The Festival of Life is the largest and longest outdoor Christian festival for youth in Poland. This year it will take place from July 3 to 9 in Kokotek in Silesia. A week in tents, concerts, conferences, workshops… Life, joy, God! Tickets are already on sale.
Comparable to the biggest music festivals – but in a Catholic edition – every year in early July, the event attracts thousands of young people from Poland and abroad. The last edition received many positive reviews and had a wide impact on not only religious media.
The festival is organized in Kokotek, a district of Lubliniec in Silesia, southern Poland, in a picturesque setting surrounded by forest and a lake. The program includes concerts by the biggest stars of Polish music, conferences by renowned speakers, interesting and diverse workshops, as well as an extreme run through water, mud and sand!
‘During this week, everything happens. There is time for fun, valuable conversations and getting to know new people. Everyone has different needs in their hearts: meeting with God, and with other people, but also spending time with themselves. At the Festival of Life, you can experience all of this. What appeals to me the most is that you can see the pure joy on the faces of young people here,’
says Natalia Skrzypiec, who has experienced the festival both as a participant, volunteer and organizer.
Registration for the Festival of Life has already started! Weekly packages (individual and group), weekend tickets, and family passes are available. Don’t hesitate to buy your ticket: www.bilety.festiwalzycia.pl.
Festival of Life 2023. What’s on the program?
The guiding figure of each edition of the Festival of Life is a chosen biblical figure. This year, it will be St. John the Baptist, whose attitude points out that it is not he, but Jesus who is the Messiah. In the face of the widespread crisis of identity, especially among young people, and coping with unrealistic expectations of others, the story of St. John the Baptist is to help find answers to pressing questions: Who am I? Who am I not?
The strong points of the festival program will be the evening concerts. On stage: Tribbs, DARIA, the Silesia Song and Dance Ensemble with composer and conductor Jan Stokłosa (who will present their original repertoire in modern arrangements) and 2Tm2,3 – this is their only concert this year, the band is gathering a special line-up just for the Festival of Life!
In turn, at morning conferences, participants will listen to, among others, the famous evangelist Marcin Zieliński, Monika Hoffman-Piszora (author of the blog @monika_i_dzieciaki_cudaki on Instagram) or Saint Monitor (a channel on YouTube run by Fr. Wojciech Iwanecki and Fr. Piotr Piekło).
In addition to that, the program includes daily Holy Masses, thematic devotions, sharing group conversations, 24/7 adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, dozens of workshop proposals to choose from, and free time in the Chillout Zone. And for the brave ones – an extreme Festival Runner Race!
See how it was at the last year’s event: Festiwal Życia w Kokotku 2022 [Official Aftermovie] – YouTube
From all over the world to Kokotek!
The Festival of Life has gained recognition in Poland and has the ambition to develop on an international scale. In the previous edition and accompanying events, participants from Canada, the United States, India, Colombia, Ecuador, Belgium, and Spain took part. Therefore, this year, the organizers warmly invite young people from Polish communities worldwide to Kokotek.
‘Foreign participants in the festival have repeatedly emphasized in their testimonials that the sight of thousands of young people who are having fun and praying is an exceptionally valuable experience that they do not have the opportunity to experience in their place of residence,’
emphasizes Szymon Zmarlicki, the media spokesperson for the Festival of Life.
‘The Festival of Life can be a great idea for spending summer time and a good opportunity to visit family and friends in Poland. Invite your friends, come to Kokotek together and show where you come from! We dream about a sea of flags from all over the world on the festival field!’
the organizers encourage.
The Festival of Life in Kokotek – the Christian Summerfest Festival?
The Festival of Life has been organized since 2018 in Kokotek, a forest district of Lubliniec in Silesia. In the first years, the event took place under one of the largest tents in Europe, brought from Belgium, and since last year, the festival has completely become an outdoor event, as the main events moved to a huge, several dozen-meter stage.
Previously, the festival stage hosted Golec uOrkiestra, Luxtorpeda, Roksana Węgiel, Kamil Bednarek, Kuba Badach, Arka Noego, and TGD. The speeches were given by Wojciech Modest Amaro, Jan Mela, Sylwia Jaśkowiec, Tomasz Samołyk, Ania Golędzinowska, and Monika and Marcin Gomułka from the Beginning of Eternity blog.
The main organizer of the Festival of Life is Fr. Tomasz Maniura, an Oblate missionary and founder of the NINIWA Youth Ministry, known for leading NINIWA Team bike expeditions (including to Jerusalem, Morocco, Nordkapp, Siberia) and creating thriving recreational and holiday centre in Kokotek. Several Polish dioceses and orders are involved in organizing the event. Since 2023, the Festival of Life has received honorary patronage from the Polish Episcopal Conference.
More information at www.festiwalzycia.pl. Follow the Festival of Life on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
