Romanian Blouse to be celebrated during Romanian Weekend at The Wharf in Washington DC

The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse is set to be celebrated this year also on July 12, as part of the Romanian Weekend at The Wharf, the most significant Romanian cultural diplomacy event in the United States. The event will take place at District Pier, 101 District Square SW, Washington, DC.

The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse, celebrated since 2013, was officially recognized for the first time in Washington, DC, in 2015, when mayor Muriel Bowser issued a proclamation on the issue.

Celebrated internationally on June 24, the Romanian Blouse will also be marked during the Romanian Weekend at The Wharf. This year, the theme of the event is “Roots. The Power of Ritual.” The theme is meant as an invitation to presence, to feeling, and a return to meaning, according to the organizers.

“The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse cannot be interpreted as a folkloric festivity or a cultural marketing campaign, but rather as a contemporary ritual act, an attempt to restore the meaning and sacredness of social time through a symbolic gesture: wearing the blouse or traditional shirt, honoring our ancestors, and reconnecting with our roots,” said La Blouse Roumaine, the initiators of the celebration.

The event will feature a dedicated photographer, available between 3:00 and 6:00 PM for individual portraits at the festival’s photo corner. At exactly 4:00 pm, all those wearing a piece of traditional attire will be invited on stage for the reading of mayor Bowser’s proclamation and the traditional group photo.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to admire a beautiful collection of traditional costumes from the Banat region, presented by Timișoara’s Cultural Center, one of this year’s co-organizers of the Romanian Weekend at The Wharf, alongside the Embassy of Romania to the United States and the Romanian Cultural Center of New York.

(Photo source: Romaniansofdc.org)