Small-scale Festivals
Spring is blossoming, the world is defrosting and so are the festivalgoers. Grab the perfect opportunity to warm up to the busiest festival season by enjoying a variety of smaller scale festivals.
The following festivals have under 500 attendees a day, which creates a smaller and more intimate festival experience. The smaller setting creates more space for interaction and collaboration between the participants of these festivals.
FOLKARRIA ECOFESTIBAL
26 - 28 April 2024 / Torres de la Alameda, Spain
With its 12th edition “Folkarria eco Festi-bal” will be presenting a musical offer of national and international bands. Offering additional music and dance workshops of different parts of the world and shows of traditional Spanish folk, the festival wants to recover and extend the traditional dances as well as the European folk music. With the organisation of an eco-social market, a craft market, a space for debates, exhibitions and participative activities for adults and children they ultimately want to transform these dances and music into a tool for the integration of different cultures, combining them with actions of ecological and responsible awareness.
Discover the festival’s programme here.
Picture credits: Folkarria Ecofestibal’s website gallery
17TH GERMAN INTERNATIONAL ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM FESTIVAL
8 - 12 May 2024 / Göttingen, Germany
During its 17th edition the German International Ethnographic Film Festival will promote documentary cinema with a special emphasis on new films, videos and interactive media dealing with socio-cultural processes in a wide sense of the term. Open to all filmmakers, it warmly welcomes those with a background in anthropology, sociology, folklore, history etc. The festival provides a great opportunity for an international exchange of ideas and co-operation in documentary filmmaking.
Discover the festival’s programme here.
Picture credits: The German International Ethnographic Film Festival’s Facebook page
TUDANZAS SOCIAL FESTIVAL
9 - 12 May 2024 / Barcelona, Spain
The TUDANZAS Social Festival is dedicated to individuals, artists, and collectives aiming to share their creations in order to connect with participants from diverse cultural backgrounds. The goal of the festival is to create fruitful collaborations. It is a platform to showcase emerging artists and to foster artistic expression for those who use art as a means of personal and social communication and transformation. The festival focusses on art disciplines such as contemporary dance, circus, folklore, folk arts, music and street art.
Follow Tudanzas Social Festival’s Instagram and Facebook page for more information.
Picture credits: Tundanzas Social Festival’s Facebook page
CIRKUS DANAS
17 - 20 May 2024 / Novi Sad, Serbia
Cirkus Danas organised by “Ludifico”, the Center for the Development of Circus Art, which has been active on the cultural and artistic scene for more than 15 years, is back with a new edition this year. The organisation and the festival attempts to lay the foundations for the development and affirmation of circus art in Serbia. Gaining loyal audiences over many years they still feel that circus art largely remains unknown, which is what inspired the Cirkus Danas Festival. The 4 days of festival are filled with circus performances, both domestic and foreign, circus workshops and forums discussing the position of circus art in Serbia. The festival is open to all audiences in the hopes of bringing awareness and appreciation towards circus art.
Follow Cirkus Danas’ Instagram and Facebook page for more information.
Picture credits: Ludifico’s Facebook Page
THIRD GOAT FESTIVAL
30 May - 1 June 2024 / Ližnjan, Croatia
The Third Goat festival organised by Thirdsapce has been taking place in the Croatian region of Istria since 2021. It has a focus on performance, new media, and interdisciplinary project dealing with ecological issues. Aiming to foster a phenomenological, ecological, and ethical understanding of our relationship with the natural world, it is conceived as an artistic response to climate change and the environmental crisis we witness on a daily basis. The festival takes place in various outdoor locations and gathers young creatives and performing artists who engage in artistic questioning of ecological issues and sustainable development in collaboration with local ecological farmers and action groups who present their work as part of ecological farms and eco parks. Participatory artistic projects bringing the community together around the ideas of sustainability and inclusivity are the special emphasis of this year’s edition.
Follow Third Goat Festival’s Instagram and Facebook page for more information.
Picture credits: Thirdsapce’s Facebook Page
4TH EDITION OF PRISHTINA INTERNATIONAL POSTER FESTIVAL
1 March - 31 December 2024 / Prishtina, Kosovo & Skopje, North Macedonia
For its 4th edition, the Prishtina International Poster festival will be hosting an international poster competition. An international jury will be selecting the best posters out of the submissions that the festival has received and awarding them with honorary prizes. The festival includes three categories of competition including a professional, student and enthusiast category. Students of graphic design from public, private, local and international universities, young people or students that use posters as their medium of expression and other enthusiasts are all submitting their best works to present during the Prishtina International Poster Festival.
Follow Prishtina International Poster Festival’s Instagram and Facebook page for more information.
Picture credits: Prishtina International Poster Festival’s Facebook page
BREACH FESTIVAL
1 Januari - 31 December 2024 / Nicosia, Cyprus
Breach Festival is dedicated to improvisation and experimental musical practices. The festival is the first of its kind in Cyprus and is held in collaboration with No Ordinary Festival and the SPACE21 festival. Previously hosting a series of concerts paired with workshops the festival is offering a new addition of a series of events taking place throughout the year under the umbrella of “Breach+”. Breach+ is comprised by eight mini concerts and one residency programme which gives the Cyprus audience and performers the opportunity to experience this musical tradition on a more frequent basis.
Follow Breach Festival’s Instagram and Facebook page for more information.
Picture credits: Breach Festival’s Facebook page
Other small-scale festivals you might find interesting:
- Escenas do Cambio, 3 - 5 May 2024 / Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- ExploreZ 2024, 6 - 18 May 2024 / Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Capote Fest, 9 - 11 May 2024 / Évora, Portugal
- NOW 3rd Edition, 15 - 20 May 2024 / T’bilisi, Georgia
- The Croatian Burlesque and Cabaret Festival – The Horror Edition, 16 - 18 May 2024 / Pernat, Croatia
- International Lied Festival Zeist, 17 - 26 May 2024 / Zeist, Netherlands
- MAFRA DANCE FESTIVAL, 24 - 26 May 2024 / Mafra, Portugal
- Fantasy Festival, 31 May - 2 June 2024 / Costabella, Italy
