Time Out Croatia news

This weekend in Zagreb offers retro aficionados, design enthusiasts and eco-conscious shoppers three great pop-up opportunities to get their hands on all kinds of alternative and offbeat items. All three are in and around the centre of town, easily accessible by public transport. BRAVO Buvljak – Preradovićeva 34 Operating under the slogan 'Migrating clothes from good to even better hands', the organisers behind the second pop-up BRAVO flea market/garage sale are big believers in circular fashion, where the minimisation of waste is the goal. This Saturday, May 11, at Preradovićeva 34, buyers can find a smattering of springtime clothes offerings (and some other wares too) from 11am to 4pm. Among the collections of clothing items will be high street brands as well as other more classic secondhand items, with the guiding principle being that someone’s forgotten wardrobe fixtures can be another’s golden find. Ful Kul Buvljak – Boogaloo, Vukovarska 68 At the Boogaloo club on May 11, from 10am to 5pm, shoppers can find a whole range of items on sale at cut-rate prices, accompanied by music from DJ Tomi Phantasma at the decks. Here, huge collections of vinyl records, offbeat and secondhand clothing, trinkets, unique dice sets, old books and much more are ready to be browsed in a leisurely atmosphere. This is a recurring event, and its longstanding popularity is proven by the delight its return was met with in 2019 after a years-long hiatus. Five years later, it’s still going strong –

Aiming to increase awareness for the importance of women’s reproductive health, the association SVE za NJU ('All for Her') is once again organising a fundraising race at Zagreb’s Bundek park. Taking place on May 11, the public health initiative 'To nisu samo ženske stvari' ('It’s not just women’s stuff') will offer participants two race distances – 800m and 4km – open to women, men, and children. All money raised will go to the association, which uses the funds for continuing its work, including covering expenses so that affected women can receive psychological support.The run is part of a campaign inspired by World Ovarian Cancer Day (May 8), and the organisers have goals wider than simply raising funds. They aim to highlight the importance of regular health check-ups in promoting the crucial role that prevention plays in beating the disease, as well as challenging the idea that the issue is something that only impacts women. In their call for participants, the organisers expressed their desire to see men run the race as their support is important, both in mainstreaming the public health campaign and in practice, where emotional support for women impacted by the diagnosis can go a long way. Where: Bundek park, ZagrebWhen: Saturday, May 11, from 10am For more details, see here.

From August 23-25, three days of Jazz in the Vineyard bring top musicians from around the world to Međimurje for a boutique festival in a unique natural setting. Now in its fourth year, having already attracted 1,500 visitors over the previous three, the event takes place at the very top of Mađerka hill, cascading vineyards around it and a breathtaking view that takes in Austria, Hungary and Slovenia. Bruno Mesarić The music on offer this year is equally striking. Headlining is Yaremi Kordos & Evolution Cuban Jazz, who performed with the Buena Vista Social Club. They are joined on the bill by jazz pianist Borna Pehar. This acclaimed young Croatian will be promoting his first album and plays here with an international band made up of musicians from four countries. Other acts come from Brazil, Belgium, Hungary and Poland, as well as the young members of Jazz Ravne from Slovenia. In addition to the concerts, musicians will be sharing their knowledge at several masterclasses, while visitors can view the exhibition, Portraits – Music in the Picture, in co-operation with a festival from Slovenia, Jazz Ravne. In between shows, DJs such as Ozren Kanceljak and William Collins and others will be keeping the rhythm going. The spotlight will also be given to the festival’s artistic director, a celebrated guitarist and winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award, Ratko Zjača. Bruno Mesarić The surrounding municipality of Štrigova in northern Croatia is deep in wine country, as yet unblemis

A knock-out performance by Croatia’s Baby Lasagna has qualified the singer for the grand Eurovision final in Malmö this Saturday. Wearing a traditional waistcoat and lace to chime with his song’s theme of rural abandonment, the Umag-born artist gave a stirring rendition of his catchy number, Rim Tim Tagi Dim. Despite its absurd title, the tune has serious issues at heart, of how young people are leaving the countryside for a better life. Although a late entry back in January, Rim Tim Tagi Dim won the public vote at Croatia’s national song contest, Dora, by a landslide. Cat-loving Baby Lasagna is now the hot favourite to win the whole event, which is taking place in Sweden exactly half a century after Abba famously won Eurovision. Baby Lasagna is none other than Marko Purišić, who previously appeared at Dora 2019 as a member of the Balkan rock band Manntra. Going solo in 2023, Purišić changed his stage name for reasons unclear. He was one of ten acts selected from the first semi-final in Malmö, with ten more still to qualify. Such is the excitement building around Baby Lasagna that Croatia’s first-ever public viewing party for Eurovision is being set up in Zagreb, at Trg Europe from 8pm this Saturday.

This weekend, the annual Vinistra trade fair marks 30 years of showcasing Istria’s successfully revived wine industry. Featuring more than 120 winegrowers and makers, this three-day event takes place at the Žatica sports hall in Poreč, where oenophiles can sample the best tipples the region has to offer – and meet the producers who create them. As regularly acknowledged by the experts at Decanter magazine, Istria's wines have garnered global acclaim in recent years, the Benvenuti brothers of Motovun claiming three gold medals alone at the most recent awards ceremony. Starting from Friday, May 10, and wrapping up on Sunday, Vinistra also includes a gourmet zone for top-quality Istrian products such as olive oil, grappa, prosciutto, honey and chocolate. Vinistra, Žatica sports hall, Vukovarska 3, 52440 Poreč. May 10-12. Tickets available here.

A Croatian from the town of Tomislavgrad has gone full Viking, building his own ship and setting up an axe-throwing club. Stipe ‘Flick’ Pleić, aka Ragnar Kavurson, also makes swords, jewellery and other handicraft in the style of his revered Vikings. These objects are on display at an exhibition set up at his house in Herzegovina, just over the border from Croatia. Pleić takes his prize axes to fairs across Bosnia-Herzegovina and practises his throwing with his fellow Norse-inspired friends. He also surprised swimmers and anglers when he sailed his replica Viking ship across Buško, a large artificial lake close to Tomislavgrad. Although some of the third series of Netflix hit show Vikings was filmed in Dubrovnik, there is only scant evidence of the actual presence of original Vikings in this part of the world 1,000 years ago. 

Zagreb's showcase square of Strossmayerov trg fills with the exotic tastes and bright colours of Asian cuisine from May 6, with 11 stands of culinary delights and a packed DJ line-up.For six days from midday to midnight, guests can enjoy flavours of the city's finest Asian and Asian fusion cuisine, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Indian. Popular restaurant Purple Monkey will be serving from their gyoza bar while the Burger Institute gives their take on the Asian variety. Surrounded by red lanterns and pagoda-inspired decor will be the curry haven of Tuk Tuk Express, while no Asian food festival is complete without sushi, this year courtesy of SOHO. At 2pm on the opening day, Monday, a tuna-cutting show for the benefit of Down Zagreb, a non-profit that works with children with Down Syndrome, provides a unique opening salvo for this gastro event.A DJ line-up throughout the week will be bookended by local club legend DJ Kanca, with Springroll Soul, DJ Alvize, Kurto-Azija and DJ Māntà among the names putting in a shift behind the decks, joined by Sav Thai Jazz and Silk Road Closure.The event runs until Sunday, May 12. Admission is free. For more information, see here.

A new international rail link now allows passengers to travel from the Italian border through Slovenia to Rijeka for only €8. The daily service leaves the frontier station of Villa Opicina, directly linked by local bus with nearby Trieste, and heads across lush countryside to Croatia’s main port and transport hub. The Slovenian-run train has space for bicycles and prams, and can welcome travellers with reduced mobility. After leaving Villa Opicina at 7.50am, it calls at six stations, including two in Croatia, before arriving in Rijeka.   The train then makes its way back to the Slovenian-Italian border from Rijeka at 6.25pm. There’s free WiFi on board. The service runs right through spring and summer until the end of September. For the time being, tickets are available at individual stations. The initiative is part of the SUSTANCE project to provide affordable connectivity across borders in Central Europe and promote sustainability. There will also be weekend trains to Sopron, on the Austro-Hungarian border, and a feasibility study carried out on rail connections with Pula.

Just opened at Zagreb's Meštrović Pavilion, the annual Youth Salon is the largest national exhibition of visual artists aged 35 and under in Croatia.  This year’s central theme, Pao sat u bunar (Time Fell Down the Well), explores the relationship between people and time, specifically challenging the dominance of structured time and the concept of living in relation to clocks and watches. Curated by Lovro Japundžić, the show aims to highlight that more creative relationships are possible, and questions the measuring of the various human and non-human rhythms – if they can be measured at all. The Youth Salon was first held in 1968 and has since displayed the works of more than 3,500 artists, a platform to launch new names onto the cultural scene both domestically and internationally. This year, just north of 50 more artists have been added to the tally as things.Also part of the programme, beginning on May 22 and running until June 16, is the Situacija (Situation) exhibition, a more loose showcasing of artists’ work without a centrally defined theme and offering a more freeform exposure of the perspectives of young visual creatives in Croatia. Visitors will find artists presenting their take on the real world, and its challenges, through both societal and introspective lenses, and perhaps come across the output of future big names in the scene. This part of the programme will be held across three locations: the Archaeological Museum (Zrinjevac 19), Gallery AMZ (Pavla Hatza 6)

Croatian company Aminess has just opened a €55 million camping resort at Povljana, near the southern tip of Pag island. The five-star Aminess Avalona Camping Resort comprises 180 swimming pools, 300 camping plots, 30 villas and 232 mobile houses. Completely surrounded by the Adriatic, the whole peninsula is now given over to glamping and camping, with children’s entertainment, sports activities and, from June, a water park all laid on. And it’s a car free zone – all vehicles are to be left at the car park by the entrance. Aminess dates back to 1970 when it was involved tourism on the west coast of Istria, in Porec, Umag and Novigrad. It now oversees 16 hotels across Istria, Kvarner and Dalmatia, five campsites and three villa resorts. Aminess Avalona Camping Resort, put Rastavca, 23249 Povljana