Almost every major town around Lake Balaton will host fireworks on the national holiday; at the Strand Festival in Zamárdi, the Balatonfüred Wine Weeks, and at the Tihany Abbey—with the three towns joining forces to stage the lake’s biggest festive spectacle. Instead of fireworks, Veszprém will host a rock opera, Székesfehérvár will feature an LED juggling show, and Hévíz will welcome audiences with a four-day festival.
According to the organizers of the Strand Festival, the light and fireworks show—a joint effort by the three lakeside towns—will begin at 9:30 p.m. on August 20 in Tihany, where a two-part, 12-minute light show projected onto the wall of the Benedictine abbey will commemorate the founding of the Hungarian state.
This will be followed at 10:00 p.m. by Balatonfüred’s traditional fireworks display from the Tagore Promenade, after which, at 10:10 p.m., Lake Balaton’s largest fireworks display will begin at the Strand Festival in Zamárdi.
In Siófok, the Wine and Bread Festival lasts for nine days; as part of the festival, Kati Kovács will give a concert at the boat station on the evening of August 20, followed by a spectacular fireworks display. There will also be fireworks on August 20 on the southern shore in Balatonföldvár, Balatonszárszó, Balatonszemes, Fonyód, Balatonfenyves, and Balatonberény.
Keszthely will celebrate the founding of the state with a two-day series of events. Musical performances will entertain the audience both evenings at the bandstand next to the pier, and the traditional fireworks display will also be part of the program. There will also be fireworks on the northern shore on the national holiday in Balatonkenese, Alsóörs, Csopak, Zánka, Balatonszepezd, Szigliget, and Gyenesdiás.
Keszthely. Photo: Pixabay
In Balatonboglár, the fireworks display will take place not on August 20, but on the eve of the national holiday, at 11:00 p.m., as part of the five-day Boglár Harvest Festival at Platán Beach. There will also be a fireworks display in Badacsony on Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. at the pier.
However, there will be no fireworks in Balatonlelle; there, sailboats decorated for sunset will set off on a lantern parade from in front of the pier, and in the evening they will sail out onto the open water, from where they will watch the fireworks displays in the surrounding towns.
In Veszprém, in the recently renovated castle district, the audience can see the rock opera István, the King on the national holiday, performed by the Petőfi Theater and directed by Pál Oberfrank. There will be neither fireworks nor a light show in the city on August 20. There will be no fireworks in Hévíz this year either; over the four days of the long weekend, the public is invited to the Rizling Placc Festival at the event venue on Kölcsey Street, the city’s mayor, Péter Naszádos, told MTI.
In Székesfehérvár, the Székesfehérvár Royal Days multidisciplinary arts festival awaits visitors; however, the city has not held a fireworks display on August 20 for many years, as the local government discontinued the tradition following a public survey. There will, however, be an LED juggling show on the eve of St. Stephen’s Day, this Wednesday, at the Öreghegy Festival near Bory Castle.
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Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Vasvári Tamás
