Transylvania Fest – Biertan 30 July - 1 August 2010

Transylvania Fest is the offspring of Turda Fest, a traditional agricultural festival created in the town of Turda, located 27 kilometers from Cluj, in 2005.  The festival name was changed from Turda Fest to Transylvania Fest in 2010 as requests were received from other parts of Romania to replicate the festival.  The festival offers a unique multitude of Romanian, Hungarian, Rroma and Saxon experiences to visitors during the three days of the festival originally held yearly during the last week end of September.

The festival wishes to find a permanent place amongst leading European events featuring agriculture, tourism, multiculturalism and local traditions and act as a tool for tourism in Romania. The main goal of this event is to support small local producers, bolster local pride in the multi cultural traditions and showcase the regions of Romania.  It is greatly honored in having the high patronage of HRH Crown Princess Margarita of Romania and as international patron HRH the Prince of Wales. The festival is normally opened by HRH Princess Margarita.

The festival is run entirely on a volunteer basis under the direction of Pamela Ratiu (president and executive director) and a team of thirty very talented, young dynamic Romanians members of Ratiu Center for Democracy (Turda) and Fundatia Ratiu Romania (Bucharest), approximately 120 volunteers plus the US Peace Corps are involved in the festival.  The festival works directly under the guide lines of the Turda Fest Association, a non profit organization and the festival is solely funded through sponsorship.


During the three days of the festival visitors will find something of interest for every member of the family.  Included in the activities are: a children’s area with educational games focusing on the environment, a crafts area with participants from around Romania demonstrating their crafts, an NGO fair exhibiting their programs and holding work shops, seminars for producers on organic farming and on heritage, focusing on traditional restoration, an open air cinema with anthropological films, street theater and folkloric performances from Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Poland and the Ukraine, producers exhibiting and selling their local products of vegetables, jams, pickles, honeys, cheese, breads, smoked meats and smoked fish, a Slow Food area for the Slow Food conviviums around Romania, a traditional cookery competition and a mountaineer competitive sports challenge for young adults.  We host parades and traditional reenactments of weddings and other folkloric tales.

Transylvania Fest draws a crowd of approximately 15,000 visitors per day and its programs run throughout the year to support small local producers by holding monthly markets, assisting in the aid of health certificates, selling their produce in our local Traditional Delicatessen in Turda, and inviting all to participate free of charge at all events hosted by the center.  The festival also supports in developing an agro tourism program in the village of Badeni.

Transylvania Fest brings commerce to the venue of the festival through booking accommodations for over 300 performers and craftsmen, through hiring local catering and transportation. A very important thing, which, to be completely honest with you surprised me, is that the organisers do not charge producers or craftsmen for rental of stands during the festival, but in fact they house them and pay for their food!


It’s an initiative we admire as it promotes local producers and benefits the community through its media partnerships and visibility, we thoroughly recommend you pay them a visit and we’ll do our best to support the organisers.

For further information please contact: Pamela Ratiu, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ,
tel: +40 728 989 086.

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