2025 – 10 YEARS SINCE THE PILSEN ECOC 2015 PROJECT, 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITIES OF PILSEN AND ŽILINA (SK), 390 YEARS SINCE THE FIRST WRITTEN RECORD OF THE “SELSKÝ DVŮR U MATOUŠŮ” IN PILSEN–BOLEVEC, AND PERFORMERS FROM EASTER ISL | International Folklore Festival CIOFF® Pilsen

From June 11 to 15, 2025, the 27th edition of the CIOFF International Folklore Festival Pilsen 2025 took place and attracted great public interest. The festival also commemorated several anniversaries: the 10th anniversary of the project Pilsen – European Capital of Culture 2015, the 15th anniversary of the partnership between the cities of Pilsen and Žilina (SK), and the 390th anniversary of the first written mention of the “Selský dvůr U Matoušů” in Pilsen–Bolevec, which once again hosted part of the festival program this year.

For the first time in the history of the festival, we welcomed to Pilsen a group from faraway Easter Island – the second most remote inhabited island in the world – making them the participants who have traveled the greatest distance to take part in the festival so far!

In cooperation with the Pilsen Region, the festival stage once again hosted the ceremonial announcement of the Pilsen Region Awards in the field of traditional folk culture and the awarding of the titles “Master of Traditional Handicraft Production of the Pilsen Region” for 2024. The title was awarded to Václav Reitmeier for his craft of producing “nejšle” – wooden clogs with a leather instep.

At the Ethnographic Museum of the Pilsen Region, the 1st edition of a new cycle “Traditions Within Reach” took place, offering an additional program to festival visitors within its premises. Among the highlights were the show “Songs with a Star”, presentations of unique dialects (Bulačina and Egerland German), as well as demonstrations by craftsmen from the Pilsen Region.

The festival was held under the patronage of the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, Martin Baxa, who personally attended the event, as well as under the patronage of the Governor of the Pilsen Region, Kamal Farhan, and the Mayor of the City of Pilsen, Roman Zarzycký.