After four years, the group Kryštof, led by the singing actor Richard Krajč, returned to the traveling festival Hrady CZ, which started this Friday in the sub-castle of Točník in Central Bohemia. Since the last performance at the local castle, the Havířov band has released the album Halywůd. She has now released the title song and the hit Hvězdáři from it.
To the dancing and singing audience of several thousand, Kryštof also presented compositions from the entire thirty years of his career such as See you, I will dance, The road or I don’t dance muchwhich is the title song of the rowing series Why wouldn’t we drown aired in 2009.
A series of eight two-day music festivals in the area on the meadow with a view of Točník Castle was opened by a young Czech singer Sofian Medjmedj. The rock quartet Gaia Mesiah also performed. She recently released an album Wave existence, which he describes as a return to the roots. On Friday, she offered the audience characteristic guitar riffs and bass grooves, emotional drums and a distinctive voice combined with the movement of the singer Marka Rybin, whose real name is Markéta Rybinová.
Michal Hrůza and Slovak rapper Majk Spirit also presented themselves. The first day of the festival ended with the singer Anna K. After the pandemic years, the organizers returned to the earlier model, where the performers take turns on two stages. Newly, individual performances are separated by fifteen-minute breaks.
Part of the program was the traditional announcement of the best carnival masks. Each visitor who came dressed like this received a gift, the author of the best mask took home a mobile phone. At each castle, the organizers select the most successful masks, which advance to the grand finale. The main prize for the absolute winner will be free tickets for the next year.
This year the CZ Castles Festival also cooperates with the National Institute of Monuments. On Saturdays, visitors are also offered free entry to the sightseeing tours of Točník and Žebrák castles. Those interested can take part in the photo competition, the athletes are waiting in the grounds of the playground.
According to their own words, the organizers also think about the weather forecast. Saturday is set to be the hottest day of the week, with temperatures reaching 37 degrees Celsius. The audience can expect a performance by the bands Kabát and Mirai, and Wanastowi Vjecy with frontman Robert Kodym will also perform. “Our most typical visitor is between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five, rather from a smaller town, a family type who goes to the festival to meet friends and have fun with them. And we have slightly more women than men.” he said to the Metro newspaper, event producer Michal Šesták.
The hardest part is the fact that the organizers build an area on a green field in the vicinity of each castle. “This is where the preparation of the Castles is of course much more demanding. Every liter of water that a visitor washes their hands with, we had to bring it by tanker and pump it over, whereas when you hold an event somewhere at the fairgrounds, you just turn the tap and it flows,” he mentions.
CZ castles will continue on July 21 and 22 on Kunětická hora and further on in Švihov, Rožmberk nad Vltavou, Veveří, Hradec nad Moravicí and Bouzov. It will end on September 1 and 2 in Bezděz.
