LegendFest - festival of folk tales, myths and stories

The LegendFest festival was launched in 2005 by Ivor Zidaric, president of association 'Val Kulture' (Wave of Culture), in Pican, the small town of his ancestors located in Istra region. The mission of the association was to provide an innovative festival which will connect culture, locals and tourists. The aim of this mystical festival is to introduce domestic and foreign visitors with a wealth of Croatian tangible and intangible heritage.

Presented on attractive fairytale like locations, LegendFest offers a unique experience in which numerous characters from legends and myths (witches, fairies, dragons, giants, krsniks, vampires, etc.) come to life.

This family festival offers various forms of entertainment such as concerts, lectures, theater performances, exhibitions and workshops, variety of performances and video presentations / screenings at several locations within the festival venue.

Through such interactive events, the visitors learn about the myths, legends and fun historical details of a particular place. Participants are famous local artists, theater companies, recognized ethnologists, historians, illustrators and others.

In addition, visitors are offered food, drinks and souvenirs at the so-called LegendFair known for its locally homemade products. The details about festival programs can be found on the website www.legendfest.hr

In the last two years there were more than 15,000 visitors at the LegendFest. In addition, the creation of the accompanying festival materials and events such as printed books, TV shows, traveling exhibitions LegendExpo and project LegendArt, also speak of the enormous success of the festival.

The festival has provided means for excellent collaboration between the local comunity, residents and institutions in the host cities. Museums, tourist offices, media organizations and various private companies have all provided great assistance in organizing the festival.

LegendFest has become a part of the international festival platform called ‘Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe’ (EFFE). As such, the festival was awarded an EFFE quality mark 2015 – 2016, thus being recognized as one of the best European festivals dedicated to art and community. In 2013 the festival was awarded with 'Simply the Best' award by the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies.

In 2014 the festival expanded into continental Croatia, the Zagreb County. In 2016, the festival also began to expand into Sibenik-Knin County and very soon will be held in the beautiful Krka National Park as well as in Pozega in Slavonia region. LegendFest undoubtely continues to bring abundance of Croatian tangible and intangible culture into focus, and in such a way, greatly contributes to its cultural preservation for many generations to come.