On your mark, get set, go — to this weekend’s largest event, the Prague Marathon. Among the top ten marathons in the world, the Prague Marathon draws thousands of runners from countries across the globe. On Saturday 9 May, a carnival will kick-off the Marathon weekend for the 5th time. The real event begins on Sunday 10 May at 9:00am in the heart of the city at Old Town Square, the 42 km course winds through Prague with over 30 bands and dancers dotted along the way to support runners and entertain spectators. For the less athletic or those with children, there will also be a minimarathon. The 4.2 km event begins on Sunday at 9:45am, and half the entrance fee proceeds will benefit Karel Pavlík Foundation supporting organ donation and transplants. The Marathon’s participation fees will cost you 100 euros, while the minimarathon only costs 10 euro, and is free for children 15 and under and seniors 65 and over.
Besides the Prague Marathon, a bevy of festivals will be beginning in the near future, giving us the perfect excuse to celebrate our favorite things.
On 12 May the Prague Spring International Music Festival begins for 3 weeks packed with musical events from operas and chamber music to recitals and concerts. In its 64th year, the festival will open at 8:00pm at the Municpal House with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra performing Bedřich Smetana’s “Má vlast”, the traditional opening piece for the Prague Spring Music Festival. Tickets begin at CZK 500.
If the Prague Spring Music Festival is a little too mainstream for your tastes, you will have the opportunity to indulge your more eccentric side with the Prague Fringe Festival beginning later this month. Opening on Friday, 22 May and continuing Saturday 30 May, the Prague Fringe Festival will offer over 40 shows and 200 performances in 7 venues across Malá strana. On the Web site, the Prague Fringe Festival promises to be a celebration and adventure of “the exotic, the strange and the bizarre”. Tickets cost CZK 150 everyday but opening day, where prices drop to CZK 100, and students with a valid student ID pay only CZK 50.
Also beginning at the end of the month is the Czech Beer Festival, which lays claim to the “largest gastronomic event in the Czech Republic”. For the second year, you’ll be able to sample the best of the best from a selection of Czech breweries, chefs, bakers, and butchers. With over 50 different types of beer available at the price of only CZK 40, and 300 Czech young people bedecked in traditional costumes working as servers, the event promises to be an unparalleled cultural experience. Opening on Friday, 22 May at 3:00pm, the event is free this year and will take place at the PVA Letňany Exhibition Center.
But before you overindulge in ice cold beer, you may want to check out the Prague Health Food Festival beginning this Thursday and running until 30 May. The chefs of the thirty participating restaurants created special menus highlighting dishes that are big on taste and healthy. And for the food festival’s opening weekend, there will be conferences on everything from weight loss to improving one’s endurance. Because the Prague Health Food Festival is meant to parallel the Prague Marathon, all of the conferences will be held at the Marathon’s expo center.
Next Tuesday, 12 May the Yellow Sisters, an a cappella group will perform at Betlémská Chapel at 7:30pm as part of a benefit for a school in Kargyak, a small village in the Hymalayas. The special school is not only the village’s only school but is an eco-project that relies on solar energy for heating. The Yellow Sisters’ performance, known for combining soul, funk, world music, jazz, and reggae promises to be both entertaining and will help a good cause.
Also Next Tuesday, Kavárna Lucerna will host a photo exhibition of the Semafor theatre in celebration of its 40th anniversary. The photos were taken by amateur photographer Ivan Englich and the exhibition will be opened by Jiří Suchý at 5:30pm.
One of the best new movie releases in theatres this week is the film Duplicity. The spy-thriller rejoins Julie Roberts and Clive Owen as former lovers and current corporate spies who are set to pull of their own complicated con.
