Marrakesh
Marrakech Folklore Days
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends of Folk Dance and Folk Music,
It is a great pleasure for us to invite you to the magical city of Marrakech in Morocco, to the 2nd International Meeting of Folklore Ensembles “Marrakech Folklore Days”, the biggest folk dance event in northern Africa.
In 2019 our festival will be held in the period : March 28 – 31, 2019. The event is organised and realised by the Moroccan „L ́Association du Patrimonie et du Folklore“ from Marrakech and Agency Millennium (organizer of Prague Folklore Days since 2006).
The festival is taking place under the auspices of the authorities of the City of Marrakech and Prefecture of Marrakech.
Our festival is open for amateur folklore ensembles of all types (singing groups, dancing groups with live or recorded music) as well as for marching groups (such as majorettes, historic soldiers, marching bands, flag wavers, carnival groups, historic groups, piper groups, historic costume groups, wind and brass orchestras etc.) without age limit or size.
In the successful first edition of the festival we were happy to welcome folklore groups from France, Spain, Russia, Switzerland, Algeria, Mali, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Poland, UK as well as several excellent Moroccan ensembles.
We will be happy to provide contacts to some of the groups that have already participated them should you be interested in references from them.
For all the participating groups we have prepared the following program:
- 2 - 3 open air performances in the city centre of Marrakech near the historic monuments (the festival stages will be erected on the most known sites of the city, such as the Square Jamma El Fna, Palace EL Badii, Souk Haddadine Square and November 16th Square. Each performance of max. 30 minutes
- parade of all ensembles through the city centre of Marrakech
- reception of the representatives of groups by representative of Marrakech, exchange of gifts and diploma awarding
- min. 1 sightseeing tour of the historic city listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site
- traditional dinner with other participating groups
- meeting and dance workshop with local Moroccan folk dance or music group at – on request
You will have a unique opportunity to present the folklore and traditions of your region and country to thousands of viewers, make new friends, get to know a new culture, enviroment and cuisine and last, but not least – visit Marrakech, the Ocre City in the heart of Morocco with all its sights and magic.
Marrakech is not so far, there are excellent air connections to Marrakech from many major cities - we will be happy to provide with information on cheapest flights from your area to Marrakech however we are not able to make ticket reservation for you.
We certainly pay a lot of attention to security of all guests: Morocco is one of the safest countries outside Europe and the local authorities that are in charge of security of the festival take this issue extremely seriously.
The festival agency is also in charge of accommodation for the groups – all costs in connection with the participation are to be carried by the participants, the organizers are not able to provide accommodation free of charge nor can they pay the travel costs of the groups.
We are sending you also the festival packages covering the participation.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information and application form.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Marrakech in March 2019! The deadline for applications is January 15, 2019.
Best regards,
Youssef Hassani Stanislav Terlica
Festival President Co-ordniator of Participation of Foreign Groups
„L ́Association du Patrimonie et du Folklore“: Rue Mohamed Bahi No. 8 Sidi Belyout Casablanca , Morocco Tel: 00212 662509490 /French or Arabic/
Web site
https://www.facebook.com/marrakechfolkloredays
https://www.instagram.com/marrakechfolkloredays
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ZUGO6YjL0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_lXGnQUps0&t=5s
The official organiser of participation of foreign groups is:
Agency Millennium, Zahradnickova 20c, 150 00 Praha 5, Czech Republic Tel: 00420 602686820 /English, German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Czech/
contact@marrakechfolkloredays.ma
PRELIMINARY TIME SCHEDULE
March 28 – March 31, 2019
Thursday, March 28, 2019 arrival of the participants
- meeting with festival guide at the airport, transfer to accommodation
- 11.00 – 14.00 sightseeing or possibility for meeting with Moroccan folk dance or music groups
- 17.00 – 22.00 possibility of air performances of the ensembles on a centrally located stage
Friday, March 29, 2019 arrival of the participants
- meeting with festival guide at the airport, transfer to accommodation
- 11.00 – 14.00 sightseeing or possibility for meeting with Moroccan folk dance or music groups
- 15.00 – 22.00 possibility of air performances of the ensembles on a centrally located stage
Saturday, March 30, 2019
touristic program - city tour, museum visits, shopping
- 17.00 – 18.00 festive parade of the ensembles through centre of Marrakech, ending at the the ancient Medina/ Jamaa el fnna Square
- 18.00 – 22.00 open air performances of the ensembles on 2 - 3 centrally located stages
Sunday, March 31, 2019
- 10.00 – 11.30 meeting of group representatives with reprentative of Marrakech, diploma awarding and gift exchange
12.00 – 20.00 open air performances of the ensembles on 2 - 3 centrally located stages
- 21.00 – 24.00 Gala Dinner for all the, dancing,
Monday , April 01, 2019
- departure of groups - prolonging of stay possible; please contact us for an offer
The time schedule is subject to changes – this is just to give you a rough idea of the festival program. We will be also happy to arrange excoursions out of Marrakech as well as prepare program for prolonging of your stay in Morocco.