Although 2019 is only the third year that the city of Karlovac has held such a large Advent manifestation, its celebrations have already grown to become one of the largest in continental Croatia outside of the capital city Zagreb. This year, more than 500 performers including dancers, musicians, street performers and children's entertainers from 10 Croatian cities will perform in the Karlovac pavilion and surrounding stages.
Christmas celebrations in Karlovac kick off on December 14 with an Advent race in which more than 400 participants from Croatia and neighbouring countries will take part. The whole of Karlovac city centre will be decorated with Christmas lights and stalls offering seasonal food and drinks for the duration of Advent. The daily entertainment programme is split into three sections with children's events running from 4 pm-6 pm, family events from 6 pm-8 pm and the general section, including performances by most headlining musicians, taking place thereafter. Top stars from the world of Croatian pop, rock, hip hop and folk music including Silente, TBF, Nipplepeople, Edo Maajka, Opća Opasnost, Letu Štuke, Klapa Cambi and Mia Dimšić are among the headliners in this year's brilliant music programme.
In addition to the music content, there will also be dance events, stand-up comedy, storytelling, workshops, magic shows, quizzes, folklore events, exhibitions, an extensive children's programme running daily at the Christmas Village, and New Year's Eve event with a '90s theme and a firework display.
This year's strong music programme is the latest instalment from a long tradition of music within the city. Karlovac is home to the oldest music school in Croatia and many classical music professionals have studied and performed in the city since it was first founded in 1804. Look out for solo and ensemble performances by musicians and singers from the school during this year's open-air Advent programme and also look out for their special indoor shows such as 'A Christmas Fairytale' and 'The Nutcracker'.