44th Lemko Watra in Zdynia, 17–19 July 2026

The Festival of Lemko Culture – the 44th Lemko Watra in Zdynia – is one of the most important
and oldest cultural events of the Lemko community in Poland. For over four decades, the Watra has been a place of gathering, remembrance, and living culture – a space where tradition is not a museum exhibit, but a shared experience lived here and now. It is a celebration of music, storytelling, crafts, sports, and everyday life, rooted in the Lemko landscape of the Low Beskids.

This year’s edition will take place under the slogan “There’s no place like home” – a simple phrase that carries deep emotional meaning in the context of Lemko experience. In Lemko culture, home is much more than a building. It is community, language, ancestral memory, the smell of wood and smoke rising from the watra (bonfire). It is a place one returns to – sometimes physically, sometimes only in stories, songs, and gestures. For the Lemkos, whose history was marked by forced resettlements, migration, and the loss of ancestral villages, home has often been something taken away, yet continuously rebuilt in culture and human relationships.

The Watra in Zdynia has long played exactly this role – a symbolic home where people can be themselves and find a sense of community. It is worth emphasizing that the Lemko region was once home not only to Lemkos, but also to Roma, Jews, and Poles. The region’s multicultural character was its natural landscape and important heritage. This aspect will be especially highlighted this year through thematic meetings with representatives of minorities, as well as discussions about memory, coexistence, and mutual respect.

An important message of the 44th Lemko Watra is also the idea of NO HATE. The Festival of Lemko Culture clearly emphasizes that everyone has the right to be themselves, express their identity, and feel safe. The Lemko home is open – around the shared fire, the watra, there is space for everyone, regardless of origin, language, faith, or beliefs. The Watra reminds us that diversity does not divide but enriches, and that community is built on attentiveness and respect.

The Lemko Watra in Zdynia is not only a festival – it is a meeting of people, history, and emotions.
It is a return home, even if for each person that “home” means something slightly different.

In accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of personal data (GDPR), which came into effect on May 25, 2018, we inform you that passive and active participation in the event titled “44rd Łemkowska Watra in Zdynia” is equivalent to consenting to the recording of your image in the form of photo reports, video reports, and audio recordings. The organizer, i.e. the Lemko Union (Polish: Zjednoczenie Łemków) and its subordinate units, will use these materials in their informational, promotional, and archival activities.
More about GDPR: https://giodo.gov.pl/pl/569/9276