Alive Span

Read about how Budapest's Chain Bridge festival links local culture to the world. Click 'read more' for more.

Traffic ceases every summer on Budapest's landmark Chain Bridge - a historic feat of 19th-century engineering that anchors the city's Danube panorama - as it transforms into a rivertop fairground for celebrating the hottest season with continual live entertainment and regional delights.

During the "Summer on the Chain Bridge" festival, held on weekends until mid-August, arts and crafts festoon the span's robust carved stone and steel with color and flowers, all before sweeping views of both Buda and Pest - a magnificent backdrop for performances by musicians, dancers, acrobats and more. Each weekend offers new programs for both adults and kids with concerts, theatrics, jugglers, dragon kite races, and puppeteers in action from morning through nighttime.

Two open-air stages are set up at opposite ends of the bridge, while the Danube's most elegant crossing becomes a bazaar of Hungarian folk art and gifts, with food stands offering Magyar delicacies and cold drinks.

Taking place each Saturday and Sunday through August 17th, the festival presents a wide range of talented performers from around Hungary and the globe, with varying themes every week - here's what's happening for the rest of July:

July 12-13
PERFORMANCE
This weekend is dedicated to performance arts and dramatic presentations, highlighted by a show with Hungary's top professional mime, Csaba Méhes, on Saturday at 9pm.

July 19-20
CROSSOVER
Featuring musical acts that blend traditional folk sounds and Gypsy-music stylings with contemporary compositions, the festival presents renowned fusion musician Edina Szirtes singing and fiddling on Saturday at 9pm.

July 26-27
JAZZ
Presenting Magyar maestros of this ever-changing audio art form, the festival's jazz-themed weekend showcases the popular Balázs Elemér Group on Saturday at 6pm, and the Modern Art Orchestra on Sunday at 9pm.

INFO
The Chain Bridge is located between Buda's Clark Ádam tér and Pest's Roosevelt tér (Map C4-5). Check out this link for more information and program details.

- Zsuzsa Lukacs

This article comes courtesy of Budapest's WHERE magazine. Pick up your hardcopy in all of Budapest's major hotels.