As part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, people of Birmingham will come together to perform and witness the ancient Slavonic ritual known as Drowning of Winter.

Drowning of Winter is a public art project led by Czech & Slovak Club UK CIC in partnership with Central and East European communities.

Artists from Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland will perform traditions and rituals to banish winter and welcome spring, the much-anticipated time of rebirth and growth.

An hour-long festival of traditional song and dance, performed by adults and children alike, will be followed by a procession of both artists and spectators, from the theatre; with the effigy of “Morena”, pagan goddess of winter, along the path of the boating pool to a nearby bridge, where the effigy will be cast into the water. The musical procession will then return to the theatre with the “Tree of Spring” before the final performances and the finale of the day’s entertainment.

Spectating public will have first-hand opportunity to witness live Central and Eastern European culture, music and dance in traditional costumes, both entertaining and educating the viewing audience.

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