each other and share perscpectives. There are thematic tents, places where You can visit the workers of Cluj’s political life, the national theatre’s actors, Romanian designers and start-upers and many more. If You’re interested about art, history and architecture of Cluj, there are thematic city-tours focusing on these particularities of the city. In the evening there are always concerts on the Main Square with Hungarian artists performing. Fireworks, after parties in clubs, and of course Hungaricums are compulsory tools of this festival. When I was volunteering at the Cultural Days, I felt that there’s a strong community in Cluj, and if we are able to live and cooperate with each other, than Cluj is going to remain as valuable as it’s now. Or even more.

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2) Double Rise Festival- Rustic village life close near mother nature.

Double Rise is organized in a village, called Torockó, 90 kms from Cluj. This village is interesting, because there’s a great mountain close to it, called Seckler-Stone (the Stone of the Secklers) which divides sunrise into two parts. That’s where the name of the festival originates. So the villagers of Torocko are privileged to see a double sunrise every morning, due to the structure and topography of the mountain. Torockó is hosting Hungarian bands, singers, DJ’s, and it’s a very cool festival. It has everything necessary for a modern festival, but it still emphasizes Hungarian folk and culture. There are live Hungarian folk music and folk dance workshops, opportunity to taste traditional cuisine and explore traditional motives. This is a very cheap festival, a 3 days pass costs only 20-30 EUR. The camping is very special, right in the middle of the fields, surrounded by brook and hayricks. It feels like getting free and back to the origins! This festival is held in July. Buses take visitors from Cluj to Torocko. During the day it’s logical that climbing Seckler-Stone is a must!

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3) Mera World Music Festival- Folk-oriented, going back to the origins.

Mera is a small village located 20 km away from Cluj-Napoca. Just in the case of Torockó, or Cluj, in Mera Romanians and Hungarians live near each other in peace. This festival is constructed on the topic of World Music. The stages are built in villagers’ gardens, food and beverages is also offered by a lot of farmers and the locals of Mera. This is a 100% authentic world music festival, offering Hungarian, and international folk music and alternative music, also giving a gain insight gypsy culture and values. This festival is actually on its 1st edition, just like Double Rise. The Hungarian Cultural Days of Cluj festival is at ist 8th edition already. I’m proud of being a Hungarian in Transylvania, because these festivals are the proof that Hungarian minorities can organize something important and valuable for the population and respect their traditions. Cultural education is very important in a country where many different ethnic groups live together.

And now the more trendy, modern festival’s turn. There’s no folk music, no national values, but party till morning, and high-quality nightlife and the vibe and the bass can be felt in the veins. International line-up, high-tech sounds. These festivals are focusing on students; however at Bontida there was a group of 60 year old grandmas and grandpas in the line of party animals in front of main stage. So life always can surprise me! The following 3 festivals have a common characteristic, because each of them is held outside the city. This is a positive idea, because thus they can be more personal, they have stronger character and style. So the big city doesn’t influence their image and style. Nevertheless, people who don’t want to camp in the fields or in the forest, can easily get re-connected to Cluj, thanks to daily train and bus routes.

1) Electric Castle festival- Energy explosion outside a baroque castle.

The venue of this festival is the village of Bontida, less than 1 hour away from Cluj. During the festival buses and trains assure transportation of the visitors. Bontida’s main attraction is its castle, the Banffy castle.

It’s interesting that the castle belongs to a Hungarian earl. It was undertaken repairs and restoration, and it looks enthralling. Establishing a festival in the castle-garden is a unique idea Worldwide. Visual and audition effects are Electric Castle’s most powerful tools. The festival is organized in July, but I recommend You to buy a 4 day pass starting from Winter (it's cheaper). The price of this festival is somewhere between 80-140 EUR (it depends on how early You book Your ticket). Moreover, this is the most expensive festival compared with the other five I’ve been writing about. Food and beverages are also expensive, so it’s a bit extravagant. But I tell You, once in a Year, everyone can afford a treat like this. This festival is an electric-energy-dumping full of adrenaline. It has a very artistic flavor, it promises precious and unique moments. The previous years’ line-ups consisted of: Sigur Ros, Rudimental, Parov Stelar, Fatboy Slim, Sigma, Subfocus, The Prodigy, The Cat Empire, and many more. The festival is electronic music, alternative, underground, deephouse, dubstep and drum’n’bass oriented. Interesting and ironic, that every year at EC (since 3 years since its premiere) rain washes away the festival. It’s exactly like Glastonbury festival in Scotland. Windy, rainy, cold and extremely muddy. It doesn’t matter when is the festival held, the weather is always rainy, and ruins the expectations of the visitors. But who cares about getting wet and muddy? Partying was never such as fun as this way. And let’s not forget that camping in a baroque castle-garden is priceless!

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2-3) MOX (a. k. a. Maguri Outdoor Experience) and Green Sensation Festival –festivals in forests, evading into the wild.

Both festivals are held in the mountains. MOX is annually organized in a Valley (Dragan Valley). Well exactly at the peripheria of a village, directly on the hills, near the forest surrounded by a gorgeous a river bazin. Green Sensation is held on Feleacu hill near Cluj-Napoca. These festivals are adrenaline-oriented, extreme sports can be tried. Hiking, or swimming in lakes are other opportunities. Or just lying in hammocks and enjoying the sound of nature. At nights there are drum’n’bass, alternative, underground concerts, the performers are mostly Romanian Djs, mixers. Parties last till sunrise. These festivals in nature rock, because the echoes are cool, and the whole atmosphere created is individual. People get separated from their usual lives in the city, and can chill in the green and refreshing environment. Although visitors party and don’t sleep much, everyone gets home with huge energy level thanks to nature’s purifier power. The entrance fees of both festivals vary between 20-40 EUR, so they are cheap.

Little by little I’m finishing my post, I felt good about writing all these down, and hope that You got interested in experiencing Summer Festivals in Cluj.

Thanks for reading, Dora

(If You're interested about more writings of mine, here is my blog).

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