Ideas for food-related days and festivals are usually proposed by communes or local communities – associations or circles of village housewives. The key principle is to promote the item which is prevalent or the most famous in the given region. This is why the Barycz Valley focuses on carp, Środa Śląska is proud of its wine, Jawor promotes bakers, bread and gingerbread cakes, and Trzebnica, which is famous for apples, organises a festival of orchards. We can also mention events like the Flour Day in Wroclaw, which is a part of the Pea with Cabbage campaign, the Paper Festival in Duszniki, the Locomotive Weekend in Jaworzyna Śląska or the Weekend with Frankenstein in Ząbkowice. All of these days and festivals reflect one thing – searching for one's own identity.
”Once in tourism there was a tendency to promote sun, beach and sea; today, education, entertainment and sightseeing are in vogue. Events promoting culinary attractions correspond with this trend perfectly,” says Arkadiusz Dołęga from the Lower Silesian Tourist Organisation.
Carp Days in Milicz have already become a fixed part of the Lower Silesian calendar of events. Organised since 2006, the event attracts up to 80,000 guests from Lower Silesia and Wielkopolska. The organisers have scheduled 50 different kinds of events for two months: September and October. The program includes, among others, fish feasts, culinary contests, rafting trips and performances of folklore bands.
”In September and October, there is a harvest of carp on ponds – this fish is prepared for the Christmas table. Carp Days are an idea for the extension of the tourist season and the promotion of our regional product – carp,” says Natalia Stankiewicz from the “Partnership for the Barycz Valley” Association.
The upcoming non-standard events include the 4th Silesian Cabbage Festival and the Feast Song Competition, which will take place on Sunday the 5th of October. The organiser is the Arboretum in Wojsławice – a branch of the Botanical Garden of the University of Wroclaw. The program includes a cabbage pickling show, culinary contests and a folk party.
Apart from that, the Botanical Garden in Wroclaw is also famous for its Pumpkin Festival. Last year’s 10th edition of this festival attracted 10,000 visitors, who could see giant pumpkins weighing over 400 kilograms and various kinds of pumpkin preserves: jams, breads, soups, sauces, snacks, cordials or cakes. This year’s 11th edition of the Pumpkin Festival is scheduled for the 12th of October. Its program includes, among others, competitions for the biggest, strangest or tastiest pumpkin.
There may be much more non-standard events
Non-standard events of this kind are often organised together with workshops, open-air shows and competitions. The primary aim is to attract as many guests as possible. The number of non-standards days or festivals organised in Lower Silesia may be much larger. It is enough to read thoroughly the list of Lower Silesian regional products, which includes such rarities as Sudeten curd cheese, roasted pig a la Zacisze, sauerkraut from Ślęża area, peasant bread from Rogów Sobócki, Sudeten buckwheat honey, black gołąbki (minced meat wrapped in cabbage) from Krużewnica, cake with crumble from Kłodzko region, Volhynia delicacy from Niemcza, potato and cheese pierogi from Chrząstawa, and beverages: squeezed apple juice from Lutynia or Trzebnica cider.
The list of non-standard days and festivals in Lower Silesia is presented, among others, in the calendar of culinary events of Lower Silesia.
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Lower Silesian "delicacies" registered on the List of Traditional Products kept by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Dairy products
Zgorzelec cheese
Łomnica cheese
Blue cheese from Kamienna Góra
Sudeten curd cheese
Meat products
Roasted pig a la Zacisze
Marinaded lard from Niemcza
Niemcza home meat in pieces
Niemcza pork ham
Niemcza sausage
Galician sausage from Niemcza
Volhynia delicacy from Niemcza
Fish products
Milicz carp
Kłodzko trout
Fruits and vegetables
Sauerkraut from Ślęża area
Sour cucumbers from Ślęża area
Pickled cucumbers from Ścinawa
Raspberry syrup from the Barycz Valley
Bakery and confectionery products
Peasant bread from Rogów Sobócki
Cake with crumble from Kłodzko region
Gogołowicki bread
Begle
Homemade rye bread from Pomocne
Leavened wheat and rye bread from Pomocne
Gingerbread cakes from Przemkowo
Wheat and rye gingerbread cakes from Oleśnica
Honey
Multi-flower honey from the Barycz Valley
Heath honey from Lower Silesia Forests
Sudeten multi-flower honey
Sudeten buckwheat honey
Solid lime honey from Ząbkowice region
Ready dishes and meals
Black gołąbki from Krużewnica
Silesian sky
Kysielnica
Potato and cheese pierogi from Chrząstawa
Beverages
Silesian wine
Juha – dried fruit compote
Książęce (Prince’s) beer from Lwówek
Squeezed apple juice from Lutynia
Trzebnica cider
Karkonosze liquor
Source: Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesia Province
