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Capitals of Culture in 2024
By Linda Tancs
In keeping with tradition, we begin the New Year with an announcement on the European Capitals of Culture for 2024: Bodø (in Norway), Bad Ischl (in Austria) and Tartu (in Estonia). Bodø has the distinction of being the first city located north of the Arctic Circle to hold the title. In February, a spectacular opening show in Bodø harbor will kick off the year’s events. Bad Ischl is in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, the first time this inner-Alpine area has held the title. “Arts of Survival” is the theme for Tartu’s banner year, the four pillars of which will be uniqueness, sustainability, awareness and co-creation.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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Capitals of Culture in 2023
By Linda Tancs
In keeping with tradition, we begin the New Year with an announcement on the EU Capitals of Culture for 2023: Timișoara (in Romania) and Elefsina (in Greece). Timișoara was on the short list of Romanian contenders for the annual honor roll. It’s famed for its baroque architecture on Victory Square, the Bega Canal that cuts through the length of the city and the Orthodox Cathedral, the tallest church in the country and one of the tallest orthodox churches in the world. Elefsina is the fourth Greek city to win the title, the others being Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras. Birthplace of the leading tragic poet Aeschylus, the city was sacred in antiquity and boasts significant archaeological sites like the sanctuary where pilgrims were initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries and a Roman courtyard.
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Capitals of Culture in 2022
By Linda Tancs
As noted in last year’s post on the subject of European Capitals of Culture, the title holders have been shuffled around a bit given the lack of festivities during the COVID pandemic. This year’s title holders are Novi Sad, Kaunas and Esch. Interestingly, all three cities are the second-largest in their country. On the banks of the Danube, the city of Novi Sad in Serbia boasts a colorful thoroughfare known as Dunavska Street and a fortress nicknamed Gibraltar on the Danube. Lithuania’s Kaunas is known for its artistic flair, including unique modernist architecture. One of its most famous sons is George Maciunas, who founded the experimental art movement known as Fluxus. Esch in Luxembourg is known as a metropolis of iron ore, a symbol of the country’s steel industry. It’s part of the region known as the Land of the Red Rocks (also known as the “Minett”), a nod to the bright red iron ore that gives the earth its color.
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Capitals of Culture in 2021
By Linda Tancs
In keeping with tradition, we begin the New Year with an announcement on the EU Capitals of Culture for 2021, or at least what would’ve been the capitals. Due to COVID-19, the cultural capitals program has been suspended. Timișoara (in Romania), Elefsina (in Greece) and Novi Sad (Serbia) have been shuffled around a bit. If three sounds like an odd number of capitals, that’s because the original plan was that, from 2021 and every three years thereafter, a third capital would be chosen from cities in countries that are candidates or potential candidates for membership in the European Union or in countries that are part of the European Economic Area. Romania and Greece have had their titles postponed from 2021 to 2023. Novi Sad will now be the European Capital of Culture in 2022, together with Kaunas (Lithuania) and Esch (Luxembourg).
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Capitals of Culture in 2020
By Linda Tancs
Happy New Year! And you know what that means—another set of European Capitals of Culture! This year’s honorees are Rijeka (Croatia) and Galway (Ireland). Croatia’s third-largest city, Rijeka is its principal seaport, with an attractive promenade along the city center (Korzo). Given its seafaring heritage, a visit to the Maritime and History Museum is a must. Housed in the former Governor’s Palace, it includes artifacts like a Titanic life jacket, picked up by a worker on the Carpathia, the ship that saved over 700 passengers. In Galway, the offerings for its celebratory year will be classically Irish yet seen through a European lens. It’s a perfect opportunity for the Galway International Arts Festival team to collaborate on a year of arts programming. Don’t miss the chance to stroll along the city’s canals, following the River Coribb, where the locale is perched.
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Capitals of Culture in 2019
By Linda Tancs
Happy New Year! And you know what that means—another set of European Capitals of Culture! This year’s honorees are Matera (Italy) and Plovdiv (Bulgaria). Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with a history dating back to 4,000 B.C. During Roman times, it was a thriving industrial center and remains so today. Its annual International Fair is an epicenter for international business, conducted on fairgrounds representing one of the largest exhibition venues in southeastern Europe. Matera is a city on a rocky outcrop in the region of Basilicata in southern Italy. It includes the Sassi area, a complex of cave dwellings carved into the mountainside. Many of the caves are now hotels, bars, restaurants and homes. Take the train from Bari to Matera and explore the area on foot.
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The 2018 European Capitals of Culture
By Linda Tancs
Malta and Leeuwarden (Netherlands) share strong agricultural ties in the nature of potatoes. Maltese farmers grow potatoes from Leeuwarden seeds and send those crops to Leeuwarden. How appropriate, then, that Leeuwarden and Valletta (Malta) are the European Union’s 2018 Capitals of Culture. In a unique display of solidarity, the locales have joined in an effort called Poetry in Potato Bags. This initiative involves the sending of local poetry with the exchange of seeds and potatoes, enriching poetic dialogue between the two cultures. Look for many events to be held throughout the year in each city highlighting their social, cultural and economic assets.
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Crossing at the Meuse
By Linda Tancs
Maastricht is one of the oldest cities in Holland. The city’s name, derived from Latin, means “crossing at the Meuse.” Indeed, the ancient city is located on both sides of the Meuse River. It might be better known as the birthplace of the European Union: a treaty was signed there in 1992, establishing the European Union and its currency, the Euro. The capital of Holland’s southernmost region, Limburg, it’s prized for the local delicacy—a pie (vlaai) filled with marmalade.
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The 2017 European Capitals of Culture
By Linda Tancs
For over 30 years now, the European Union has designated a couplet of cities as cultural capitals for the calendar year. This year’s honorees are Aarhus in Denmark and Pafos in Cyprus. The Danes are celebrating their heritage and what it means for the future of tourism in Central Denmark in a campaign titled “Let’s Rethink.” They’ll be examining their contributions to art and culture and strengthening the identity of their region. Highlights include a unique collaboration with the Royal Danish Theatre and Moesgaard Museum to present Red Serpent – a spectacular outdoor performance of a captivating tale of a hero from the Viking Age. The year will also feature the Danish National Opera’s premiere of Janne Teller’s prize-winning Danish novel for young people, “Nothing.” The ambitious agenda in Pafos (birthplace of Aphrodite) is to open every nook and cranny of the ancient coastal city into an outdoor cultural hall—an open-air exhibition of sorts. But that’s not to diminish the indoor venues, especially in the cooler months. Look for a variety of activities in the archaeological museum, the old Othello cinema, the Markideio Theatre and the art gallery.
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The 2016 European Capitals of Culture
By Linda Tancs
New year, new cultural pursuits. The European Union’s honorees for 2016 Capitals of Culture are the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastian and Wroclaw, Poland’s fourth largest city. San Sebastian, the third largest city in the Basque Country, is focusing their agenda on a community of culture to foster peaceful coexistence. Seeking to link the two cultural capitals, Wroclaw’s opera director is planning a massive Spanish folk musical at the local stadium, featuring 50 dance groups and 80 choirs performing under the direction of a Spaniard. What a perfect way to promote understanding through culture and the arts.
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