16.MFF 15.MFF 14.MFF 13.MFF 12.MFF 11.MFF 10.MFF 9.MFF 8.MFF 7.MFF 6.MFF 5.MFF 4.MFF 3.MFF 2.MFF 1.MFF Dear friends, In the town of Frýdek-Místek which lies in the North-East of the Czech Republic (not far from Ostrava) there will be held the 9th International Folklore Festival dated between the 17th and 23th of June 2003, which is organized by the Town of Frýdek-Místek, by the Folklore Association of the Czech Republic and our folklore ensemble Ostravička. For each festival we do invite 5 folklore dancing ensembles from abroad with their own live music, exceptionally we invite a singing choir. For the ensembles (maximum is 40 participants per group) we ensure free accommodation and board for the 6 days of the festival, pocket money - 200 Kc per person and contribution on the transportation within the Czech Republic. (There will be a bus at the disposal of groups, which will travel to the Czech Republic by plane. The bus will take the group to Frýdek-Místek and back to the airport - Praque or Ostrava.) There`s no registration fee. The individual performances should be 10, 15, 20 and 45 min long. We require that the groups perform in their national costumes with traditional music instruments. The participants of the festivals should consist of children and youth ensemble, including mixed groups (there is no age limit).The festival is not competative. If you are interested in taking part in our festival and the previously mentioned conditions are suitable to you, kindly forward your application form along with promotional materials of your ensemble no later than by October 31,2002 to the given address at the end of this letter. We request that a repertoire of performances on video cassette and publicity materials with specific information about the ensemble (pamphlets, leaflets and photographic illustrations) are also forwarded whith the application form by October 31, 2002. The final participans in the festival are selected by a special commission and the nomination of candidates is determined for the following year by December 31, 2002. The results of the selection commitee are made know to all candidates no later than by January 20, 2003. (Selected participants will be informed by fax prior to January 20,2003.) Priority is given to ensembles which haven´t performed in the Czech republic and reciprocal invitations are appreciated for our domestic ensembles (this is not a prerequisite). We have little contacts with your country and it`s folk tradition so far and we are very pleased that you are interested. Preliminary programme you can find here. We look forward to meeting you in the future. Best regards Eva Geryková President of the Festival. Address: Mezinárodní folklórní festival Eva Geryková Habrová 2941, 738 01 FRÝDEK-MÍSTEK, Czech republic Fax: +420 558 435 015 E-mail: gerykova@ohsfm.cz Mobil: +420 606 822 886 (en francais)