Events

Throughout the year, the Crikvenica Riviera hosts a variety of cultural, entertainment and sporting events and food festivals. In winter, Crikvenica, Dramalj, Jadranovo and Selce traditionally host costume parties, while numerous carnival groups have a procession through the area to greet the local inhabitants. There are also carnival parades for the young and old. Each year, carnival groups from the entire Crikvenica Riviera participate in the International Carnival in Rijeka, attracting attention with their imaginative and original masks. Spring in Crikvenica is always dedicated to interesting food festivals such as the Strawberry Festival and the Cherry Festival, which turn the town into a fragrant fruit oasis, and also the Flower Festival, where visitors can admire and buy various flowers, seedlings, garden accessories and decorative pottery. During high season, there are fish, folklore and other traditional festivals all along the Riviera. Crikvenica and Dramalj also put on concerts of men's and women's klapa a cappella traditional singing groups from all over Croatia. The Ad Turres Days cultural and entertainment event in Crikvenica is based on the area's rich archaeological heritage and presents visitors with various aspects of everyday Roman life (gastronomy, ancient handicrafts, clothes, jewellery, hairstyles, dance, music, etc.) Every year, Crikvenica holds a festival dedicated to its central public holiday (14th of August), known as Crikvenica Days. This includes numerous cultural, entertainment and sporting events. Particularly interesting is the Šilo-Crikvenica swimming marathon, which has a hundred years of tradition behind it and has over time grown into a unique sporting event of equal interest to both recreational and professional athletes. Another interesting sporting and entertainment event is the Sport Fest, which includes various competitions on both land and sea, and also a wide range of other programmes. Tourism Day is an event that takes place in Selce every year on the 4th of August. It involves a variety of activities, including a get-together on the waterfront with fried fish, local wines and music, and a panoramic night trip in specially decorated boats with lights. Jadranovo also hosts interesting events: the Tuna Party, the Paddles of St. James (Jakovarska vesla) and the Feast of St. James (Jakovlja). The Summer Carnival in Dramalj brings a lot of fun and joy to the streets of this small coastal town. Fishermen's Week (Ribarski tjedan), one of the oldest events in Crikvenica, traditionally takes place at the end of August, and includes interesting programmes dedicated to local gastronomy, various exhibitions, theatre performances, painting workshops, concerts, performances of folklore ensembles and klapa a cappella groups, and a series of sporting competitions, such as various games at sea and fishing with local people.