BARNLEK is a folk dance and folk music festival which welcomes young people in the ages 8 to 16 years old to one of the Nordic countries every third year. July 12-15, 2023, the festival will take place in Lerum in Sweden. Lerum is situated right outside Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden.

Short history

The last time the (stämman) was in Sweden was the year 2002 in the town Motala. Since then BARNLEK has been held in Villmanstrand in Finland, Porsgrunn in Norway, Skive in Denmark, Mossfellsbær in Iceland and in Klaksvík at the Faroe islands. (See all earlier places at this link.) Now it is Sweden and Västra Götalands turn to organise the stämma/festival. We who organise the festival hope to welcome 1000 or even more children and young people to dance and have fun!

What happens at BARNLEK?

Usually you travel to BARNLEK with your local dance group. Once there, you are accommodated in school halls at schools near the actual meeting area. During the days there are different courses and workshops learning dances from the different countries. In addition to this, there are craft stations and other exciting activities. Many use the opportunity to do shorter or longer excursions in the area of the current BARNLEK. In the evening, everyone gathers to dance together, where each country take turns to teach some of their favorite dances. At the end of the evening there is usually time for spontaneous night dancing if you are still awake and want to dance even more. 
 
At the inauguration and closing of the festival, there is a big ceremony, where many participants put on their national costume to show their country's dances and dance the co-dances together. You can also take part in a flag parade and dance performances where you perform in public.

Do you want to participate?

Does all this sounds like fun? Then book the dates July 12-15, 2023. Registration is open until 12 march 2023. You can follow us on social media, Instagram and Facebook, for more updates of what is going on. 

Close by there is a lake where you can take a swim to cool down between the dance sessions.