Balatorium Ecological-Cultural Week Coming This Month

Balatorium is a week-long, ecologically based experience, aiming to combine nature with culture and artistry. The project was established by the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture (EKF) program.

The aim of the EKF is to use cultural and artistic means to present the ecological connections of Lake Balaton and its region, to draw attention to the fact that collaboration is the only way to preserve Lake Balaton's future.

The culmination of the two-year program series is the 2023 Ecological-Cultural Week. In as many ways as possible, the organizers of the project point out the vulnerability of Lake Balaton through music, conversations, workshops, landscape tours, art activities and gastronomic programs.

The week's programs will begin on Saturday, August 19, with a series of gastronomic events with an ecological approach, the Balatorium Menu. Catering establishments and restaurants in the Balaton area, in cooperation with Szabadonbalaton, prepare food and drink tastings which illustrate the ecological challenges of the Balaton region, taking guests through the processes taking place in the lake, explaining the environmental issues of food supply chains.

Also taking place on August 19, from 3 p.m., the Balaton Hangjai record presentation concert will be held in the Salföld Mine. 12 Hungarian artists wrote songs for the Balatorium project, using sound samples of Lake Balaton. Performers include Дeva, Wave of Sound and Józsi Hegedűs. Prior to the concerts, attendees can chat with ecologists over algae spritzes in the open-air bar or take part in a slow landscape tour.

As part of the Balatorium projects, the Balaton Limnological Research Institute is holding an open day in Tihany on August 25. In the country's oldest biological research institute, visitors can observe the work going on at the institute, tour the laboratories and the historic building complex, and get to know the lake's native and invasive species. Artists participating in the Balatorium art residency program will also be exhibiting their works here.

Also on August 25 in Tihany, the Hungarian University of Fine Arts will hold an open day at its artist colony. The contemporary fine arts program aims to enable visitors to learn about the history and everyday life of the József Somogyi artist colony located on the shores of Tihany's inner lake, as well as to learn about the various artistic practices and diverse creative processes of the university's students. The two locations in Tihany are connected through a guided walk from the Limnological Research Institute, along the shores of Lake Balaton, to the Art Center.

On August 26 and 27, the organizers prepare a number of programs for the Ecological - Cultural Weekend at the free beach in Örvényes. You can learn about the ecological challenges of the lake at talks, workshops and children's programs, or even sail on watercraft made of reeds and other natural materials. At the "observation station" set up, you can talk to experts and artists about ecological issues.

Participants are also invited to Slowwalk walks on the beach, or a guided tour of the Balatonbarát garden project located in the area. The Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design will also visit the beach, where guests can find out how the university students combined ecological processes with design, and the educational curriculum they developed for high school students together with the Bakony-Balaton Environmental Protection Education Center.