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The Festivalized Countryside in Poland: From Folk Fairs to Community Festyns

Abstract Official statistics report that almost ninety per cent of local governments in Poland currently organize various types of local festyn—an open-air celebratory event, usually including a fair, tastings, competitions, games, and other activities. Paradoxically, the gigantic popularity of this type of event is accompanied by denigrating them and associating them with cheap outdoor entertainment; the term itself is used in everyday language to refer to banal and unsophisticated things. The main goal of this article is to answer the question of how medieval folk fairs became local community festyns. Based on original research and a special non-government report on the ‘culture-forming role of local festyns’ from 2017, this article presents festyns as a complex and important cultural phenomenon. They integrate local communities and are an important manifestation of their activities. Under the guise of carefree fun and entertainment, Polish local festyns celebrate serious values, such as community, identification, and continuity.