Pre-Festival Program Announced for 60th International Folklore Festival Zagreb

Zagreb is preparing to host the 60th International Folklore Festival, a significant event celebrating Croatian and global folklore and traditional culture. The festival officially runs from July 15 to 19, but a diverse pre-festival program will commence on June 26 and continue until July 14 across various city locations.

This preliminary program aims to explore themes of preserving traditional heritage, its resilience, renewal, adaptation, and sustainability within the context of stage presentation and the role of festivals. It will feature concerts, discussions, and exhibitions designed to engage audiences with these important cultural topics before the main festival begins.

The musical lineup includes a concert by Tamara Obrovac on July 9 at the Klovićevi dvori Gallery, where she will present her new album "Misečina bila" with her Transhistria Ensemble. Obrovac is known for blending jazz with Istrian musical traditions and dialects. Following this, on July 12, Amira Medunjanin will perform a concert titled "Sevdah pod zvijezdama" at the same venue, showcasing her acclaimed interpretations of sevdalinka and traditional Balkan music.

Additionally, a concert called "Sviraj svirče, nemoj stati!" on July 11 will bring together players of the tambura samica and small instrumental ensembles. An exhibition of photographs by Vidoslav Bagur, titled "Mojih 40 smotri," will be displayed at the National and University Library from July 14 to 28, offering a retrospective of festival participants through his lens. Another exhibition, "Zvuci prošlosti prema budućnosti – otpornost baštine kroz nematerijalna kulturna dobra," curated by Jasmina Jurković Petras, will be held at the Nikola Tesla Technical Museum.