August 6, 2019 – The 10th Sinj Village Fair was successfully organized by the Sinj Tourist Board, with the support of the City of Sinj, Split-Dalmatia County and the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Crafts.
More than 35 exhibitors participated in the two days of the fair:, including reputable producers of prosciutto, cheese, honey, soparnik, liqueurs, brandies, as well as indigenous old crafts such as making folk costumes, opanak shoes, peka, copper, garden tools and other traditional wood handicrafts, as well as collectible items.
The 10th Sinj Village Fair was opened on August 2, 2019, at the Dr. Franjo Tudjman Square by Monika Vrgoč, Director of the Sinj Tourist Board, while the following day Kristina Križanac, Mayor of the City of Sinj, closed the occasion with an invitation for the 11th Sinj Village Fair.
The entertainment part of the program featured the Sinj Majorettes who, with their performances and choreography, magnify every event they participate in. The fair also featured the Association for the Preservation of the Heritage of the Cetina Region, KUD Vrilo – Obrovac Sinjski, KUD Glavice, and KUD Dicmo, who performed the traditional folk customs of the Dalmatian Zagora. Members of these Associations are the faithful keepers of the region’s traditions and customs, which they cherish through the songs and dances of Inland Dalmatia, and are also on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of the Republic of Croatia. Among the other performers were the elementary school students of Trilj, who presented the original souvenir of the Trilj region and sang songs.
Traditional craft workshops were also held this year. In order to preserve these traditional crafts, the first night of the fair featured a workshop on making clay pots, which were created under the skilled hands of master Ivan Knezović. Namely, the traditional pottery of Potravlje has been given the status of an intangible cultural property since 2013, and has been nominated by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia for UNESCO protection. Every year, the Sinj Tourist Board organizes extremely well attended educational workshops.
The workshops also featured the almost forgotten skills of making opanak shoes and weaving, led by Ljiljana Vojković. All visitors to the fair could taste the Sinj specialties for free – uštipak and young cheese prepared by the members of KUD Cetina and the Association Old Crafts. The oenological presentation was led by OPG Mažurin with the original wines of Croatia and Maraština, which were also shared free of charge by the members of OPG Mažurin and the association Srma.
Kopita was the star of the concert portion of the program, who hails from the island of Vis. Despite the bad weather, the audience enjoyed an unforgettable musical evening.
A novelty this year were the numerous KUDs and Knights’ Associations, who, through the Evening of Knighthood and Folklore, presented the customs and traditions of Croats from all over Croatia and the world. Thus, after the 304th Čoje and parade of 28 historical military units throughout Sinj, visitors could also enjoy some of their performances at the Sinj Village Fair. The first performance was by Kumpanjija Blato, then, KUD Gorjanac, the Slavonian Queen Ljelja, and Kumpanjija Smokvica performed two traditional dances, which was followed by performances by guests of the Association for the Preservation of the Heritage of the Cetina Region: KUD Bribir, Folklore Groups Hajdenjaki, Sounds of Stone and Karst – Imotski and hosts KUD Sinj and URIG. Branimir Romac led the event,
Despite the bad weather, especially on Friday, the fair was visited by over 1500 people. The Sinj Tourist Board want to thank all those who helped in the realization of the fair, and in particular: the City of Sinj and Split-Dalmatia County, the Knights’ Alkar Society, the Sinj Club in Zagreb, the Aero Club of Sinj, JVD Sinj, the staff of Čistoće-Sinj and KUS-Sinj, members of the KUD Cetina, Branko Marinovic, Mladen Mažurina, Rizman Winery headed by Ivan Govork, BZ Patriot and Marija Vujević.
