KONTRAST 
The Festival of Accordion Players immediately became a popular and recognizable event in the milieu of traditional musicians, not only in Mazowieckie voivodship, but also in Poland. The Festival in Wołomin is a non-commercial event, focused on communal celebration and experiencing of music. The main idea of the event is promotion of traditional music and, primarily, presentation of musicians from Mazowieckie voivodship who play accordions (but also other instruments). Its popularity is testified by throngs of viewers and listeners who take part in the Festival of Accordion Players. The room is almost always filled to the brim. The event brings together and unites people of various ages.
The inspiration for organising the Mazowieckie Festival of Accordion Players was an ethno-musical study performed upon the commission of the Centre of Ethnographic Documentation (Ośrodek Dokumentacji Etnograficznej) in the Wołomin district. It turned out that the local accordion players presented very high skills and mastery with respect to playing this very difficult instrument. The idea of creating a review of artists was born immediately. The opportunity for organising the first meeting was revitalisation of the building of an old factory, known as Fabryczka, which became the seat of the District Centre of Heritage and Creative Activity in Wołomin and an ideal stage for accordion players.
The 1st Festival of Accordion Players took place in Fabryczka in 2013. Musicians presented excellently rendered traditional folk tunes, such as obereks, polkas and kujawiaks; the participants were invited to dance and sing together and the Wołomin meetings received a spectacular dimension of a convivial music feast. The subsequent editions of the festival had a similar formula, including involvement of the participants.
The Festival is organised by a large group of people in the form of a grassroots initiative, supported by the local government, non-governmental organisations, local media and private entrepreneurs. Excellent organisation and laid-back atmosphere, with an original idea for subsequent editions of the festival attract fans of traditional music-making and people not related to the music environment.
Each edition of the festival is accompanied by exhibitions and fairs of handicraft, regional products and music instruments. Creativity of local artists from the Wołomin area is promoted in particular; the offer includes ceramics, oil painting, acrylic and watercolour painting, painting on ceramic, wood sculpture, jewellery and wool products.
