The Flavours of Slavonia event opened on August 2nd with indigenous Slavonian products at the open market in Pula and the presentation of Slavonian heritage and traditions at a number of locations around the city. Visiting emigrants and Pula natives also had an opportunity to take in an exhibition at the premises of the Pula branch office of the CHF.
The branch offices of the Croatian Heritage Foundation are a special meeting place for emigrants visiting the old country in the summer months. This summer the Pula branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation opened its doors to many emigrants, returnees and presentations of traditional values and heritage.
During last year’s successful collaboration between the CHF branches in Pula and Vukovar in the presentation of traditional values in Padua, it was agreed that a presentation of Slavonia would be staged in Istria. The heads of our offices in Vukovar and Pula, Silvio Jergović and Ana Bedrina respectively, also brought the directors of the Tourism Boards of the towns of Županja and Pula, Mirko Bačić and Sanja Korotaj Cinkopan respectively, on board as co-organisers.
From August 2nd to 18th emigrants and other tourists visiting the town of Pula in Istria County during the summer were presented traditional Slavonian culinary and crafts products. The project is run by the City of Županja Tourism Board under the Golden Thread Fair moniker, but was presented in Pula under the “Flavours of Slavonia” handle. The event was supported by and contributed to by Istria County, the City of Pula, the City of Pula Tourism Board, the Croatian Veteran’s Centre, the Pleter Usluge company, the Mozart restaurant, the City of Pula open Market and the Iž Association of Slavonians in Pula.
The guests from the Slavonia region in north-eastern Croatia were received by Istria County Prefect Valter Flego and Deputy Prefect Miodrag Čerina and their associates, who wished them a pleasant time in Istria. They expressed their hope that events like these would create closer ties between the counties and Croatian regions and be a solid foundation for future cooperation.
“We are not competitors and can strengthen our agriculture and tourism industries and the economy as a whole. We can only make it into Europe together, because both of us are too small alone for the great European market. We need to create bonds, protect our culture and products and penetrate European markets with the quality of our products,” said Istria County prefect Valter Flego.
“With our kulen and tambura we feel right at home in Istria,” Vukovar-Srijem County assembly president Antun Žagar told a press conference held at the Istria County building to present the Flavours of Slavonia project. Also on hand for the meeting with reporters was Županja City Council deputy president Ivan Grigić, the director of the Županja Tourism Board Mirko Bačić, the heads of the Vinkovci and Vukovar Tourism Boards and the president of the county Tourism Board Rujana Bušić Srpak. Also on hand were the heads of the Croatian Heritage Foundation branch offices in Vukovar and Pula, Silvio Jergović and Ana Bedrina respectively.
The Flavours of Slavonia event opened on August 2nd with a presentation of indigenous Slavonian products at the open market in Pula. The rich offer of diverse delicacies drew numerous foreign tourists and local visitors eager to sample the Slavonian flavours. The programme continued the following evening on the terrace of the Mozart restaurant at the Croatian Veteran’s Centre with the čobanac speciality and the sounds of the Zlatni Zvuci tamburitza band.
The presentation of Slavonian heritage and traditions was staged at a number of locations in Pula over several days with the aim of enriching the tourism offer in the city with a
diversity of programmes showcasing the flavours, aromas and colours of the Slavonia region.
The following fifteen days saw a sales exhibition at the premises of the Pula branch office of the Croatian Heritage Foundation visited by emigrants and Pula natives. The visitors had an opportunity to sample and purchase Slavonian delicacies, enjoy the charms of Slavonian cuisine and learn, along with an Istrian offer, of the heritage and customs of Slavonia. This August’s Flavours of Slavonia in Pula succeeded in bringing together the green, blue and emigrant Croatia.
Text by: Ana Bedrina