From 25 till 28 August, the town morphed into a multicultural smelting pot of trade, craft, theatre, music, and delicious cuisine from around the world.

The Fair opened with a traditional procession ceremony, attendants arriving at Jarosław’s main market square where mayor of the City of Jarosław Waldemar Paluch presented local residents with a symbolic town gate key, inviting them to celebrate and enjoy Fair attractions. All proceedings were witnessed by a delegation of Norwegian partners of the Nordre Follo kommunne on a study visit to Jarosław as part of the “Local Development” Programme.

The extensive agenda of our Norwegian guests’ visit would have been remiss without discussions, experience exchange sessions, and – last but not least – a town walkabout. Every Fair has its rules: Nordre Follo operated its own stand, waffles made by Norwegian delegation representatives by hand an unquestioned hit enjoyed by locals and our guests from Ukraine and Hungary in equal measure.

The 2022 Jarosław Fair edition included merchant tradition shows, and an EMPIRIAE Experience Exchange Network (Entrepreneurial Cities and Towns) conference, the pivotal subject discussed during the “Good Practices in Designing Events Supporting Entrepreneurship Development” panel.

The conference was organised by Association of Polish Cities advisors: Kamila Niklewicz, Marek Gabzdyl, Jarosław Górski and Łukasz Dąbrówka, guests from Norway and representatives of EMPIRIAE Experience Exchange Network members (Entrepreneurial Cities and Towns) actively assisting. The event involved a presentation of and debate surrounding practices applied by Network member cities and towns, and a format showcase for organising entrepreneurship-promoting events in Norway.