July 26, 2023 – The traditional 64th Pag Summer Carnival organized by the Tourist Board of the City of Pag and the City of Pag starts today. The Pag Carnival is the oldest Croatian summer carnival and certainly one of the most attractive summer entertainment events on the island of Pag and all of Zadar County.
The craziest carnival party in the City of Pag will last four days on the main town square, and the organizers have prepared a rich and varied program for local and foreign visitors.
The carnival program begins with a warm-up concert by Pag City Music and carnival stars at Petar Krešimir IV Square on Wednesday, July 26. Thursday, July 27, is mularija day, traditionally intended for the children’s carnival, starting at 8:30 p.m. Dario and Eva are the duo to entertain the youngest visitors.
Pag Summer Carnival: traditional first dance, The Culprit
The highlight of the Pag summer carnival will certainly be the large carnival parade scheduled for Friday, July 28, at 8:30 p.m. According to tradition, the procession will start from the old ferry pier and head towards Pag’s market, where the handover of power will take place at 9:00 p.m. The mayor of Pag will hand over the keys to the city to the prince of the carnival. After the raising of the carnival flag, the first Pag kolo (traditional dance) of the year will take place, led by the mayor of Pag, as the old carnival customs dictate. The Vijolica Children’s Choir and KUD Družina will perform the Pag dance, followed by the folk drama Paška robinja. The Mantock Samba Show and the group Fortunal will then take over the entertainment.
The Pag Summer Carnival ends with the distribution of the Baš nas briga gazette, and with the farewell to Marko, the carnival puppet and traditional culprit. For its misbehaviour and all the trouble it has caused to Pag, it must burn on the city bridge. The Kanela group performance starts at midnight, and the crazy carnival party will last until the early hours of the morning.
