WSPÓLCZESNY FOLKLORYZM

A carnival stands not only for the festive time set by the religious calendar, but also for all games and shows which are part of the urban pop culture. Theoretical reflection on carnivalisation, i. e. a specific model of participation in culture, was initiated by Mikhail Bakhtin. The process of progressive carnivalisation of the urban space is associated with the development of spectator folklorism on the one hand and desementisation of the folk rituals on the other, i. e. with the expansion of festive events, which create common festive activity. The author brings up examples of carnivalisation of the public space in Polish towns from the middle ages until the contemporary times when the said process was joined by local government institutions, cultural institutions and foundations, whose interaction is to expose the emotional bonds with the promoted values among participants of a common, open, street „immediate theatre“.