This weekend in Prague: Pig out at pork feasts in the lead up to Masopust celebrations

Help Rock Cafe celebrate its 32nd birthday on Jan 20. Czech producer and musician 7krát3 headlines with his live band and The Valentines open the show.

The annual Austrian Ball takes place at Žofín Palace on Jan. 20. Appropriate formal attire is required. Read more in our article.

Canadian-American fashion-art rock band Palaye Royale comes to Malá Sportovní Hala in Výstaviště on Jan. 20. The band, which in 2018 won the Rock Sound Award for Best Breakthrough Artist, is touring to support their most recent album, "Fever Dream."

Conductor John Foire leads the National Theatre Orchestra and noted soloists in Rachmaninoff's "The Bells" and Igor Stravinsky's "Oedipus rex." Some narration is in Czech. The concert is at the National Theatre on Jan. 20 and 22.

Cuban music show Pasión de Buena Vista presents an hour and a half of music in the style made popular by the 1999 film "Buena Vista Social Club." The touring show, which has been seen by over 600,000 spectators, features an ensemble of 15 performers. Catch it at Lucerna’s Velký sál on Jan. 22.

German extreme metal band Heaven Shall Burn and American band Trivium take their joint tour to Forum Karlín on Jan. 22. Heaven Shall Burn's 2020 album "Of Truth and Sacrifice" reached number one on the German album charts.

Over 30 acts will play a free five-hour concert in support of presidential candidate Petr Pavel at Lucerna Music Bar on Jan 22 starting at 7 p.m.  Together for Pavel (Společně pro Pavla) will also be streamed live over social media.

Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty, with choreography by Márcia Haydée (after Marius Petipa), has two performances at the State Opera, on Jan. 21 and 22. The story is adapted from the famous fairy tale by Charles Perrault and is suitable for young viewers.

Five women attend a life coaching course in the comedy Cry, Baby, Cry. The performance at Švandovo divadlo on Jan. 21 has English surtitles.

A play based on the works of Ingmar Bergman, Personas is at Divadlo Na zábradlí on Jan. 21 with English surtitles. Eight characters in a flat bring condensed dramas to life, with every new tenant bringing a new story.

The ninth edition of the Scandi Film Festival, showcasing contemporary films from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland, runs at several Prague cinemas until Jan. 25. Read more in our story.

A project from the operators of Sunset Cinema, Christmas Story has screenings until Jan. 29 at Vnitroblok in Holešovice. Films this weekend include two Harry Potter films, plus "Love Actually," and "The Great Gatsby."

The classic Japanese animated tale Kiki's Delivery Service plays in the original Japanese with English and Czech subtitles at Bio Oko on Jan. 20. Director Hayao Miyazaki's tale of a kind young witch and her black cat transcends age barriers.

Two digitally restored classic Czech films are at Ponrepo this weekend with English subtitles: Jiří Menzel's 1969 drama Larks on a String (Skřivánci na niti) on Jan. 20 and Karel Kachyňa's 1970 drama The Ear (Ucho) on Jan. 21. Both films were banned under Normalization and went unseen until after the Velvet Revolution.

The series of operas recorded live at Met in New York continues with a reprise of Umberto Giordano’s Fedora. Soprano Sonya Yoncheva sings the title role of the 19th-century Russian princess who falls in love with her fiancé’s murderer. See it at Bio Oko on Jan. 22 at 3 p.m.

The time between Three Kings Day and the start of Lent (Feb. 22) is filled with pork feasts, as traditionally this is when farmers would butcher pigs and make sausages. A pork feast is known in Czech as a "zabijačka." The National Agricultural Museum has a zabijačka on Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can taste pork treats as well as a special pre-Lent beer. Workshops, sausage-making demonstrations, quizzes, and other events are aimed at people with at least basic Czech language skills.

The Radlická cultural center in Prague 5 has its zabijačka on Jan. 21 starting at noon. Face painting for kids, puppet theater, and traditional music are planned throughout the day.

The courtyard and buffet at Dva kohouti in Karlín has its zabijačka on Jan. 21. Kuchyň in Hradčany will serve pork specialties from Thursdays to Sundays until Feb. 12 and various pubs in the Lokál chain have special events until Feb. 18.

Celebrate the Lunar New Year at Manifesto Anděl on Jan. 22 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can reserve a special three-course menu from Taiko Ramen Bar by following the instructions online.

You have to hurry if you want to see the Czech Crown Jewels. They are on display at St. Vitus' Cathedral until Jan. 24 to celebrate 30 years of Czech statehood. Admission is free but expect to wait at least two hours in line. The jewels can be seen from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Jan. 21, from 2:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Jan. 22, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 23–24.

Explore the world of nomadic theater artists in Imaginarium, an exhibition presented by the Forman Brothers and their friends at Chvalský zámek daily from Jan. 21 to June 11.

Vintage clothes, accessories, books, household goods, and other items will be on sale at the Letná Mini Market at Bio Oko on Jan. 21.