Ethno festival ˝Cvetlin˝ is traditionally held in July in Cvetlin, a village 3 km north of Trakošćan. It is a competitive Festival but after the winner anouncement there is always a real country party called ˝Vužgi bajs!˝ where the winners of the Festival entertain the visitors.

 

It all started because there were many musicians in the village so they decided to organize the competition- the Festival. The musicians in Cvetlin are called ˝muzikunti˝. Volunteer fire department from Cvetlin was the main coordinator from the first Festival on. The first such competition was held in 1984 in Cvetlin. At the very beginning of organization the stage was improvized on the tractor trailers and the Festival was held in front of the fire station.

 

The tradition is important in Cvetlin so even today the Festival starts early, at 5 p.m, as it did in the beginning. The festival is declared open after the musicians play the traditional Cvetlin hymn ˝Lijepo je mjesto Cvetlin˝. The entry is free of charge.

 

The Festival cherishes traditional folk music (where the string instruments have a main role) of the northwestern Croatia typical for the regions Hrvatsko zagorje, Podravina and Turopolje. The main instruments in all the bands are violin and contrabass.

 

It is very important to stress that the music played in the Festival is traditional music of the village and surrounding area which is well preserved due to the traffic  and other isolation. The local people recognized the worth of such tradional music and they have been cherising it for years so if you decide to visit the Festival you won´t be disappointed nor indifferent.

 

The Festival wasn´t organized for two years because of the war in Croatia. For the past few years the Festival is getting more and more attractive so its been gathering over 5000 people.