Not many people talk about the Valpovo Summer (Ljeto Valpovačko) as often as they should – and that’s a pity. Valpovo‘s most important cultural event, this festival takes place every summer, attracting a good number of local tourists, plus some international figures, with folklore, music, theater and other performances. The Croatian National Tourist Board informs that the dates for the festival this year are 19 June 2011 – 25 June 2011. Indeed they are, and the events are fit for a royal media campaign.
It's the 43rd edition of the festival, and as always, the organizers offer a special treat for each participant.
Tonight, at 20:00 local hours, the festival opens with a concert featuring different choir assemblies, including Korezin from Čavle and Marinići Viškovo, alongside Valpovo’s own M.P.Katančić, and the M.I.R. from Belišće.
If you love tradition, and you like to discover new things, these choirs are the prelude for what promises to be an extraordinary experience.
The festival continues the following days with cultural and traditional entertainment, including cooking contests, cooking demonstrations, hunting trophies exhibitions, exhibitions of art works featuring Valpovo’s own talent, ethnographic exhibitions, a photo exhibition by Anthony Loncaric-Zlatko, and much more.
As folklore plays such an important role in this festival, you will find here artists from all over the regions surrounding Valpovo. And while the international media fails to cover the event starting today appropriately, the people of Valpovo surely know what their values truly mean.
But Valpovo could gain so much more in terms of notoriety if they could afford more publicity for this traditional event. The event is far from being boring – in fact, is a celebration of life, tradition, culture, and everything else Valpovo holds dear. Like the city majorettes, who will be performing on June 25. Or the Medison dance group that will entertain visitors the same day.
Festivals are some of the best opportunities for outsiders to learn, and fall in love with a touristic destination. Too bad that Valpovo is missing out on this opportunity. And like Valpovo, so many other Eastern European destinations.
All images in this editorial courtesy: Valpovo.