Now that the dreadful and way too long exam period is over, students of all breeds hanker to let their hair down (pretty understandably) and where else would they do this than at the biggest student party of the country: the EFOTT Festival in July. In case you’re wondering what the heck EFOTT stands for, it’s an acronym for National Touristic Meeting of University and College Students (in Hungarian, of course).
The festival is labeled ‘touristic’, as it has been moving from one Magyar town to another for 34 years now. This year’s location is Baja, which stretches out on the eastern bank of the Danube, meaning that the local townspeople can make some dangerous fish soup – steaming, paprika-peppered and delicious, as you’d rightly expect. We heard an urban myth of it being a good cure for self-induced migraines (that’s the PC word for a hangover) – well, you never know. Another reason why you should definitely take note of this, my friend, is that the Baja Fish Soup Making Festival takes place right before EFOTT, from July 10th to the 13th, and those lucky (or rather, smart) folks who bought a week pass for the festival (EFOTT that is), can set up their tent in the campsite during the fish soup extravaganza, completely free of charge. Nothing sounds fishy about this!
So back to EFOTT 2009… Expect more than 300 live acts on seven stages, featuring such local favorites as Kispál és a Borz and 20-year-old Tankcsapda. The student fiesta will be opened by an exclusive concert of the legendary OMEGA (this will be their only gig in Hungary this year!) on day zero, who have been one of the most popular bands of Hungary for 45 whole years. Other bands we particularly recommend you catch are Quimby, P.A.S.O., Magna Cum Laude and Kowalsky meg a Vega! As ever, there will also be a theme song for the festival – check out the video, chronicling how it was made on www.efott.hu (and start learning the lyrics in no time).
If you buy your week pass in advance (until July 10th), it will cost you 13,900 HUF, while weekend passes (valid for Friday, Saturday and Sunday) are 8,900 HUF. Going down for one day only? Tix for day zero are 2,000 HUF and 4,500 for the rest of the festival. Whichever you opt for, one day or the whole week, head to the nearest lottery shop, one of the TEX or Ticketportal offices, or they’re are also available online (www.tex.hu and www.ticketportal.hu).
Dates: July 14-19
Place: Baja (Hungary FUNZINE, MAP E4)
Tel.: +36.70.700.8080 (on weekdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.)
www.efott.hu (Hungarian only)