The Csángó Festival, now traditional, was organized for the fifth time by Pro Minoritate Foundation on 17th February, 2001. The patron of the evening was the Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán. The Festival was opened by János Martonyi, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Basically the aim of the programme was to show the very old and extremely rich tradition and culture of the Moldavian Csángós to the audience from Hungary and abroad. With the Festival we would like to give an opportunity to the Csángós, who still live their culture and keep it alive, to bring and show their clothes, folk customs, music and dance in the course of a stage performance. For this artists and performers were invited from Csángó villages. At the same time we think it is very important that, beside the traditional presentations, some elements of the Csángó culture be presented with the devices of contemporary arts. Works of photographers, textile and industrial designers, inspired by the Csángó culture, were exhibited at the Festival.
In the program, as in the previous years, Moldavian Csángó and Hungarian professional and amateur groups appeared on the stage. The about fifty singers, musicians and dancers from Moldavia gave us the opportunity to taste the world of Csángó music and dance. Performers were invited from Setétpataka, Pusztina, Somoska and Szabófalva. From Hungary András Berecz, the Dresch Quartet, Róbert Kerényi, the Nyírség Dance Ensemble, the Tatros Ensemble, the Zurgó Ensemble, Géza Fábri and Balázs Szokolay could be seen on the stage. In the Festival, started at 7 p.m., Csángó wedding traditions were revived and shown to the audience. The concert and dance show on the stage was followed by folk dance until dawn, when everybody who was interested could learn the basic steps of different Csángó dances with the help of dance teachers.
During the Festival there was an exhibition of Gergely Csoma's photographs made among Moldavian Csángós in the Petőfi Csarnok. The topics, similarly to those of the stage performances, were the wedding celebration. In the photos, taken during the last decades, the wedding celebration of a Hungarian community living in nearly total isolation was revived. The photos, taken in natural milieu, could show even those moments which cannot be made perceptible on stage. These pictures made visible the country where the Csángós keep their traditions. In the ball there was also an exhibition of homespuns which acquainted the visitors with the traditional ways of weaving, the material, colours and patterns of Csángó clothes and household textiles. The exhibited pieces were put at our disposal by collectors.
Our programme has obtained appreciation and popularity during the last years. In our estimation, according to the number of the invitation cards sent and the tickets sold, about 3.000 guest were present at the ball last year. Our programmes between 1997 and 2000 were honoured by the participation of many well-known public figures such as members of the Parliament, ambassadors, university professors, etnographers etc. Several newspapers, radio and television channels gave information about our Festival.
We hope that this programme was interesting not only for those who met the Csángó culture for the first time, but also our returning guests could get new experiences.