Craftsmen show their products at Hungarian Festival of Folk Arts

About 1,000 craftsmen will present their talents and their products at the 33rd Festival of Folk Arts, which started on Saturday at the Buda Royal Palace of the Hungarian capital, the organizer said.

"It's a holiday. On the one hand, we are preparing for Hungary's birthday (Aug. 20), and, on the other hand, to regain rank and recognition for work and handicrafts," Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy told the opening ceremony.

Aug. 20 is the national holiday for Hungarians, celebrated with day-long festivities followed by fireworks throughout the country.

"The Festival of Folk Arts celebrates the craftsmanship of the whole Carpathian Basin, for the 33rd time. All ages can enjoy the event," Nagy added.

"Every year, the workshops -- where masters present special craft tricks and practices -- draw a great deal of interest," the organizer, the Association of Hungarian Folk Artists said in a statement.

Visitors are able to observe unique knowledge rooted in centuries of generational experience, immense humility and love, according to the statement.

During the four-day event, tradesmen move their workshops to the Buda Castle so that whoever would like to can try their hands at the many crafts.

These four days are the most significant meeting place for masters living in Hungary and abroad.

The special guests of the 33rd Festival of Folk Arts are crafts masters from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

During the four days of the festival, Hungary's greatest musicians, singers, folk dancers and story tellers will perform on the stage.

"When I was a child, we used to come here every year with my parents and brothers, we played with the wooden swords and ate sweet pastries," Andras Muller, a 21 year-old student told Xinhua.

"Today, I came with my girlfriend and we'll spend more time around fashion shows and concerts," he added.

The featured topic of the 33rd Festival of Folk Arts will be the crafting of traditional footwear, with special attention given to the slippers made in Szeged, in the South of Hungary, which have been the subject of renewed cultural interest in recent years.

Visitors will have access to exhibitions and fashion shows, and those who are interested can learn how to make the Szeged slippers, and see how these traditional designs have been reinvented by Hungarian contemporary folk artists.

The festival also hosts shoemakers from as far away as Morocco and Iceland, and a renowned Turkish shoemaker master displays some of the shoes they created for the Harry Potter movies.