This year Kapolcs will take it to the next level: Hobo and Bea Palya will be among the confirmed performers, Design Terminál, the agency with a mission to help the Hungarian creative industry flourish, will provide startuppers with a chance to showcase their trades, and mobile payment will be available at most festival locations. In July the Valley of Arts will open its gates for the 24th time, with nearly 1,000 events in store.

Kapolcs, or rather the Valley of Arts, brings a myriad of images to mind: peace and quite during the day, partying during the night, the sound of jazz improvisation filling the air all of a sudden, András Lovasi having a pálinka at the next table over, the crafts fair where I bought two bizarre, head-shaped vases that I still have, Bea Palya singing barefoot.