Current Affairs Happy Beer Days: new beer and music festival opens in Smichov
The Prague district of Smichov is enjoying an eventful month. Friday sees the start of its second festival in just two weeks. Lightheartedly named 'Happy Beer Days', it is to take place under the patronage of two Prague 5 councilors and has as its main sponsor the prestigious beer producer Staropramen, whose brewery is in the area. If the festival is successful, the organizers hope it will become an annual occurrence, attracting more and more visitors. Joshua Singer has the story.
Vysehrad as seen over the Vltava River from the Cisarska louka, photo: commons.wikimedia.org
As if the annual Brazilian carnival wasn't enough to keep Smichov satisfied
this September, the council of Prague 5 has decided to create another
opportunity for celebration. This new event however is distinctively more
Czech in its nature, concentrating rather more on stereotypical symbols of
the nation's culture; music and beer. The festival will also have a more
rural feel, taking place in a park known as Cisarska Louka, set back from
the bustle of city life, with a view of the old castle and ruins of
Vysehrad.
The main producer of the festival is Tomas Tichy:
'We have here only the most famous and the best Czech bands. There are ten
brands of beer, for example, Staropramen, Branik, Hoegaarden, Stella,
Ostravar and so on. Prague 5 City Hall came up with this idea to organize a
festival in such a beautiful area as Cisarska Louka and since it is the
first and in fact the only festival of its kind on such a large scale in
the open air, and in such a beautiful spot just under Vysehrad, in these
meadows, lots of people look set to descend upon the area. If the weather
holds and the sun shines a little it will be great.'
Jaksi Taksi
The musical aspect of the festival looks to be as equally varied as the
many beers on offer. There will be two stages at the concert dedicated to
rock and country music. Just some of the rock acts include Jaksi Taksi,
Ready Kirken, On Air and Deda Mladek Illegal Band, all fairly respected
names in the Czech rock music scene. For those who prefer their music a few
decibels lower, the country stage will feature Kamelot, Trehusk, and girl
group Berusky. And the festival has a whole range of amusements for
children too. Tomas Tichy again:
'In general I'm obviously really looking forward to the good atmosphere that will be there for all the people who enjoy this kind of thing, and there'll be loads of great bands here and interesting people. I'm also excited about the children's zone which will cover an area of 1500m2 where there will be a children's stage with a DJ, where there will be a wide range of attractions, such as trampolines and bouncy castles, ping pong, football pitches and so on, there'll be on offer 1000 flavours of ice cream, in general a great line up for children.'
