Rich Easter Feast prepared by the Rovinj Tourist Association

The Rovinj Tourist Association, in cooperation with the Open University and Maistra Hotel Company, has organized a diverse and extensive Easter program in Rovinj to treat its citizens and guests. The three-day celebration started on Good Friday on the terrace of the Adriatic Hotel by a morning concert of the Duo Strings band and continued on Easter Monday with a concert by Davor Terzić, a Croatian musician and song writer.

This is the first time that the Tourist Association organized the Easter breakfast that attracted a crowd of people who came to the main town square to celebrate Easter. There were many reasons for people to come. Guests from neighboring towns used the Rovinj's “Easter Magic” not only to try local specialties and see more of Istria, but also to learn about the local musical heritage and folklore of the region. That was taken care of by the Brass Orchestra and "Batana" Folk Group, that is, members of the “Stjepan Žiža” Cultural Society from Rovinjsko Selo.

The menu was extensive. Two thousand eggs and bread rolls, three and a half thousand strudels, eight thousand fritters and ten sliced Easter panettone breads were served. Salty delicacies included eighty kilograms of cooked ham and ten kilograms of scallion. All that was served on specially decorated tables and guests were served by students of the Eugen Kumičić School supervised by their teachers and staff members of the Adriatic Hotel.

- 'I've been spending summer holidays in Istria for decades, because, as a Slovenian, I feel comfortable here just like I do at home. I thought nothing can surprise me any more, but I was seriously wrong about that. The welcome organized in the town square, panettone, ham, eggs, pastries and folklore and the whole atmosphere delighted me. Citizens of Rovinj showed us in the best possible way that we are welcome here and that they are really looking forward to seeing us', commented Istok Kavčič from Maribor.

Satisfaction with the organization and realization of the program was expressed by the Manageress of the Rovinj Tourist Association, Odete Sapač, who emphasized that the “Easter Magic” is the best and most attractive intro into the forthcoming tourist season.

Moreover, the celebration breakfast was a gastronomic and musical welcome given to three thousand guests who realized about 7.600 overnight stays in Rovinj, and a “thank you” to all other guests for their loyalty and coming back to the Peninsula.

Two concerts accompanied the Easter breakfast. The Park Hotel hosted soloists of the Croatian National Theater from Zagreb, Mira Vlahović, a soprano, and Tvrtko Stipić, a tenor, who were accompanied on the piano by Maestro Saša Britvić.

The concert repertoire consisted of sacral musical pieces, opera arias and duets and the beauty of their voices and the attractiveness of the repertoire inspired the overwhelmed audience to call for two encores. The repertoire, among other musical pieces, included “Ave Maria” by Schubert, sung by the tenor Stipić, and a song "Will You Remember" by Romberg from the movie "White Lilac" that inspired the soprano Mira Vlahović to give an excellent performance.

Since both artists are prominent opera singers, calls from the audience requesting them to return to the stage and sing encores were to be expected. Let us not forget that Mira Vlahović, is a soprano singer active in many areas of Croatian musical scene and that she performed with the most distinguished orchestras - the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Croatian Radio-Television, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and the theatre orchestras from Osijek and Rijeka.

Tvrtko Stipić, a tenor, graduated solo singing in the class of Professor Franz Donner, from the Musical Academy of Vienna, and is currently a final year student in the class of Professor Lidija Horvat Dunjko. Next to performances with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Croatian Radio-Television, the Sarajevo Philharmonic and the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, he performed at the Varaždin Baroque Evenings and the world premiere of the opera “Pompeo Magno“.

On Easter Sunday an artist from Novi Sad, Branka Parlić, gave a concert in the Franciscan Monastery, called “Circular Breathing“ (“Kružno disanje“).

The musician known for her performances of the works of the French composer Erik Satie, as well as "new music" of the XX and XXI century – minimalism and post-minimalism, for this special occasion, in addition to the works of her favorite composer, performed the musical pieces written by Wim Mertens, John Cage and Philip Glass.

TURISTIČKA ZAJEDNICA ROVINJ COMUNITA' TURISTICA DI ROVIGNO