Žižkov Carnival Will Last Four Days (Portal of Prague)

Žižkov Carnival Will Last Four Days

The traditional Žižkov Masopust Carnival counts amongst the biggest Mardi Gras celebrations in Prague. Already now in its 19th year, the celebration will last four days in total. Participating on the event will be Cinema Aero as well as one of the most typical Žižkov pubs, where the traditional carnival feasting will be held. The carnival will be unleashed on 18th February by a concert and masked ball in Akropolis Palace.

Vojtěch Kolář
10. February 2012

Carnival King will rule over Town Hall

The ceremonial opening of the four day carnival merry making will be accompanied by vibrant rock’n’roll performed by Elvis Presley Revival Band. There is a free pork sausage and beer ready and waiting for every visitor. The celebration will culminate on Tuesday 21st February, when the carnival parade will take off from the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord. After they arrive to Prague 3 Town Hall, the Carnival King will be ceremonially crowned. Afterwards the carnival parade will make it back to the Jiřího z Poděbrad square, where the celebration will carry on until the last minutes of the day. The day after is the Ash Wednesday, the first day of the 40 day Lent season.

The most traditional Žižkov Carnival

“Even though hardly any one fasts for the whole duration of the Lent season, I would, nevertheless, like to invite everyone to Sunday carnival feast to the U Vystřelenýho voka pub. This year the carnival will showcase all what belongs to the Žižkov tradition. On the programme participants such as Palace Akropolis, the Ulita Children's and Youth Home, Cinema Aero, as well as the members of Žižkov dance theatre Ponec, civic association Remedium and farmers from our markets on ,Jiřák‘,“ said the Mayor of Prague 3 Vladislava Hujová.

Žižkov Carnival famous even overseas

Žižkov Carnival’s reputation reaches not only far beyond the borders Prague but also of the Czech Republic. Four years ago, The Guardian paper pronounced Žižkov Carnival one of the biggest attractions of Czech capital. This year The New York Times tries to lure American tourists to Žižkov merry making. One of the novelties of this year’s event is the afternoon programme for children in the Ulita Children's and Youth Home, where theatre ensembles Divadlo v pytli and Divadlo Ponec have prepared a rich programme full of various workshops and carnival mask making.

For more information, visit www.praha3.cz.

10. February 2012
10. February 2012

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Prague Carnivals Begin

Žižkov Town Hall decided to organize the celebrations in the spirit of local patriotism and The Free Republic of Žižkov under the slogan Žižkov forever! According to the spokesperson for Prague 3, Jan Sotona, the main figure will be Pepík from Žižkov.

“We believe that a lot of Pepíks from Žižkov will come, whether they really are from Žižkov or from somewhere else. We want to let the world know that we are all Pepíks from Žižkov and that we are proud of it,” said the spokesperson.

The programme will start on Saturday 5th March with a fancy dress afternoon for children in Palác Akropolis. There will also be a children’s afternoon the following day together with a Carnival feast accompanied with music by Žižkovanka in the pub U Vystřelenýho Voka.

Entry in the book of records

The main event, the Carnival procession, will take place on Tuesday 8th March, i.e. before Ash Wednesday, which is the start of lent in the liturgical calendar. The procession will set off from Jiřího z Poděbrad Square and will head for Žižkov Town Hall. There will be a vehicle distributing sausages on the way.

“Within the programme of accompanying events, we are considering, whether to try to make the biggest photograph of Pepíks from Žižkov in the world and apply for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records,” added Mr. Sotona.

Refreshment in Kampa

The procession in Malá Strana will take place on Saturday 5th March. Participants in masks or without them will meet after noon at the pub U Černého vola, where the mayor of the city district will give his approval for the procession to begin, “if they behave decently”.

There will be several restaurants with refreshments on the way to Kampa. Participants can look forward to music on the banks of the Vltava, as well as doughnuts, sausages, goulash or roasted pig, said the spokesperson for Prague 1, Veronika Blažková.

She also said that the organizers expect some 50 masks in the procession in a unified historical style. As usual, further dozens of inhabitants of Prague 1 and tourists are expected to join in the procession.

Another procession on the same day will be lead across Střížkov. They will meet in Václavka Park. Prague 6 and will celebrate the Carnival three days later with a procession through Břevnov.