The Forge of Tradition, operating within the structures of the Folkloristic Group “Wielkopolanie” of the Provincial Public Library and the Center for Culture Animation in Poznań, is an initiative created in 2019 out of love for the folk culture of Wielkopolska. Its main goal is to discover and develop the talent of young performers and enable them to reach a wide audience with folk music. Teachers, traditional musicians, with their message popularize the musical traditions of Wielkopolska by cultivating and disseminating them, especially among children and youth. They convey to them the musical values ​​received from true masters of folk music, sharing them further through the traditional method of learning: master-apprentice, without knowing the notation, thus maintaining the authenticity of folklore and the possibility of expressing themselves through music.

From the very beginning, both teachers and students have been successful in competitions and reviews organized in Poland and around the world.

Last weekend, from September 19-20, musicians of Forge of Tradition took part in the “Ignysiowy Laur 2020” Folk Culture Festival. The event was aimed at popularizing and developing the Wielkopolska folk culture related to bagpipe music, traditional folk dance and singing, the creativity of performing characteristic elements of the Wielkopolska folk costume and the construction of bagpipes, goats and oranges.

The festival began with a traditional bagpipe music competition, in which several dozen participants from all over Wielkopolska took part, in individual age categories. The competition presentation was assessed by the jury composed of: Jan Prządka (president of the Folk Musicians Association in Zbąszyń), Janusz Jaskulski – curator of the Museum of Folk Instruments in Poznań and Tomasz Kiciński (folk musician, outstanding piper and violinist), who selected the winners by classifying the musicians of the Forge of Tradition of the Provincial Public Library and the Cultural Animation Center for the first four places:

– Jagoda Pawlak – tied violin

– Fryderyk Jankowski – bagpipes

– Wojciech Ozóg – sierszenki

– Piotr Górecki and Maria Przybylska – bagpipes and tied violin

The festival was accompanied by workshops for young musicians of bagpipe bands, demonstrations of bagpipe and goat construction, placing of tulle bonnets and embroidery, and a festival with the participation of bagpipe bands and folk groups.

The “Ignysiowy Laur” Folk Culture Festival received funding from the National Cultural Center from the “EtnoPolska 2020” program and was co-financed from the budget of the Self-government of the Wielkopolska Region. The organizer of the event was the Association of Folklore Enthusiasts “Żeńcy Wielkopolscy”, and the co-organizers: Secondary School im. Jan Kasprowicz in Nietążkowo and the Cultural Center in Śmigiel.