Summer in Međimurje traditionally culminates with the organisation of the Porcijunkulovo Festival in the last week of July and the first week of August. That has been happening for the past 55 years before the festival was even called that, when it was the Fair of the traditional crafts, which then evolved into the celebration of summer and joy in Čakovec.
Organised by the Čakovec Tourist Board, the Porcijunkulovo Festival includes various events, such as concerts by the biggest Croatian music stars, theatre plays, workshops and playrooms for kids, promotions and presentations. The events this year during #porcijunkulovo2019 will happen between July 30th and August 4th, and in that period the entire town of Čakovec will be dedicated to the festival, so on the streets you’ll be able to find and purchase the home-made items and crafts done by the local manufacturers and masters.
One of the staples of the festival is the Umbrella Street (Ulica kišobrana), whose colorfullness represents the joy and diversity as the basic ideas of the event, as well as the transformation of the everyday or traditional objects into the combination of cultural heritage and modern trends.
The concerts this year will maintain the idea of diversity, and Jelena Rozga, Maja Šuput, Hari Mata Hari, Tomislav Bralić with Klapa Intrade, Plavi Orkestar and Las Vegas Show will be entertaining the visitors in the evenings. In addition to the big stars, numerous street performers and musicians will be entertaining during the days and the evenings on the streets of Čakovec. And those streets will be filled with traditional Međimurje food, and you don’t need to be worried that you’ll be thirsty in Čakovec during Porcijunkulovo: a wide variety of awarded Međimurje wines will be available on every step!
The Porcijunkulovo Festival is founded on the religious celebration of Our Lady of the Angels, also called Porcijunkula in Međimurje, a Franciscan celebration of conversion, which is held on August 2nd. On that day, in many Franciscan churches and monasteries around the world it is possible to get a complete absolution of all sins. The central religious component of this year’s Porcijunkulovo will be the mass in the Franciscan church of St. Nicholas the Bishop, said in three languages: Croatian, Slovenian and Hungarian.
