ZAGREB, 24 July 2022 - The 58th edition of the Porcijunkulovo festival will take place in the northern city of Čakovec from 28 July to 2 August, the organisers announced at a press conference earlier this week.

The festival has evolved from a traditional Franciscan feast of Our Lady of the Angels to become the main summer attraction in this part of Croatia, featuring a diverse programme of cultural, educational, gastronomic and entertainment events.

The festival opens at 7pm on Thursday 28 July with a fireworks display.

June 21, 2020 - What are without a doubt the most famous Varaždin and Čakovec festivals have been cancelled, officials have now confirmed.

Špancirfest usually takes place over the last days of August, but that won't be the case this year. It was supposed to be the 22nd year of the festival, but due to bad epidemiological situation, it is better for everyone to avoid encouraging large gatherings of people.

"Since it is impossible to implement the measures prescribed by the Croatian Institute of Public Health at Špancirfest, due to the specifics of the festival and its content, the only possible decision, no matter how difficult it was, was to cancel this year's edition of the festival," said the main organisers.

There is nothing that could replace the feeling of Dubioza Kolektiv's music beat or the smell of fresh languši. Still, the organisers said they would post various videos of last year's Špancirfest which took place without issue this time last year, long before the coronavirus pandemic struck. Besides, there will be many prize games to comfort many disappointed people, and those disappointed people are both Croats and foreign visitors.

This year was reserved for Gibonni, Parni Valjak, Psihomodo Pop, Vatra, Urban, as tourist board director, Jelena Toth, confirmed for Varaždinski.hr. All of those concerts were supposed to be held at Kapucinski trg, and completely free. As Mayor Čehok said, Croatian musicians should have an advantage. So as to avoid sticking only with win, there were plans in place to open a Rakijarnica - a place where every person could try the most delicious and unique alcoholic drinks.

Špancifest | Website

The same decision for Porcijunkolovo made by the Mayor of the City of Čakovec, Stjepan Kovač, and the assistant director of the same city's tourist board, Boška Ban Vlahek.

Porcijunkulovo is a combination of tradition and modernity, a fair of traditional crafts, a cultural and tourist event that is impressive in terms of its size for this part of the region, and an event that turned central Čakovec into a lively modern gathering place full of various content. Since 1964, when the first festival was held, until today, the feast of Our Lady of the Angels in Čakovec is followed by more than 300,000 visitors, who can enjoy the displays and products of traditional craftsmen, various exhibitors, and local family farms.

One of the most recognisable signs of Porcijunkulovo are the umbrellas dangling over the city. This year, regardless of the cancellation of the festival, people will still have the chance to walk under those same colourful umbrellas and revive the feeling of past festivals.

Porcijunkulovo | Facebook Page

(Photo: Tourist Board Čakovec)

A very colourful continental August festival in Medjimurje.