WEEKEND PHOTOS: A late-night gallery hop and Keanu on bass

Hollywood star Keanu Reeves and his band Dogstar performed at the Rock for People festival, kicking off on June 13 at Hradec Králové’s Park 360, joined by Canadian punk rocker Avril Lavigne. The main act was the English rock band Bring Me The Horizon. The festival, featuring diverse acts, including the fire brigade brass band Božejáci, attracted 35,000 visitors. The event also included theater and circus performances, film screenings, karaoke, and a PlayStation gaming zone.

In a memorable moment from the festival, Czech Television hosted an interview with Dexter Holland of The Offspring, a molecular biologist. Holland discussed his songwriting process and how mathematics aids his songwriting, sharing that the iconic line “You gotta keep ’em separated” from the song Come Out and Play was inspired while working in a lab.

After a five-year hiatus, Prague Museum Night returned to the Czech capital on Saturday, June 15. Various institutions offered free or reduced admission. The newly renovated Museum of the Capital City of Prague in Florence drew over 300 visitors.

The 17th annual event featured 30 museums, galleries, and cultural institutions, including the City Library, the Karel Zeman Museum, and the Kunsthalle Gallery. Other venues included the Municipal Library, David Černý's Musoleum, AMU Gallery, the National Agricultural Museum.

A service at the foundations of St. Martin Church on Saturday, June 15, marked the 82nd anniversary of the Nazi massacre of Lidice. Cardinal Dominik Duka recalled the tragedy’s impact on children, drawing parallels to the war in Ukraine. Lidice Memorial director Eduard Stehlik stressed the importance of remembrance to prevent future atrocities. The last surviving Lidice woman, Jaroslava Skleničková could not attend, but several survivors did. Attendees also honored Winifred Horák, widow of British Royal Air Force pilot Josef Horák, who passed away at 101.

Lidice symbolizes Nazi terror; on June 10, 1942, Nazis killed 173 men and separated women and children in retaliation for Reinhard Heydrich’s assassination. Most children were poisoned at Chelmno camp, and women were sent to Ravensbruck. In total, 340 Lidice residents died; 143 women and 17 children survived. New houses were built near the memorial area starting in 1948.