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THE KÓSPALLAG OLD HOUSE PROJECT AS PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH... 257
Events, dance-houses
We have been organizing events since the beginning. Our big annual event is the
‘Old House Day’, but we are also becoming increasingly involved in other events
in the village. In addition to family handicraft programs and programs focusing
on local knowledge, the team has decided to offer a program of folk and world
music at the ‘Old House Days’, which is constantly monitored for local demand
and reaction. This is how the Rimöc Brass Band came to visit us. They were received
with great enthusiasm by the elderly people who still remember the local brass band
or the bagpiper Botond Bese, who also played the bagpipes to the songs sung by
the locals. And the world music line-up appealed to young people from the local
area and beyond. And we have seen close, lasting human relationships, friendships
and loves develop out of the chance encounters that take place at these events.
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Figure 4. Dance-house at the Old Cottage day 2022. Photo: Zoltan Gyérei
Reflecting on the needs of the local and surrounding area has also given rise to
folk dance-houses in Késpallag. In our camps, the ad-hoc csdngé dance-houses
and joint singing sessions in the evenings were always a great success, bringing
together enthusiastic local musicians, local dancers and lovers of folk music — both
experienced and amateur. With the monthly dance houses, we want not only to
make similar, good-humored evenings a regular feature, but also to make them
more enjoyable for many more people. Our aim is to create an event that gives
everyone the opportunity to experience a dance. This series of events is also a
tribute to the founders of the dance-house movement, a return to its roots. The
organizers ambition is to make folk dance a real community experience. In
addition, the singing lessons that precede the dance houses provide a multi¬
generational opportunity for fun, with older locals and young people alike enjoying
singing folk songs together.