Woodstock Poland – the biggest open-air festival in Europe
Yes you read correctly, the biggest open-air festival in Europe and one of the biggest in the world takes place in Poland, this festival is called Przystanek Woodstock.
There is a small town in the middle west of Poland called Kostrzyn, here it takes place this giant event. The organisers of this annual event is a foundation called ‘Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity‘ (Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to raising money for children’s health The first concert took place in 1995 and it has been organised every year since then.
the festival motto says: “Love, Friendship and Music.”
If you love the music, if you feel like getting dirty in the mud this festival is for you. The festival is really popular among the Poles, but also the festival receives a lot of foreigners that visit Poland just of this festival, on average the festival receive every year more than 600,000 people! And the best thing is that this event is for FREE, you just need to get there and of course take a tent with you, other wise you will be sleeping on the floor.
watch this video to see how's Woodstock
Every year Woodstock Festival features a few dozen bands from Poland and other countries.
Also, the ‘traditional’ dances over the mug that the visitors organise.
There are a variety of different musical scenes with different genres for every interest.
• The Big Scene, where you can find various bands and artists performing a variety of different genres (previous artists have included: The Prodigy, Helloween, Papa Roach, Within Temptation, Dream Theater, Volbeat, Manu Chao, Ky-Mani Marley, Damian Marley, Kaiser Chiefs, Anthrax, The Darkness, Sabaton, Machine Head, The Qemist, Gentleman, Nigel Kennedy, The Subways, Julliete Lewis and many more.
• The Small (also Folk) Scene, where you can find artists performing softer, folk-oriented music.
• The Krishna Scene, where you can usually find modern and classic Polish punk rock bands.
• ASP Scene, progressive music, usually combined with the performing arts.
The Woodstock Festival Poland is another world, putting on over 3 days a variety of different bands and artists. Some people wait the whole year just to take part in it.
There is the Hare Krishna village, where members of the society sell their own vegetarian food, organise workshops about spirituality, yoga and meditation, as well as teach about their religion and beliefs. Krishna Village is a representation of one of Woodstock's principal ideas – the promotion of antiracism and a multicultural society (together with the Association Never Again).
The amount of activities available at the festival (excluding the concerts) is simply overwhelming.
• You can participate in various workshops (percussion, DIY ceramics, poetry reciting, cabaret improvisations, guitar lessons, dreadlock hairstyling, 3D printing, yoga, Zumba, how to improve your employability etc.)
• The ASP (Academy of Lovely Arts) organises a series of lectures and meetings with important Polish and foreign artists, musicians, writers, and politicians. (In previous years there has been the opportunity to meet and talk with Michael Lang – organiser of the original Woodstock, Lech Walesa, Imam Abi Ali Issa – representative of Polish Muslims, Kesang Takla – Minister of Information for the Dalai Lama, Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Buzek – ex-president of European Parliament, Peter Jenner – manager of Pink Floyd, Agnieszka Holland and many more).
• You can watch films every afternoon at the open-air cinema.
• You can form a football team and participate in the Anti-racism Polish Football Championships.
• You can do a bungee jump over the Big Scene
• And much more to discover!
Bath in a mud
Work Together, Create Together
And just when you thought benevolence could be no greater and go no further… Safety measures at the festival are provided by what the festival calls “The Peace Patrol.” The Peace Patrol is a special community of volunteers, who work alongside a professional security company as well as with the Polish police. This is all despite the fact that Przystankek Woodstock is considered among law enforcement as one of the safest public events in Poland.
But wait, it’s free. So, how do they make this happen each year? Przystankek Woodstock is funded entirely by sponsors. On the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity’s website, they simply encourage attendees and the general public to “co-create” the festival by raising money online and becoming consumers of their dedicated sponsors. Przystankek Woodstock proves through the reciprocal support of its organizers, sponsors, patrons and volunteers that anything is possible, as long as we work together and that if we give back, we will most certainly get back.
ORCHESTRA MAN
he spiritus movens of the whole event is of course a tireless Jurek Owsiak, who not only controls everything but also leads concerts – up to losing his voice.
Jerzy Owsiak (born 6 October 1953 in Gdańsk) is a Polish radio and TV journalist (specialty: music) and social campaigner. He is a founder and President of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, one of the larges non-governmental, non-profit charity organizations in Poland. He is also the creator of the Woodstock Festival, a large rock music festival that takes place in Kostrzyn, to thank all the volunteers and supporters who take part in the Grand Finale each year. His specific feature is hoarseness (and stuttering sometimes). He also introduced to Polish language a saying: “do what you want” (róbta co chceta), for which he is disliked by the Polish Church, considering him as somewhat demoralizator of a Polish youth
- I MPORTANT INFORMATIONS
Are there any age limits?
No - everyone is welcome.
- Accommodation
Camping? Hostels? Hotels?
You have a few options for where to stay:
1 - Free camping
It´s FREE and definitely a good way of enjoying the festival from start to finish (yes, you have to take your own tent with you!). Water, shared showers and toilets will be available.
Make sure you take your shower very early in the morning, as the number of toilets and showers are limited. You might face long queues depending on what time you go.
2 - Paid camping
Those who want to avoid queues and are ready to pay for camping might choose to stay at the ToiCamp. More information and a sign-up form can be found here:
http://www.toicamp.eu/terminarz_imprez.php
3 - Hotel
A hotel for 2 people in Kostrzyn nad Odra will cost around £30 per night.
Please bear in mind that Kostrzyn nad Odra is a small town and there aren't many hotels available!
camping area
- Food&Drinks informations
How much should I expect to spend each day?
The prices are much lower in Western Europe and also lower than commercial events. Woodstock Festival Poland is basically an open area so people can bring their own food and beverages, including beer. Of course there are plenty of food stalls around as well, which offer lots of different typed of food like mini-pizzas, kebabs, sausages and potatoes.
There is a Lidl supermarket built especially for Woodstock, prices are the same as any other Lidl around Poland, so very cheap! A beer will cost about €1 for 500ml.
*Can I get into the concert arena with my own food?
Yes!
*Can I get into the concert arena with my own drinks?
Yes! The only limitation is that you can't take glass containers close to the stage
- Line-up for the Concerts
What artists have performed before?
Is the line-up out?
Check it out: http://woodstockfestival.pl/en/woodstock_festival/lineup
What´s the average temperature?
It varies, you need to check the weather forecast before leaving, and definitely before packing. As a rough guide, you can expect temperatures to be from about 18 to 32°C.
A specific feature of this festival is the lack of barriers separating stage from the audience but it is one of the safest places in Poland. The order is guaranteed by the so called Peace Patrol (composed of volunteers, how not!) and Polish and German police.
Peace Patrol – paramedics
- HOW TO GET THERE
Adresse:
Przystanek Woodstock
Północna 4 Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland
The best way to get to Woodstock Festival Poland is to fly to Berlin and then take a train. There are many cheap flights that go to the Berlin Tegel Airport. The festival is only about 100 km away from there!
The guests from Germany can use NEB train service to reach Kostrzyn nad Odrą from Berlin.
The trains between Berlin and the festival town will run with two locomotives. An additional service, on Sunday night, will take the passengers directly to Berlin.
Carpooling with Blablacar:
If you visit Woodstock Festival Poland´s Facebook page you can find an app that is specially designed for both people offering, and people searching for carpools. You can also visit www.blablacar.com; if you choose "Kostrzyn nad Odra" or "Przystanek Woodstock" ("Woodstock Festival") from the city list and then click "Szukaj" ("Search"), you will find available carpools.
if you coiming via a Car
from Wrocław: road A4, E40 & B112 (from Germany)
from Warsaw: road E30 (A2),
from Kraków: E40, A4, E36 & B112 (from Germany)
from Poznań: E30 (A2)
from Gdańsk: route nr 22
Last year, due to security concerns, we have introduced 'green' campsites at the festival, considerably limiting the spaces, where cars could be parked. This year we are keeping the ban on cars entering and parking on the festival field. The roads leading into the festival field will be closed on Monday, July 31st. However, please note that the movement of vehicles will be obstructed in the days before that.
And make sure to park your car in designated parking lots. Remember to avoid 'wild' parking lots, often illegally organised in the forests surrounding the area of the festival!
- remember The Woodstock Festival Poland is a spectacular event, one for your bucket list! It takes place every summer in the Polish city Kostrzyn, near to the Polish-German border. Thanks to its location and the large number of foreigners coming from different countries
For more info:
http://woodstockfestival.pl/pl/
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