The Union of Cultural and Artistic Societies of the Split-Dalmatia County has so far organized a total of twelve county folklore festivals in various cities and municipalities of our county (Split, Trogir, Makarska, Imotski, Sinj, Kaštela, Dugopolje, Trilj). With special thanks to all previous co-organizers, sponsors and hosts of the county festival (without whom we would not have been able to realize the previous festivals), this year, the organization of the XIII. Folklore Festival of the Split-Dalmatia County event, continuing the exceptional trust of the Split-Dalmatia County, was once again taken over by the Union of Cultural and Artistic Societies of the Split-Dalmatia County, so that in the future, it will become a larger, more recognizable and desirable cultural event for all folklore amateurs in the county.
This year, the festival, hosted by the City of Kaštela, the Tourist Board of the City of Kaštela, and the association "Šušur" from Kaštela, will be held in Saturday, June 28, 2025. at the summer stage (Brca) in Kaštel Novi starting at 21 pm, within the framework of a multi-day 16th cultural manifestation "Nostalgia" (Days of Tradition with an eco-ethno fair and a fair of Croatian island products).
The festival will bring together folklore amateurs who, in their home communities, municipalities and cities, engage in cultural and artistic amateur activities related to the revitalization and preservation of the folklore heritage and cultural identity of their communities, but also of our county, and Croatia as a whole. This year, a total of 10 cultural and artistic associations from our county will be presenting themselves at the 13th festival.
Continuing the exceptionally high-quality cooperation between the Association of Cultural and Artistic Societies of the SDŽ and the Croatian Heritage Foundation, Split Branch, the KUD "Karaševska zora" from Karaševo, Romania, which is staying in the Split-Dalmatia County as part of the event "Days of Romanian Croats in the Split-Dalmatia County", for which the SKUD is sincerely grateful to Mr. Anti Ćaleta who invited the Association of Cultural and Artistic Societies to join the collaborative team of this event. As a result, the Croatian Heritage Foundation, Split Branch, has also become a co-organizer of this year's county folklore festival. The Folklore Group of the Bloke Cultural Society from Nova Vas, Slovenia, will also perform at the festival, continuing the cooperation with the association "Šušur", as guests of the festival.
The intention is to provide all our folklore amateurs with the opportunity to realize a public performance where they will show the achievements of their annual work on preserving the traditional heritage, primarily of their own homeland. The festival is also competitive in nature and provides the opportunity for all participants to compete, in front of an expert committee consisting of:
– Vedran Vidović, prof. /folklorist and president of the Association of Croatian Cultural and Artistic Societies of Bosnia and Herzegovina/,
– Sanja Ivančić, B.A. in Ethnology /Ethnographic Museum Split/,
– Franka Kesić, M.A.
for appointment as the representative of the Split-Dalmatia County at state festivals and events in the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2025 and 2026).
According to all applications received, the following cultural and artistic associations have confirmed the performance of their adult folklore groups:
KUD KVADRILJA from Trogir, KUU MOSOR from Gato, KUD PLETER from Dugopolje, KUD ANTE ZANINOVIĆ from K. Kambelovac, KUD DICMO from Dicmo, KUU ANDRIJA MATIJAŠ – PAUK from Marina, IFS IVAN DUKNOVIĆ from Vinišće, KUD SRCE ZAGORE from Lećevica, KUDŽ FILIP DEVIĆ from Split, KUD DIKOVACA from Zmijavci.
According to the applications received, this festival also shows an increase in the number of associations presenting at the county festival, especially original folklore groups that preserve their local customs and folklore heritage. It is expected that almost 280 folklorists will present themselves at the festival.
The event is organized with the professional support of the Ethnographic Museum Split (with which a Cooperation Agreement has been signed), the Croatian Cultural Council (the umbrella national association of amateur cultural and artistic activities in the Republic of Croatia / 1050 associations with 80.000 members), as well as the Croatian Emigrants' Association, the Split Branch and UHAKUD (the umbrella association of Croatian cultural and artistic activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Photo: Press / SKUD
