Pag to host big international lace festival

Pag

ZAGREB, 16 June (Hina) – The town of Pag will once again become a European centre of lacemaking when it hosts the 15th International Lace Festival from 18 to 21 June, organisers announced at a press conference in Zadar.

Over the four-day festival, visitors will be able to attend international exhibitions, expert lectures, creative workshops, panel discussions, fashion and music events, and meetings of lacemakers from 10 European countries.

“Pag lace is a symbol of patience, knowledge and belonging to our town. It has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations, and its value has been recognised through the inscription of Croatian lacemaking on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,” said Martina Pernar Škunca, director of the Pag Tourist Board.

She said the festival demonstrated how tradition could thrive in the modern age and inspire new generations.

Representatives from Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal and Croatia will take part, reaffirming Pag’s status as one of Europe’s leading lacemaking centres.

Visitors will also be able to view an exhibition of Pag lace by the Frane Budak Pag Lacemakers’ Association at the Pag Lace Gallery, the exhibition “The Irresistible Secret of Thread” at the St Margaret Benedictine Monastery, an exhibition of church vestments at the Church of the Assumption of Mary, the exhibition “My Town of Lace and Stone” at the town library, and the permanent display at the Ethno House of the Družina cultural association.

(Photo: SpeedyGonsales/CC BY-SA 3.0)

The programme also includes workshops for all age groups, the “Wearable Tradition” fashion show, the “Best of Pag” fair, evening concerts and other cultural events.

Neda Oros, president of the Frane Budak Pag Lacemakers’ Association, recalled that the festival had begun 15 years ago as an ambitious idea and had since grown into an internationally recognised event.

Pag Mayor Stipe Žunić described it as one of the town’s most valuable and recognisable events.