Over one hundred traditional craftsmen to show their mastery to participans in May 9 EPP Sibiu Summit

The participants in the May 9 European People's Party Summit in Sibiu will have the opportunity to see over one hundred traditional craftsmen show their mastery at the Dumbrava Sibiului Open-air Museum, as the institution marks Europe Day with an action called "Rural Europe," ASTRA Museum said in a release. "The ASTRA Museum, the activities of which are made possible through financing from the Sibiu County Council, organizes on Thursday, May 9, the 'Rural Europe' event. This is a large-scale initiative that will see over 100 traditional craftsmen from all over the country involved in 40 different interactive workshops, which will be set up in the Dumbrava Sibiului Open-air Museum, to mark Europe Day, when the EU leaders will be present here," the release said. ASTRA Museum director Ciprian Stefan said on Wednesday that the institution represents a pole of culture both on domestic and foreign level, as well as a concrete example of multiculturalism. "Multiculturalism and cultural interactivity are two basic components at the ASTRA Museum," said Ciprian Stefan. The interactive craft workshops in the program include saw woodworking, log carving and finishing, osier fence weaving, manufacturing wooden roof slates, ironworking, sewing/beaded embroidery, painting icons on glass, embroidering sheepskin coats, artistic wood processing, tassel-making and basketry, knitting, engraved block printing, ornament-making, toy-making, pottery, painted wood icons, mask-making, manufacturing folk costumes, bobbin lace making, peasant shoemaking, painted furniture, vegetal fibre braiding. There are also two interactive culinary workshops on the bill; the first one will see a housewife present the guests the story of the potato and onion pie, at the second - 3 fishermen from the Mila 23 village in the Danube Delta will prepare Lipovan cuisine such as marinated mackerel, fish balls and fish ball soup. The "Ioan Macrea" Dance School will stage folk performances and will provide traditional dance workshops. The open-air museum is closed on May 9, and the 'Rural Europe' event will be shown exclusively to the participants in the EPP Summit, but as of Friday it will be also open for the public to see. The EPP Summit will take place at the Multicultural Museum Pavilion, built with European funding and inaugurated in May 2016. The ASTRA Open-air Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization covers 96 hectares, of which the actual exhibition spans 42 hectares and the alleys run on 10 km. The museum has over 300 buildings from all the ethnographic areas of Romania and 16,000 registered items, many of which are on display inside the monument buildings. The museum also welcomes the guests with two restaurants, two boarding houses, a playground, a tourist information center, 4 parking lots. The ASTRA Museum is the largest open-air ethnographic exhibition in Europe, and the world's second largest, museum representatives told AGERPRES. AGERPRES (RO - author: Isabela Paulescu, editor: Elena Stanciu; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)