Four months full of fun – MOL Nagyon Balaton begins

Showcasing a varied program of culture and gastronomy, the Valley of Arts will feature the gig of Skye & Ross from Morcheeba. St. Germain will perform at the Paloznak Jazz Picnic, and Veszprém will host shows by Thievery Corporation and Jamie Cullum. Widely regarded as a festival capital, Zamárdi will organize Balaton Sound for the tenth time, inviting such illustrious names as Macklemore, Armin van Buuren, and Robin Schulz. STRAND Festival, which will be taking place at the end of the season, will also have a star-studded lineup with Hurts, Caro Emerald, and Tom Odell among others.

“When we launched the MOL Nagyon Balaton series four years ago, our aim was to draw the attention of potential tourists to the best of Balaton. Today the region is seen by many as a venue for a never-ending series of high-quality, colorful events. MOL Nagyon Balaton can help you find the top lángos stands, ice cream shops, and restaurants, and we’ve also got your back if you’re looking for the hottest concerts and festivals,” says Norbert Lobenwein, the founder of the event series, in connection with the Top100 list MOL Nagyon Balaton and We Love Balaton will join forces to compile again this year.

“In addition to featuring the cream of the Balaton region on one platform, we’ve also launched about a dozen new events ranging from smaller, more intimate ones to big blowouts like STRAND and B.my.Lake, which have attracted hundreds of thousands in recent years. We’re happy to announce – and we’re sure visitors to Lake Balaton will be thrilled to hear – that this year’s program will include new events, which can contribute to the good reputation of Hungary and Balaton,” added Zoltán Fülöp, the other leader of MOL Nagyon Balaton and head of VOLT Produkció.

One of the most scenic running races in the world, NN Ultrabalaton will be held at the end of May. Two weeks later, visitors to the National Regatta will get the chance to cheer on the contestants with the help of popular Hungarian band Magna Cum Laude, and from June the alternative guided tours of Hosszúlépés will be temporarily introduced around the lake. If theater is your thing, make sure to check out the performances held from late June in the framework of Kultkikötő in Balatonföldvár, Balatonboglár and Balatonfenyves, but if you’re a concert person, your best bet is Siófok Plázs, one of the latest attractions of Balaton. The new project of musician Péter Geszti will debut on the ferry running between Szántód and Tihany; this is also where the traditional ferry concerts will take place, featuring Szabó Balázs Bandája in the summer and Kiscsillag sometime in early September. The first weekend of July will be busy at both ends of Balaton: Keszthely will be bustling with life during KeszthelyFest, while Balatonakarattya’s Everness Festival will once again be the meeting place of contemporary spiritualist thinkers like Péter Müller, James Redfield, and Wm. Paul Young.

Undoubtedly the most important tourist magnet of the Balaton area, Balaton Sound will draw an audience of 150,000 to Zamárdi for the tenth time. At the second Parti Pezsgés event of the south shore, visitors will get to sample an array of regular and aerated sparkling wines. In terms of wine festivals, this year’s notable events will include Füredi Borhetek, the oldest and longest event of its kind, as well as VinCE Balaton and Badacsony Bor7 – all of them seem quite promising based on the wines and the music selection.

Veszprém will throw two major fiestas in the middle of summer: VeszprémFest will bring music to the castle, whereas the Veszprém Street Music Festival will turn every square and gateway into impromptu concert venues. If you’re already in the neighborhood, why don’t you pop over to Tihany? At the local ARTplacc Contemporary Arts and Design Festival, you will find everything that’s cool and happening in the Hungarian design and fine arts world in 2016. On August 20, Magna Cum Laude will play a fun gig at Révfülöp pier. The last weekend of summer will be all about dancing to the tunes of the coolest Hungarian bands at Strand – Nagyon Zene Festival and to the leading acts of the techno industry at nearby B.my.Lake.

The lineup of Strand will include the likes of Hurts, Caro Emerald, Tom Odell, and Hollywood Undead; the Hungarian bands Wellhello and Halott Pénz will have a whole day to themselves and their favorite performers. Next door, the Hungarian and international stars of underground electronica, like Richie Hawtin, Carl Cox, and Solomun, will take the stage at B.my.Lake. There’s no better way to end the summer and the MOL Nagyon Balaton series than with Köveskál’s Kálibuli, a laid back gastro festival in the heart of the Káli Basin.