The Brnaze Festival is a festival of chivalry, heroism, and folklore that is dedicated to old disciplines, cultures, and sports.
The Brnaze festival was held for the first time in 1974 and continuously ran until 1990. The festival was relaunched in 1999 and came to a halt a few years ago. Last year, the Sinjska Alka cluster organized the festival again to ensure the preservation of the traditions of this area through this manifestation.
This year’s Brnaze festival will return for the 32nd edition at Meljač, known as the site of the ruins of the early Christian church of St. Mihovil.
The Brnaze Festival is a valuable, cultural, and original ethno-festival with rich economic content. Many producers of autochthonous products from the Cetina and Dalmatian region participate in the event, and there are also demonstrations of hunting, heroism and folklore dedicated exclusively to ancient disciplines, culture and sports.
The location of Meljač is among one of the most important early Christian sites that is regularly mentioned in literature. Therefore, the festival serves a purpose to help revalue the site through projects that protect its cultural heritage.
The festival also aims to promote locality, and as in previous years, it will promote the preservation of ethnic heritage, various traditional games (bocce ball tournament, bag races, football matches, long jump, martial arts, parachute jumps), performances of KUDs, and more.
At the end of the three-day affair, an “Evening of Tradition and Folklore” will be performed through cultural art societies “with special emphasis on this year’s celebration of the 302nd Sinjska Alka, the Vučković’s Children’s Alka, and the celebration of the winner of the 300th Sinj Alka Franjo Ivković from Brnaze.
Here is a look at the program:
Friday, August 25, 2017
– Opening of the Brnaze Festival
– Branze sports games
16:00 Bocce tournament
16:45 Shooting Alka “Laštrika”
18:00 Kids Brnaze Bara
19:00 Long jump
20:30 Bag races
– Winner announcements
Saturday, August 26, 2017
– Opening of the second day of the Brnaze Festival
– Brnaze sports games
16:00 Bocce tournament
17:30 Football tournament – memorial tournament for the Croatian defenders from Brnaze
18:00 Kids Brnaze Čoja
20:00 Arm wrestling
– Winner announcements Čoja
– Entertaining evening with music group „Ljuta kuća“
Sunday, August 27, 2017
16:00 Opening ceremony
16:15 Parachute jumps
16:30 Children’s Brnaze Alka
17:30 Stones from your shoulders
18:00 Tug-o-war
19:00 „Šampionski pršut“
19:30 Pushing the piston
20:00 Winner announcement (for all 3 days)
Night of Folklore
. KUU Sinj Majorettes
• KUD Brnaze – Split songs
• KUD Sinj – Sinj dances
• KUD Dinara – Kijevo
• Association for the Protection of the Cetina Region – Mend and women’s rera, Sinj’s old town dances, Cetina songs
• KUD Hrvace
• KUD Vrilo – Dalmatian songs
• KUD Hrvace – Ero s onoga svita, Mandolins „Božji pivčići“
– Awards to “The Most Beautiful Couple in Folk Costumes” and the most beautiful “Miss”
– Closing ceremony
Entrance is free!
