In Budapest alone, there will be 400 evening programmes at 51 different venues. Museums will offer guided tours, film screenings, talks, concerts and dance performances from six o?clock in the evening till two o?clock in the morning. Last year, more than 100,000 people attended events organised for the Night of Museums.
Hungary followed the example of other big cities in Europe and started its own Night of Museums programme in 2003, scheduling it on the nearest Saturday to Midsummer?s Eve, or June 24 this year. On this evening, visitors will be able to see some of the capital?s most popular exhibitions ? among them the 200-year-old mummies on display in the Natural History Museum and the ?Hungarian Fauves? exhibition at the National Gallery ? until the wee hours of the morning. The evening will offer much in addition to exhibitions: dance and theatre performances, musical programmes, interesting talks and even fire jugglers. The complete programme can be found, in Hungarian, at www.muzeumokejszakaja.hu and the free programme guide Exit will feature a special insert in its issue for the week.
Some samplings of the programmes in store for museum visitors on the evening of June 24:
The Transportation Museum, on the edge of Városliget park, will parade for visitors120 classic cars in the ?Budapest Classic Grand Prix?.
The Angyalföld Local History Collection, at Váci út 50, in District XIII, will host a retro fashion show put on by the Circle of Retired People New to the Stage. Braver visitors may even try on some of the period clothes and be photographed.
In the Baroque Hall of the Fine Arts Museum, on Heroes? Square, young artists will draw visitors? portraits.
At the Petőfi Literature Museum, at Károlyi Mihály u. 16, in District V, visitors can learn how to dance the cakewalk, Charleston and shimmy with help from Kriszta Szaka, Dávid Kreiter and the Bohém Ragtime Jazz Band.
Entry stickers allowing visitors into events at all participating museums in Budapest may be purchased for HUF 1,000 for adults and HUF 500 for children. The stickers also allow visitors to ride free of charge on buses running between the museums. Stickers are available at the participating museums and at some ticket offices of the Budapest Public Transportation Company (BKV).
The evening?s programmes are supported with a HUF 37 million grant from the National Cultural Fund.
