The festival takes place over several venues within Boskovice, the most dramatic of which is the ruined hilltop castle. Within the castle there are three separate stages; two for theatre and the third for electronic dance music. Visitors are also free to wander around most of the castle grounds, but some areas are used by the performers for preparation, and are off-limits. The Kyogen theatre performances in the upper courtyard were hilarious, but it helped to understand a little Czech. The puppet and marionette shows were the most accessible of the theatre performances for non-Czech-speakers and the subterranean rooms and open courtyards of the castle made wonderful playhouses.

The outdoor cinema at the foot of the castle hill is used as the main music stage, and the big concert on Saturday night draws a huge crowd. At the 2005 festival, prominent Czech bands Umakart (alternative rock) and Tata Bojs (pop/rock) were the main acts, supported by Lu from Koprivnice, and the Roman Pokorny Trio. The palace glasshouse was the venue for smaller bands such as the various jazz groups and the experimental electronic group Paraneuro, made up of Czech and Finnish musicians. Another stage behind the museum was the venue for the likes of Jamison Young from Australia (country/folk) and the Swordfishtrombones.

A ticket for the whole weekend was 390Kc, and this allowed entry to all performances except those in the synagogue and the cinema, for which small extra charges applied (ranging from 30-70Kc). It was also possible just to pay for individual performances as you went, but seeing the main concert and two other performances was enough to make a weekend ticket worthwhile. Camping space was available for 20Kc per person in part of the lower palace gardens. There were no showers available but portable toilets were supplied, and there was a 24hr-supervised tent where you could leave your valuables for a 10Kc fee. The area between the palace glasshouse and the main music stage at the outdoor cinema was brimming with food and drink stalls, including the typical roast pork, potato pancakes and beer stands, but also several healthy vegetarian options, such as beetroot and onion burgers and freshly squeezed juice.

My favourite performance was that of Irena and Vojtech Havel in the synagogue. They play primarily stringed instruments, particularly the cello and violin, but were accompanied on this occasion by a young man on the clarinet. Their music is difficult to define, but haunting, atmospheric and ethereal are descriptions that would all apply. The almost ghostly music had the audience entranced, and the centuries-old liturgical texts of the synagogue walls and ceiling arches were the perfect backdrop.