The Rose Festival is an annual exhibition of roses and florist arrangements which takes place in

Kutno Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County. Dur ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. The event takes place according to tradition on the first (sometimes second) weekend of September. The first exhibition took place in 1974. The exhibition is accompanied by gardening and firms bazaars, fairs on area of the city and concerts. In 2009 the automobile Rally of the Rose had its premiere. Roses and other flowers come from breeders of

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

province while floristic arrangements are prepared by florists from

and elsewhere, for instance

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Origins of the festival

The Rose Festival for the first time was organised in 1975 from 20 to 21 September by Kutno House of Culture (Kazimierz Jóźwiak had the initiative) named Kutno Rose Fair. During the event, rose exhibitions and handicrafts of Kutno artists were presented along with performances of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

instrumental music An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

bands and solo performers. At first, the Kutno Rose Fair had no sponsorship; florists presented their exhibitions for free, bands performed for the proverbial "meal" in other words it was a festival cost-free event. In 1990 the name of the event was changed and the formula of the festival was enriched by broader artistic arrangements.

The Rose Festival nowadays

Since 1990, the biggest artistic/entartainment/cultural event in Kutno is organised under a different name and progressively improving form. On the Rose Festival annually organised on the beginning of September, many concerts of both Polish and foreign music stars take place (for instance:

Dżem Dżem is a blues rock band formed in Tychy, Poland. Ryszard Riedel, one of the most famous vocalists from Poland, worked with the band. Their songs include: "Czerwony jak cegła" (''Red as a Brick''), "Whisky", " Wehikuł czasu" (''Time Machin ...

Myslovitz Myslovitz is a Polish rock band. The band take their name from their industrial hometown of Mysłowice in the Upper Silesia region of southern Poland. Band history Guitarist and vocalist Artur Rojek started the band in 1992 as "The Freshmen", ...

Bad Boys Blue Bad Boys Blue are the German pop group formed in Cologne in 1984. The group performed many international hits including "You're a Woman", " Pretty Young Girl", " I Wanna Hear Your Heartbeat", and "Come Back and Stay". The group became massive ...

. Moreover, the Rose Festival consists mainly of exhibitions of rose compositions and events related to the rose topic. The festival is very popular amongst Kutno inhabitants, people who visit Kutno or everyone who wants to spend their time pleasantly.

Concerts

An important and inseparable part of The Rose Festival are the concerts of groups playing

and popular music. Their performances are free and thanks to that gathers publicity from the whole Kutno region. Their diverse styles attract various kinds of audiences.

Rose exhibitions and artistic arrangements

For 35 years Kutno has been associated with the rose exhibitions (delivered by the local breeders) prepared by florists of

region as well as the whole world. The form of the arrangements has been changing since the festival beginnings. Originally they were exhibitions of simple flower bouquet (of various kinds of roses) but with time, the form evolved into more plastic arrangement projects which had led into the current open form of extended artistic installations. Annual exhibitions are presented in a free form of interpretation but with an earlier set main theme. Themes of particular festival editions are: "33 Rose Arts/33 Roses" (33 Sztuki Róż) in 2007, "Garden of poetry" (Ogród Poezji) in 2008, "Treasures of the Queen" (Skarby Królowej) in 2009. Exhibitions are created by such great artists of floristics like Druvis and Inge Ciritis from

, Agnieszka Bogusz from Kraków, Crokow or Marek Melerski. Flower exhibitions are supplemented by

artists handicraft of works that interprets modern art with flower (or rose itself) related topics.

Rally of The Rose

Initiated for the first time in 2009, the rally has a 60 kilometers long route which begins on the

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

st. and lead through the

industry zone to end at the city center. Every car driver can take part in the rally (number of crews had been limited to 50). However, cars with valid car inspection and OC+NNW insurance are required. Second edition of the event is planned to take place on The Rose Festival in 2010.

Chronology

33rd Rose Festival in 2007

Took place from 7 to 9 September 2007 and traditionally main part of the event was 33rd Exhibition of flowers and decorative plants named: ""33 roses/rose arts"" on which amongst others Bogdan Ziętek, Marijus Gvildys presented their artistic interpretation of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Maurits Cornelis Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for most of his life neglected in the ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

works. Festival program anticipated live performances of well-known Polish and foreign bands like

Pidżama Porno Pidżama Porno (Porno Pyjamas) is a Polish punk rock / reggae / ska band. History The band was founded in December 1987 in Poznań, by Krzysztof "Grabaż" Grabowski and Andrzej "Kozak" Kozakiewicz, students of Adam Mickiewicz University, who ori ...

34th Rose Festival in 2008

Took place from 12 to 14 September 2008 (exceptionally second weekend of the month), festival program anticipated: 34th Rose and Floristic Arrangements named "Garden of Poetry". Exhibition theme made lower hall of Kutno House of Culture filled with various floral-artistic interpretations of lyric called "W pracowni" (In the workshop) by

Zbigniew Herbert Zbigniew Herbert (; 29 October 1924 – 28 July 1998) was a Polish poet, essayist, drama writer and moralist. He is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers. While he was first published in the 1950s (a volume title ...

. Installations executives amongst others were Janina Kwapisz from

(a florist), Iwona Gajewska and Kasia Fidura-Tratkiewicz (florists) from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

or Artur Śledzianowski (plastic) from

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. Part of festival were also musical performances of Kutno Land's Song and Dance band and celebrities of Polish popular music:

Wilki Wilki (''Wolves'') are a Polish alternative/pop rock band from Warsaw. Wilki have written songs both in English and Polish. They are currently signed to Sony Music in Poland. Discography Studio albums Live albums Compilation albums Band ...

band and

Monika Brodka Monika Maria Brodka (born 7 February 1988) is a Polish singer, who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of Polish Pop Idol (''Idol'') in 2004. She has since released 3 albums, including the 2010 album ''Granda'' which received critical ...

35th Rose Festival in 2009

Took place from 4 to 6 September 2009, festival program anticipated: 35th Exhibitions of Roses and Floristic arrangements named "Treasures of the Queen": theme of the expo had given large field of interpretation, so that installations created by artists like Druvis and Inga Ciritis from

, Anna Nizińska, Katarzyna Fidura- Tratkiewicz, Iwona Gajewska or Marek Melerski had diverse ideas. Framework of the festival also complied performances of such Polish celebrities like Bajm,

Majka Jeżowska Majka Jeżowska (born Maria Jeżowska on May 25, 1960 in Nowy Sącz, Poland), is a Polish people, Polish singer performing pop and children's music. She is also a part-time actress. Biography She graduated from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of M ...

Afromental Afromental is a Polish rock and rapcore band formed in Olsztyn in 2004. The group has released four singles: "I've Got What You Need" (2007), "Thing We've Got" (2008), "Happy Day" (2008), and "Pray 4 Love" (2009). They have released two full-len ...

Robert Janowski Robert Mariusz Janowski (born 22 March 1961 in Inowrocław) is a Polish singer, TV presenter and musical journalist. Veterinarian by profession. Known for the role of Jan in ''Metro (musical), Metro'' musical in 90s and for hosting ''Jaka to melod ...

. Fair took place on main streets of the city, Piłsudski square, Królewska st. and traditionally on

Romuald Traugutt Romuald Traugutt (16 January 1826 – 5 August 1864) was a Polish general and war hero best known for commanding the January Uprising of 1863. From October 1863 to August 1864 he was the leader of the insurrection. He headed the Polish national g ...

park and Kutno House of Culture. In the framework of festival first edition of The Rally of Rose which was one of the round of

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

Car Rally Championship of Amateur Drivers. Rally was organised by Agency of Kutno Trade Development on commission and with the cooperation of Kutno City Hall.

36th Rose Festival in 2010

Festival program consisted of * 36th Exhibition of roses and flower arrangements in Regional Museum (Marshall

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

square which was opened with live performance of Dorota Miśkiewicz with band called "A Girl with a Rose" ("Dziewczyna z różą") in "Magnolia" restaurant. * Amusement park - biggest amusement park (with a

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

) that ever visited Kutno was located at Wolności square. Lunapark among other things consisted of

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...

, huge propeller kind of attraction called Extreme or the Catapult. For younger participants of The Rose Festival the Kinder Carousel, inflatable castle of slides was provided. * The Rose Fair - trade and gastronomy fair was locates in the city center at Marshall J.Piłsudski square, Królewska st, Wolności square and Zamenhofa st * music part of the festival mainly consisted of live performances of Kult and

Budka Suflera Budka Suflera (, " prompter's box") was a Polish rock band which was started in 1969 in Lublin by Krzysztof Cugowski. Although they disbanded soon after, Cugowski and Romuald Lipko reformed the band in 1974 and were active until 2014. History ...

External links

The Rose Festival Official webpage

Rally of the Rose official webpage

Jumping Castles
{{Rose 1974 establishments in Poland Festivals in Poland Kutno Roses Flower festivals in Poland Festivals established in 1974 Autumn events in Poland