128 Bożena Gierek The Lajkonik parade in 2017 At present the celebration starts around 10.00 a.m., when Lajkonik with the standard-bearer, the raftsmen’s retinue, and the Mlaskoty music-band—consisting of flute, trumpet, clarinet, accordion, drum, bass and fiddle—leaves the headquarters of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków. Here Lajkonik performs his first dance and hits the museum employees with his mace. On June 22, 2017, at 12.15 p.m., the colorful procession departed from outside the Municipal Water and Sewerage Company28 on Senatorska Street and headed toward the open air market located in Na Stawach29 Square, where Lajkonik collected the tribute from local merchants as well as from the shops at Senatorska Street. From there, he marched to the Convent of the Norbertine Sisters. On his way, he threw candies to the children who welcomed him. In the Convent’s courtyard, Lajkonik performed his first public dance, watched from the window by the abbess of the Convent and the parish priest. 28 The institution which maintains the Lajkonik tradition. 29 [Market on Ponds] Fig. 2. Lajkonik dancing in the courtyard of the Convent of the Norbertine Sisters, trying to hit the white eagle in the standard with his mace, 2017 (Photo: Bożena Gierek)
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