Verbarium

Songs and storytelling | 90 mins | Erasmus Days and festival opening
⚲ The garden beneath the White Tower, in front of OKis Café | free

The vocal sextet AÚÚÚNA and members of the Verbarium association, Kristina Nesvedová and Michala Piskačová, will present a specially curated programme of songs and storytelling in the rose garden beneath the White Tower near Piarist Square.

The programme is suitable for all ages; you can pop in for just a moment or stay for the whole programme – OkisCafé will be open.

The launch of the 10th edition of the international storytelling festival Carousel of Stories and the opening of the StrongerRoots campaign under the Open Society Fund’s matching grant scheme.

The event is part of the European Erasmus Days programme, which showcases the activities of successful applicants to the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme.

Songs and storytelling | 70 mins | Erasmus Days and festival opening
⚲ The grounds of the School Sisters’ Convent at Na Sadech, České Budějovice | booking via GoOut.cz | admission by donation

songs and storytelling

His and her stories are inextricably linked; they grow out of one another. Sometimes it may seem as though there are two, but in reality there is only one. One without the other makes no sense.

Listen to the songs and stories that tell of Her, of Him, of both of them…

Narrated by Michala Piskačová, with musical accompaniment by Karla (piano), Šimona (guitar) and Juliána (accordion) Piskačová, vocals by Jan Piskač, produced by Verbarium z. s.

The performance was created for the 20th edition of the Sztuki Opowiadania international storytelling festival in Warsaw in November 2025, on the theme of ‘HIS and HER Story’, and was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Czech Centre in Warsaw.

It takes place as part of the European Erasmus Days programme, which showcases the activities of successful applicants to the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme.

Launch of the 10th edition of the international storytelling festival Carousel of Stories and the opening of the StrongerRoots campaign under the Open Society Fund’s matching grant scheme

An urban community game with stories
⚲ Starting at Rabenštejn Tower | admission by donation | booking required via GoOut.cz

A game to bring people together and to share stories

A community storytelling game set in the streets of České Budějovice, where you’ll go for a walk, meet new people, hear new stories, try your hand at storytelling together if you like, enjoy a tasty treat, and spend time with your family or friends.

We’ll meet at Rabenštejn Tower, where you’ll hear the beginning of the story, split into groups, receive maps and set off to search for stories in various spots around the streets.

At the appointed time, we’ll meet back at the starting point and, gathered round a table laden with treats, we’ll piece the whole story together.

For ages 6+ | Limited capacity – bookings via GoOut.cz | Admission: voluntary contribution and something tasty to share

Perform: members of Verbarium Association

⚲ Tady Creative Hub | admission by donation

An open space for anyone who wants to tell a story

Every third Monday of the month, 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm

21 September | 19 October | 16 November | 21 December

Come and share your experiences, memories and stories, always on a chosen topic and within a set time limit. You can come with friends, acquaintances, family members or on your own. You don’t have to attend regularly.

There’s a bar serving refreshments on site.

Organised by the Verbarium association in collaboration with KREATins. The sessions are led and moderated by Michala Piskačová.

Verbarium, MAS Pomalší and the Friends of the Town of Velešín Association
⚲ Medieval bathhouse at the U Kantůrků House, Velešín | free

Dům U Kantůrků in Velešín houses a replica of a medieval bathhouse. For one evening, neighbours will gather here around a table to enjoy stories and tales together. Telling and listening – that is a spa for the soul.

The event will be opened and hosted by Kristina Nesvedová and Michala Piskačová from the Verbarium association and is supported by the Friends of Velešín Association and MAS Pomalší.

⚲ Goethe Centre, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice | free

“A circus tent!” shout some, “No, a waterfall!” say others. “It’s a shell, of course!” insist a third group. So which is it? In any case, something large and blue hangs in the air, and for the storyteller, it is a sea of stories. Just as in any other body of water, you can cast your line into it — but here, with a bit of luck, stories will take the bait. Once they’ve been hauled ashore, they should be told as quickly as possible, before they dry up: about the fisherman and his wife, about the fox and the wolf on the open sea, about the snake-man and the lizard-man, and about other things in the water, on the water, and far from the water.

Set design: Jeannette Harendt

The second edition of the international conference on the possibilities of storytelling
⚲ Meziprostor | tickets available via GoOut.cz

The second edition of the conference on storytelling in the context of educational practice, social and spiritual care, and active citizenship. The programme includes presentations by experts, round-table discussions, joint reflection and outlooks for the future. The conference will be attended by festival guests from the Czech Republic and abroad, as well as experts and the public. See the programme brochure for more details.

Storytellers share the stage
⚲ Meziprostor | tickets available via GoOut.cz

At this year’s StoryJam, festival guests will present short stories lasting up to ten minutes. Not sure which festival performance to choose? This year, StoryJam will serve as a taster for the main festival programmes.

Songs and storytelling | 50 mins
⚲ Meziprostor | free

Songs and Stories. This year’s festival opening will be performed by the Pramendík mixed choir and members of the Verbarium association, who will present a medley of songs and short stories. This marks the first-ever time these two groups and their respective repertoires have come together on stage. What will it be like?

Storytelling inspired by the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone | 60 mins
⚲ SUD Theatre | tickets available via GoOut.cz

The Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone intertwines with the narrator’s personal story and echoes of tales from various cultures.

The Greek gods had a remarkable talent for complicating life for themselves and their children. It is no wonder that Demeter decided to hide her daughter from their world. But a mother – even a goddess – cannot protect her child from everything.

Stories of girls and women | 60 mins | tickets available via GoOut.cz

From Lilith, through Fatima, right up to you and me. From days gone by to the present day. We’ll tell stories and sing – about slave girls and princesses, about prophetesses, clever girls and so-called wallflowers.

In this programme, we combine fairy tales, songs and very personal stories. Tales drawing on mythology and everyday life – all equally true. And at the same time, we turn the order on its head. Brave… Because they’re like men? Women… Because they don’t know anything? Really? We’ll see. For this gathering, please bring one name with you. The name of a woman who, for whatever reason, is important to you. The rest will simply happen.

Katarzyna Jackowska-Enemuo: storytelling, singing, accordion, ngoni, daf, kantele

Mateusz Szemraj: cymbals, oud, rubab, mandolin, percussion

A workshop on singing folk songs from different cultures
⚲ Horká vana | limited capacity | tickets available via GoOut.cz

Společně budeme zpívat, hýbat se a dýchat v příjemném prostředí – žádné předchozí zkušenosti nejsou nutné. Společný zpěv pomáhá regulovat nervový systém, propojit dech, tělo a mysl a posiluje pocit sounáležitosti. Začneme jemnou rozcvičkou v duchu čchi-kungu a poté se pustíme do jednoduchých lidových písní z různých tradic. Těším se, až si s vámi zazpívám!

Workshop for intermediate and advanced storytellers
⚲ SUD Theatre | limited capacity | tickets available via GoOut.cz

What is music in a story? Is it an illustration? An accompaniment? An embellishment? Is it indispensable? Is it an essential part of the story? And if so, how can we make it a language of its own — a language we can speak? How can we do this if we aren’t musicians? What is silence — in storytelling through words, and in storytelling through music? What are rhythm and pulse? In this workshop, we will explore how music can become an integral part of creating and telling a story.

Where does that music come from? We’ll get our bodies, hands, feet, bellies and voices moving. We’ll discover what musical activities we can do together and what’s better done individually. We’ll search for sounds within the story and learn the basics of free improvisation for non-musicians (but also for musicians). We’ll work together as well as in small groups.

If you have an instrument that accompanies – or could accompany – your stories, please bring it with you. It could be a whistle, a rattle, a piece of wood, a stone – anything. Or perhaps nothing at all – that’s fine too.

Please also bring something to drink and something to sit or lie on the floor.

Lecturers:

Katarzyna Jackowska-Enemuo – storyteller, fairy-tale writer, composer, singer and accordionist who also plays many other instruments

Mateusz Szemraj – multi-instrumentalist, an exceptional master at creating music that is a story and stories that are music.

Workshop on the basics of storytelling
⚲ Meziprostor | limited capacity | tickets available via GoOut.cz

Few activities can facilitate such an intense connection between people as quickly and easily as storytelling. It is an art that can be developed throughout one’s life without significant material or financial outlay. The ability to tell stories is acquired in early childhood alongside language and is either nurtured or stifled in later life. In principle, however, anyone can tell a story, provided the right conditions are in place for them to feel at ease and fully experience the joy of storytelling.

Through games and exercises drawn from the pedagogy of storytelling and theatre education, participants discover ways to make a story their own and to take their audience on a magical journey whilst telling it.

Paměť národa South Bohemia and Verbarium | launch of a virtual reality educational programme | 60 mins
⚲ Kende Villa | free | booking via GoOut.cz

We tend to view grand history as if it were a play. But real history is shaped by the actions of ordinary people on ordinary days.

Launch of the first virtual reality app for the ‘Memory of the Nation: South Bohemia’ project.

The project will showcase the unique Jewish magazine *Klepy* from the 1940s, as well as the history of the Jewish heritage site, Kende Villa, in České Budějovice. Students from České Budějovice star in the virtual reality video and are also co-authors of the script.

As part of the programme, the song *The Return of Rudolf Kende*, written in Terezín in June 1943, will receive its world premiere.

Concept, animation, direction: Roomspecific s. r. o.

Cast: Rudolf Fiedler, Eliška Dekanová, Michael Kajnar, Karolína Korhoňová, Hanuš Mezera, Šimona and Juliána Piskač, Alan Knopp, Zuzana Šustrová

VR technical production: LIVE4K

Organisational collaboration: Verbarium, z. s.

Funded by the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe

With the support of the City of České Budějovice

Archival materials provided by: Memory of the Nation – South Bohemia, South Bohemian Museum, Jewish Museum in Prague

Costumes on loan from: South Bohemian Theatre

Producer: Memory of the Nation – South Bohemia

Expert consultants: Štěpán Balík, Jan Ciglbauer

We tend to view history through the lens of major events and famous figures. But real life unfolds in the everyday existence that we all share. It is precisely from these ordinary days that history is born, even if we often fail to realise it. Stories of people who were in their ‘teens’ in the early 1940s.

A storytelling walk | 90 mins
⚲ Starting at Kende Villa | tickets available via GoOut.cz

“Songs of the Partisan Women” is a musical, trilingual storytelling walk-performance about women fighters in Lithuania, France, and Ukraine.

What does it mean to resist? To refuse to surrender and to preserve one’s strength even in the most terrifying moments?

During the performance, the stories of women fighters are told. It speaks of the courage and strength of women resisting oppression, occupation, injustice, and inhuman conditions in France, Lithuania, and Ukraine — from the past to the present day.

In France during the Second World War, women took on every role in the resistance against the Nazis: with weapons in their hands or typewriters under their arms, carrying suitcases or producing forged documents.

In Lithuania, beginning in 1944, women went underground alongside men in order to resist the Soviet occupation. Together they entered the forests, fought, and became part of the partisan war: working as messengers, hiding in bunkers, writing poetry.

In Ukraine today, more than 60,000 women are fighting to defend their country against Russian aggression. They are doctors, teachers, journalists, politicians, artists…

Created by storytellers Milda Varnauskaitė and Ariane Pawin, together with singer Oksana Zhuravel-Ohorodnyk.

Consultant of mise-en-scène: Abbi Patrix

Consultant of text translation in English: Margo van de Linde

Produced by: Cie la Fausta and Pasakotojai. Co-produced by: Centre des Arts du Récit (38 –

France), Le Lieu (78 – France), Maison du Conte (France), the Museum of the Resistance in Grenoble

(France), Lithuanian National Museum. Supported by: Season of Lithuania in France, the French Institute in Paris and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.

60 mins
⚲ Tady Creative Hub | booking via GoOut.cz

45 mins
⚲ Tady Creative Hub | booking via GoOut.cz

60 mins
⚲ Horká vana | tickets available via GoOut.cz

More than 2,000 years ago, a book appeared in Rome whose author, Publius Ovidius Naso, recounted even older stories: in fifteen books, he compiled both well-known and obscure myths and legends from the Greek and Roman worlds. Yet the way in which he wove them together and developed them continues to inspire wonder to this day: an exhilarating flight over the abysses and shallows of the human soul, a kaleidoscope of the world with all its sensory experiences, laughter and sorrow.

Ovid’s *Metamorphoses* is a tapestry woven from the red threads of fate that surrounds us humans both when we are awake and asleep, transforming again and again into new images of human and divine destiny, and telling of transformations that never end – from stone to serpent, from tree to human, from bird to star.

The narrator has selected his favourite metamorphoses from more than 250 stories; following the example of the original work, he has blended the familiar with the unfamiliar and now retells them in his own words.

A unique evening of collaborative storytelling to mark the festival’s tenth anniversary | 60 mins
⚲ Horká vana | tickets available via GoOut.cz

A unique performance created especially to celebrate the festival’s 10th anniversary, which will never be repeated. Our lives are punctuated by many unique and unforgettable encounters, little stories that someone has told us. Sometimes we can’t even remember when, who or where, and sometimes we can’t even recall them word for word – all that remains is a feeling, an image, a phrase, a sound, an echo… yet they are still like a light on the path for us.

Performers: Katarzyna Jackowska-Enemuo, Mateusz Szemraj, Martin Ellrodt, Vida Vojić, Markéta Holá and others

Short-story storytelling
⚲ Horká vana | admission by donation

The final evening of the festival will be dedicated to sharing short stories, not only by professional storytellers, but also as a space for anyone who adheres to the agreed theme and time limit.

⚲ Bistro U Soudku | private event

90 mins
⚲ BudeCirkus | limited capacity | tickets available via GoOut.cz

Imagine a moment when time slows down, your body lies comfortably wrapped in a blanket, your eyes closed, and the soothing sound of gongs, chimes and Tibetan singing bowls drifts through the air to your ears. The guide weaves words into these gentle sounds, telling a story that draws your attention to the present moment and to a deep awareness of your own body. The hustle and bustle of the outside world fade into the background. The sound gently and naturally permeates your body, releasing tension, calming the mind and restoring balance. Your breathing deepens, creating space for profound regeneration and re-energising.

It is not just ‘ordinary relaxation’ – it is a journey to your true self.

When family history, Czech drama and a forgotten gravestone intertwine | 35 mins
⚲ Horká vana | tickets available via GoOut.cz

An old armchair, a cup of coffee and a walk to the cemetery.

The play Maryšo? is the author’s debut work, created as a final project for the Department of Creative Writing and Pedagogy. Through various forms of storytelling, it explores the connections between the stories of fictional and real women. It asks where the author’s artistic licence ends and a truly lived story begins.

(Here is a review of the performance at the NADAMU festival: https://2026.nadamu.cz/posts/cuc-maryso )

Theatrical rendition | 60 mins | festival finale
⚲ Church of St John the Baptist and St Procopius | tickets available via GoOut.cz

Vida Vojić invokes the spirit of Saint Hildegard by singing her medieval chants accompanied by the glass harp, subtle electronics, spatial feedback and light design. Hildegard of Bingen was a visionary Benedictine abbess and mystic of the Rhineland, during the 12th-century Holy Roman Empire, renowned as a composer, preacher, writer, theologian, artist, playwright, herbalist and scientist. For this festival Vida will present a unique theatrical rendition of the solo, which includes the tale of Hildegard’s life story and spiritual revelations.