The second edition of the Romanian Traditions Festival started on Friday in Chisinau. For three days, folk craftsmen, music and dance ensembles, artists and living human treasures from the two banks of the Prut will be present in the Botanical Garden to show the public the true ties of the Romanian community.

Attending the inauguration event, Adrian Dupu, state secretary of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova, said that this event was an expected one, which reminds us of the traditions that unite us. “I wanted to be here again to see the craftsmen, to remember and reconnect with our past and the way our parents, grandparents and ancestors lived. I’m glad that this year too, we can together - families, children, parents, grandparents - gather again in the Botanical Garden to spend quality time, enjoying the things that unite us”, declared the Romanian official.

Romania’s Ambassador Cristian-Leon Țurcanu mentioned that in this event, which has become a tradition, you can admire craftsmen-artists from both banks of the Prut. “Craftsmen and artists from Romania and the Republic of Moldova will teach us in the coming days to appreciate again the traditions and customs that form our common culture. We will thus be able to understand where we started from, where we are and where we are going. A nation that forgets its traditions is a nation that has a not necessarily bright future. I think it is our duty, of each generation, to protect what we have inherited from the past and to teach the younger generations to appreciate these things”, the ambassador said.

Minister of Culture Sergiu Prodan declared that the heritage of any people is the wealth that represents it. “For centuries, the Romanian people, through their craftsmen and popular traditions, managed to remain resilient to all the woes they encountered. Empires passed, world wars passed, but Romanian traditions were that element that gave us, all of us, the opportunity to be reborn every time. It is our duty not only to preserve them, not only to pass them on to the next generations, but it is our duty to understand what our contribution is today in order to further promote our popular traditions”, stated the minister.

During the three days, the public will have free access to exhibitions of traditional objects, craft workshops, folk dances, traditional music and concerts from reputed bands, but also from the new wave of Romanian music. The heritage of regions such as Moldova, Transylvania, Dobrogea, Maramureș, Crisana, Banat, Oltenia, Muntenia and Bucovina will be presented and explained to the public from the Republic of Moldova in a friendly atmosphere.

The Festival of Romanian Traditions is organized under the high patronage of the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis.