April 15, 2022 - Looking for the best things to do in Međimurje this summer? 

Međimurje, a region between Hungary and Slovenia, just a short ride to Austria, is a crown of Croatia. It's a region of healthiness, events, and attractions; it's a doorway to central Europe in one direction and just a short stop to the Adriatic in another.

The summer in Međimurje starts in April, and it begins with a blast. One of the year's biggest events is held on the 30th of April, and it's the Tehnix FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX OF CROATIA. A long name suggests the power, the sound, and the ferocity of the speedway bikes that will race at the track in Međimurje. Sixteen of the World's best riders will compete to win in the first race of the season, a race that marks the new dawn of speedway.

Dino Lesar

A new promoter, a return to Croatia at the start of the season, and a grand finale in Australia all but guarantee the proper marking of the 100 years of speedway! Tickets are available at entrio.hr - hurry, or you'll miss the race!

In May, we return to Čakovec to promote health and fitness; Red Bull Wings for Life World Run will have one of it's virtual running starts in Čakovec on the 8th of May! Register and run for a good cause here: https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/en/locations/cakovec/

CK10

With many concerts and events coming back in May, the crew behind Forestland Festival will do a venue swap and hold an event called „Forest Castle“ in the ancient fort of the Zrinski family, now known as the Treasury of Međimurje. A stellar lineup will see the return of Felver to Čakovec with his dark disco sound and a techno DJ Tijana T. An artist that performed from Berlin's Bergheim, at the Boiler Room, from Ibiza to Shangai. As a regional artist, she's known to be a part of Felver and Dixon's Stereotip, and it's clear that her set will make the ancient castle walls echo with melody and purity of sound.

Running returns to Međimurje in June as a traditional 10k run marks the first day of Summer. On the 21st of June, a thousand runners will race around the castle Zrinski, around the centuries-old park, and through the dusky streets of Čakovec on what's become a traditional run. Do something different this Summer; enter it by running! www.ck10.run

Julien Duval

July is, by tradition, a festival month in Međimurje. 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the electronic music festival FORESTLAND. Organised by a group of friends, Forestland Festival quickly grew from a niche boutique music gathering to a full-blown music festival with 48 hours of music, dancing, and good summer emotions. In a decade, the Forestland became a place to be in the summer, where you forget everything and enjoy the excellent music, stroll with friends through forests or thick sunflower fields. Yet, when the night drops, the energetic music starts, and you lose yourself.

This summer, the festival will hold four stages and 200 hours of music and host almost 70 artists during a single weekend in July. No one will sleep, that we can promise. www.forestland.hr

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

July 13, 2021- 512 days have passed between the two Forestland festivals. This year’s IX edition makes Forestland one of the first events without restrictions, without borders, and completely open for all visitors. 

From 23 to 25 July, 45 artists, most of whom come from neighboring Slovenia, will perform on two stages across the 48 hours of the festival. Slovenian techno star UMEK, cult trap diva and hip hop singer-songwriter Senidah, Dutchman Mark Sixma, and Croatian stars Matroda, E-Base, Vedran Car, and Croatian-German duo Corti organ are among some of the many DJs performing. 

No limits, of course, means that all visitors will need to present a certificate that they have recovered from COVID, a negative test, or at least one dose of vaccine received, but this is a small price to pay for spending time in the woods. For all those interested, testing points will be organized at the entrance for 20 kuna.

"After the shocking 2020, nothing can surprise us anymore. In the organization of the Forestland Festival IX, we embarked with full hearts, encouraged by the opportunities to work, but also by the desire of many partners to continue, work, and sacrifice to continue this tradition of summer parties, music, and festivals," said Krešo Biškup on behalf of the festival.

"45 artists, 48 ​​hours, two stages, and over a hundred people in the organization and course of events mean only one thing - that Forestland will ignite the stage in 2021."

Along with the queen of trap Senidah, a musician whose performance will surely be remembered in Međimurje is Matroda, who returns to the stage after 5 years. The Zagreb DJ has had an enviable career abroad and was named the 25th best producer globally. Well-known to the Forest audience is also Mark Sixma, a Dutch big room/trance DJ who is returning to Croatia for the third time, this time on the main stage. Finally, Umek, the king of techno, will take over the Forestroom stage on Friday and show us why he has been one of the best tech DJs in the world for almost three decades.

"I am happy that we are finally returning to Međimurje. The Forestland Festival is a music story of which I have been a part for 8 years, and I want to invite you all to come to the forest and party with us," said Timo G, a Forestland resident from Slovenia. "We all can't wait to dance, play music and finally hug you all. So come to the Forest!"

Tickets can be bought at Entrio, while a limited portion will also be available at the entrance to the festival!

For more on lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

July 6, 2020 - The 8th edition of Forestland readies to open the festival season in Croatia with music workshops, club programs, activities and performances that culminate from July 17 to 19 in the forest of Brezje. In a slightly modified form adapted to the 'new normal', Forestland will be held this year for 48 hours, from Friday to Sunday, on three stages with over 60 different musicians.

Live performances, trap and hip hop

The young Croatian forces of the new wave of rap, trap and hip hop will have their opportunity on Saturday, July 18, on the main stage. Zembo Latifa, Swen and Tikach, 30zona, Kuku$ and Dino Blunt & Swana are some of the names that will bravely enter the first open-air festival of the new age. 

Techno - renaissance wave of electronic music

A new wave of techno has re-emerged on the wings of electronic music's popularization. Slovenian great Uroš Umek is a legend of the scene, with performances that date back to the Kuršanec club Ex. From former semi-illegal raves, today, the best Slovenian electronic brand was born. Festival-goers will also enjoy Tea Vučković, a DJ whose name is synonymous with strong and energetic techno sets. The Slovenian has a lot of experience, and after her native Slovenia, she honed her craft on regional and world club and festival stages. Tea releases music for respectable techno labels Techburst Records, Eclipse Recordings Funk’n’Deep, DSR Digital, Blue Monkey Records, Moonlogic Records. She is involved in the organization of parties, club evenings and festivals (ECO Fest), as well as education on stage. 

From Croatia, on the other hand, Forestland presents Kraundler and Felver, Eleven and Yakka. ELEVEN, the independent live act of ABOP drummer Ivan Levačić, is characterized by the sound of electronics, IDM, electro and other genres of electronic music. Solid, dance groove and bass sections intertwine with emotional, film themes and upbeat sequences of analog synthesizers. He has already left a deep mark on the domestic music scene as the author and active member of the bands ABOP, Chui and Kries, and is the former drummer of Pridjevi, Lollobrigida, Pips, Chips & Videoclips and Mayales and backing drummer Natali Dizdar and Dino Dvornik.

ELEVEN performs his music live with the help of synthesizers, sequencers, samplers and rhythm machines. He was nominated for this year's Ambassador Award for "The most promising band/songwriter's electronic music project".

And the winner of the Ambassador 2018 award for the Croatian DJ of the Year, chosen by the audience, and one of the most current house DJs on the regional scene is YAKKA, the owner of the Beatality Records label, which includes releases for foreign publishers (Pacha, King Street, Deeperfect, Casa Rossa Cruise Music and many others). All techno fans know about the Koprivnica DJ and producer Kraundler. Fully committed to producing his own music, Kraundler is ranked among the very top regional producers.

48 hours of Forestland

Since the third year of the festival, Forestland is a multi-day event, the culmination of summer in Međimurje, which is attended by hundreds and thousands of visitors, tourists, young and old. Musical performances by dozens of artists, an adrenaline park and the beautiful Međimurje are a guarantee of a great time.

"We haven't slept in the past months, we won't lie to you," said Krešo Biškup, the festival's spokesman. "From the whole situation with this pandemic, we have decided to wait, be persistent and keep hope. We knew we were going to have to change the story, we canceled the big foreign DJs and focused on the region, the neighborhood, our “home”. In February, we had the entire construction of the festival closed, all the concepts, we worked on dozens, and maybe even hundreds of hours of meetings, preparations, conceptual solutions to make everything fall into place."

The Forestland festival is the only festival of this size in northern Zagreb and almost the only festival in Croatia to be held this summer. "The trust of the partners was not lacking, it was difficult, but we broke through. As there are no activities, no events, everyone cut their marketing budgets first, but we can readily say - our partners are loyal to us, we have confidence and we will continue to work. We are followed in 2020 by HEP, one of the main partners is Zagrebačka pivovara with which we have excellent, long-term cooperation, which will continue, then Coca Cola and a number of accompanying assortments, Jagermeister, Red Bull, but also our local community.

The Tourist Board of Međimurje follows in our footsteps, and we return with an excellent promotion of Međimurje, the destinations and activities we create. The official vehicle of the festival is the new Suzuki hybrid, a Vitara SUV provided to us by AC Baumgartner, which has been supporting us for many years," says Biškup.

"Local municipalities, the County, we are partners with all institutions that support us, and our favorite is when we place a beautiful story in the world. The photo and image that Croatia Full of Life shares and is proud of these days - the Croatian National Tourist Board gives us the wind in our backs and helps us to create the best festival so far. Of course, media coverage is extremely important, and this is where we come to mutual cooperation, storytelling and relevance of the content."

What's next? Forestland's multi-year plan:

"The story of the Forestland festival has its own multi-year plan. We never just work on the current project, but plan, look to the future and think about what we can improve, fix, change and make attractive. We are in negotiations with big production companies, they are coming to accompany one artist to Forestland where they will record a video for his new single, agencies are following their performers and pictures from the 'Forest' will tour the world. In 2021, we continue to hope to become part of another larger, global story, because northern Croatia deserves such a focus, attraction and quality that foreigners and tourists already recognize,"adds Biškup.

Forestland takes place from 17 to 19 July in Brezje, from noon on Friday to Sunday at noon when the afterparty moves to the pools in Toplice Sveti Martin where all visitors with bracelets have free admission all day.

Tickets for the festival are 100 kuna, valid for both days of the festival, and you can find them online, at www.ticket2go.hr or at the entrance to the festival from July 17 at 12:00 pm. More info about Forestland can be found here.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 2, 2020 - Forestland Electronic Music Festival will be officially held this summer in Međimurje, from July 17 to 19, in the idyllic Brezje. For the eighth time, Forestland becomes the center of summer in the northernmost part of Croatia.

It has been almost ten years since the idea came to fruition, and even the most difficult circumstances cannot stop the Forestland team, who have spent many sleepless nights and thousands of working hours to hold 48 hours of electronic music in the woods.

"We have been fighting for months and went through dozens of options just to decide - Forestland will take place!" said festival spokesman Krešimir Biškup. "Forestland is an idea, a rebellion, a desire and a dream in one, and this year we will maintain it and do it in the best possible way in this difficult situation. We respect all the measures prescribed by the CNIPH, we have disinfection points, running drinking water in several places, and more than 4m2 of space will be provided for each visitor."

Forestland has been held for several years in Brezje, in an idyllic field surrounded by oak, beech, and hornbeam forests, a lake and streams, with over four hectares of festival space.

There have been some changes in the list of performers, but all those announced will play at the festival either this year or next: "We have been planning and watching for months, but in the end, we agreed that due to the Covid-19 situation we were forced to postpone foreign contractors for the winter of 2020, or the summer of 2021," said Biškup and added: "Kiril Djaikovski, Mark Sixma and Moguai have been moved to future dates due to long travel, but 2020 will still be remembered by the biggest regional names."

Forestland is convinced that the festival will attract a large number of local and Slovenian audiences:

"We have had a close relationship with our neighbors for years, a large number of Slovenian DJs perform at the festival, this summer we are doing hip-hop and graffiti jam, we are building an entire small town at the festival site. Due to the destination itself, we are extremely pleased to attract that number of tourists and work on the promotion of Međimurje as a party center of continental Croatia. Our goal in the next period is to connect even more with various musicians, DJs and bands in Croatia and Slovenia and unite them all at the festival, to become a kind of meeting point for electronic music," concludes Biškup and adds:" We will always give the advantage to local and regional artists, and the announcements of this year's artists will show that."

Tickets for Forestland can be purchased exclusively online through the start-up ticketing system www.ticket2go.hr at a price of 100 kuna for a festival ticket, or 160 for a camping ticket.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Turkish superstar and owner of one of the most popular singles of 2016, Mahmut Orhan has been announced for the 5th edition of Forestland! 

The “Međimurski” festival catered to lovers of electronic dance music, Forestland, has won the best festival in Croatia as announced by longtime music portal, Klubska Scena. The festival takes place in Brezje.

While many festivals in Croatia are concentrated on the coast, the greenest festival of them all came to a successful conclusion in northern Croatia on August 6, 2016.

Forestland, Croatia’s “greenest” festival, returns this year to Medjimurje. The festival will take place from August 4-6 in Brezje.