Jazz Under the Stars

Welcome to Alba Iulia, The Other Capital.
Visit the largest citadel in Romania.

Smida is a village located 3 hours away from Alba Iulia, at a high altitude on the right bank of the Fântânele lake. Until recently the locality was quite isolated, but in 2016 the road was rehabilitated, making the access much easier.

But why should you go there? Well, for some hiking in the mountains, exploring the caves in the area or simply for resting. Maybe you could go fishing or if you want to exercise your muscles, a biking session. Smida is about both, journey and destination, because the landscape is a story in itself. Mountains, forests, gorges, waterfalls, glaciers, caves, lakes, meadows and other fascinating things to be discovered. But you should know also that far from the noise, pollution factors and stress, an international festival dedicated to contemporary jazz takes place here in open air since 2016.

Smida Jazz Festival aims to support Romanian and international contemporary jazz, trying a synthesis of several genres and music styles, but also actively contributing to the development of this part of Transylvania by promoting the places, the products and the local traditions. Promoting several musical genres is also a form of the cultural dialogue that engages several countries and cultures because, as mentioned earlier, artists are both Romanian and foreign. This year (2017), the event will take place on August 25-27.

Besides the music, every day between 10:00 and 20:00, you will have various activities prepared by the organizers, such as yoga classes, workshops, conferences etc. Everybody is welcomed, adults, children, even pets. During the Smida Jazz Festival you could also taste the local products because on the way to Smida, many inhabitants of the area sell these products on the roadside. Different kinds of mushrooms, berries, fir buds and other fresh natural fruits.

The village of Smida has only 22 inhabitants, and their wooden houses could give you the impression of turning back in time for several hundred years. Anyway,  if you love nature, silence and jazz, we hope you already started packing your bags and prepared for catharsis.

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