Time Out Croatia news

At 11 PM on Wednesday, July 28, the final segment of Pelješac Bridge was connected. Grgo Jelavic/PIXSELL Pelješac Bridge fast facts Work on the 2440-metre-long Pelješac Bridge was completed ahead of schedule. The 165th segment - the final one - was installed last night after three years of total construction work. Grgo Jelavic/PIXSELL This doesn't mean the bridge is open to the public just yet - some additional construction has to be carried out first. This includes finalising access roads, waterproofing, welding segments, adding pavement, and so on. Out of a total cost of €550 million, the EU is providing €357 million. In charge of construction is the China Road and Bridge Corporation. The bridge is 23.6 metres wide, and the height from the bottom of the seabed to the uppermost part of the bridge measures 220 metres. Upon the completion of the final segment last night, a celebration ceremony was held onsite. It included colourful fireworks and traditional klapa music. Ivo Cagalj/PIXSELL Why so much celebration for a bridge, you might be wondering? Because the building of the Pelješac Bridge is a historic moment. Namely, the bridge will officially secure locals and tourists alike a direct route across the entire Croatian mainland. What does this mean for travellers? The Pelješac Bridge will connect southernmost Croatia with the rest of the mainland by road. It will also provide easier access for island-goers, minimising the number of ferries required to get to say, the

Every summer, the centre of Croatia's capital rings out with the sounds of folk music from local regions and all around the world. International and local folk troupes perform traditional songs and dances for delighted audiences. This year's Zagreb International Folklore Festival has the theme of "Intangible Culture as Living Heritage." See what you can still catch here (or check out the full programme on the event's official website):  Thursday, July 29, 2021 10:00 am, Trg Bana Jelačića (Ban Jelačić Square, Zagreb's main square) Folklore Promenade 9:00 pm – Gradec plateauFORMAL EVENT OF THE 55TH INTERNATIONAL FOLKLORE FESTIVAL: Intangible Culture as Living Heritage Participants: Tamburitza Heritage Treasurers Association, Zagreb; Folklore Group “Šokadija Babina Greda,” Babina Greda; “Široka Kula” Folklore Group, Široka Kula; “Pazin” Folklore Group, Pazin; “Koledišće” Folklore group, Jezera, the island of Murter; “Goranci” Folklore Group, Goranci, Bosnia and Herzegovina; “The Peasant Concord of Donja Dubrava,” Donja Dubrava; “Sveti Juraj Osojnik” Folklore Group, Osojnik; Comunita degli Italiani “Marco Garbin,” Rovinj; “Vrbje” Folklore group, Vrbje; „Kitka“ Folklore group, Istibanja, North Macedonia, “Didi s Kamešnice” Carnival Group, Gljev. Admission is free.Pursuant to the Decision of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia, the events of the Festival can be followed only by persons with an EU digital COVID certificate. For persons who do not have a COVI

Circus Maximus is set to become the First DAO (Distributed Autonomous Organisation) approach festival in the world. What exactly does that mean? A DAO is based on rules encoded in smart contracts, which can be organised around common goals or interests. Most DAOs are - at least currently - focused on finances, but Circus Maximus is aiming to change that. One day, Circus Maximus plans to apply a smart contract to the festival budget. In effect, that means the community (in this case, music fans) will have the main say - about everything from venue location to performers, plus how and where the budget will be distributed. As a first step on this ambitious journey, the festival has introduced a non-fungible token (NFT) ticketing system. Circus Maximus will issue transferrable NFT ticket tokens as a cryptographic token enabled by an ERC1155 smart contract on xDai chain (with prices determined by the Bezier bonding curve). After acquiring a ticket, festival-goes can check-in via an app to receive an NFT as a permanent digital record of their purchase. NFT ticketing also means ticket touts (and fake tickets) will be obsolete for the event. Instead, each ticket will be authentic and unique to the holder. New technologies like crypto and approaches like DAO may well, one day, become the norm for events like music fests. Either way, Croatian-produced Circus Maximus is applying innovative methods that will certainly remain memorable in its field.  Festival details Circus Maximus will t

Immigrant Daughter: Stories You Never Told Me (2019) is a captivating tale of intertwining worlds penned by American-with-Croatian-roots author Catherine Kapphahn.  Catherine grew up by the mountains of Colorado knowing little about her Croatian mother's early life and homeland. When Marijana passed away of ovarian cancer, Catherine (then 22) set out across the Atlantic Ocean to search for clues about her mother's past. She discovered that Marijana was orphaned during World War II, had a near-death experience as a teenager, and fled Communist Yugoslavia to Rome, and then South America. Throughout the book, Catherine weaves together the strings of her mother's life to reconcile past and present. The author earned an M.F.A. in Writing from Columbia University before her award-winning Immigrant Daughter, which received The Center for Fiction's Christopher Doheny Award, was published.  As Catherine describes it, Immigrant Daughter is "a mother-daughter adventure love story that takes place in six countries." She adds, "Some of the chapters take place in Oriovac, Zagreb, Mrkopalj, Hvar, and Makarska. Many Croatian readers have written to me and expressed how much my mother's story means to them. They tell me about their own immigrant journeys. Many say the book makes them want to travel to Croatia." Explore Croatia through Catherine's eyes When and how did you decide to write Immigrant Daughter: Stories You Never Told Me? What was your process? At my second attempt at college, I u

The 45th edition of Osor Musical Evenings (Osorske glazbene večeri) kicked off yesterday, on July 16. Osor is a small historic town dating back to Antiquity, situated in the heart of the Cres-Lošinj archipelago. This marvellous musical event has been held in Osor every summer since 1976. Each concert starts at 9 PM in the Church of the Assumption of Mary on Osor's main square. One concert, however - that of the world-renowned LADO Ensemble - will take place outside, directly on the plaza. Find the full schedule and reserve your ticket on the event website here. Keep in mind that to participate in this event, you will need a: - EU digital COVID certificate;- negative test, that is, a PCR test not older than 72 hours or an antigen test not older than 48 hours; or- certificate of recovery not older than 6 months. For those interested, the organizers are providing testing from 8:00 PM to 8:45PM on the day of the concert in front of the church, at a price of 20 kunas, with the presentation of the purchased ticket.

A dream on the docks Come full moon this month, Zadar's Riviera (aka, Riva) will be lit up by torches and candles. Boats in the harbour will transform into floating markets selling world-famous tuna and sardines from Ugljan Island's fishermen; clams from Pašman Island and mussels from Novigrad in Istria. Rustic temporary eateries will serve up local dishes, along with figs, cheese, rakija and more delicacies. If you can't visit the surrounding regions of Zadar, this is your chance to experience many of them in one place.  Where and when The event is on from July 22 to July 24, 2021. Find it on Zadar's Riviera (Riva) - with the address Obala kralja Petra Krešimira IV.

The 12th edition of EXIT Theatre Summer Evenings is being held in two parts: first from July 4 to August 1 and then from August 19 to September 21. As part of this year's Summer Nights, Zagreb's EXIT Theater will perform a total of 47 plays with 25 different titles. Most of the program is hosted in the pretty 19th-century building of the Museum of Arts and Crafts. The rest takes place at two locations about 100 metres away - in EXIT Studio (Gundulićeva 37/1) and Hall F22, on the stage of the Academy of Dramatic Arts (Frankopanska 22). Find the full schedule and ticket information on EXIT's website.

Motovun Film Festival is a small film fest with a big soul - and renown. Held since 2008, the festival also has a splendid location. Its five-day home is the so-called "brdo filmova" (mountain of films), a dreamy hilltop in the town - which is a central Istrian fairytale in and of itself. In fact, being in Motovun just might make you feel like, well, being in a movie. Screenings will include a selection of international and local films that will make you laugh, cry, gasp, and grin. Find the full program here. Tickets can be bought online for the festival's duration, July 27 to 31, on the official event website. Generally, the sooner you book, the less expensive!  

The Tourist Board of Bol has a fantastic offer for tourists looking for added activities - along with the given sunbathing and sea swimming - for their holiday. So what's on the travel menu? Well, Bol currently has three fantastic hiking trails and two groundbreaking bike trails - all interactive and based on local legends.  They've recently gotten even better. Maps intertwined with stories and myths have now been added to outdoor info boards on the island. Anyone who can't see, or who prefers to listen, can now have the legends told to them. All they have to do is scan a QR code on the info boards with a smartphone and perk up their ears! With that, Bol has become the first place on earth with two marked Bike Storytelling trails. Each is about 60 km long, with its own theme, and offers plenty of fun and knowledge for all who seek them. Stories are available in Croatian, English, and German.  

On July 19, Croatia will be transferred from "amber" to "green" on the UK's travel safety list. This means that travellers from the UK will no longer have to be quarantined when arriving home from a holiday in Croatia. For Croatia, the UK's official government website currently states: "Currently on the amber list. Will move to green watchlist 4am, Monday 19 July. If you arrive in England before then you need to follow the amber list rules." Also joining Croatia on the UK's green list are Bulgaria, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The decision will come into effect on July 19 at 4 AM, London time. Those who arrive in Croatia prior to this will still have to quarantine and take COVID-19 tests, as the government states.