There are two festivals behind which the NGO "Urbani Kult" stands, and after a one-year break due to the current corona virus pandemic, both will be organized. This organization was founded in 2006 with an emphasis on the cultural development of awareness through the organization of cultural events.
"Montenegro Sun Reggae Festival will take place on August 28 and 29 in Budva, while the Petrovac Jazz Festival will take place from September 3 to 6. The fact that we will organize two festivals in a short period of time did not bother us because we are already used to the organization where we held festivals for 18 days each. We have a team that has been doing this work for a long time, we are well organized, so we easily prepared two festivals in a very short time", boasted Vinko Mihajlović, the director of these two events.
Measures will be respected at both festivals, so they will be able to attend Montenegro Sun Reggae with a negative PCR, as well as confirmation that they have recovered from the corona virus or that they have been vaccinated.
"We heard that, especially jazz festivals, are not classified as high-risk, considering that there are no big crowds, that the audience is seated and that it is possible to create a distance. But we will see and we will wait to see what the profession says, so we will act in accordance with their recommendations", promises Mihajlović.
He emphasizes that both festivals are free for visitors, so they will find ways to respect the measures.
"If necessary, we will set up a team at the entrance of the bar or place where the festival is held, which will check the vaccination document or the PCR test," added Mihajlović.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" boasted that this year Petrovac Jazz will be organized for the 15th time, while Montenegro Sun Reggae is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
"Our festivals are part of event tourism and promotion of Budva and Petrovac, as well as Montenegro," he points out.
He does not hide that this year, due to the current measures and the pandemic, it was not easy to organize the program.
"That was perhaps the most demanding job because many performers and artists still don't know if they can come. Now that the measures have eased, they are looking to make it the closest destinations to their countries. Given that most of the performers at our festivals come from abroad, it's a bit more difficult to organize all that because we are obliged to provide them with PCR tests and some additional things. However, we still have cooperation with the embassies of Ukraine and Israel, which will help us with their performers to perform here. We are certainly aware of the situation, we are monitoring and hoping for the best in order to hold these two traditional festivals in Montenegro. In the event of some changes, the public would be informed through the media or social networks," Mihajlović points out.
Unlike the Montenegro Sun Reggae Festival, which generally lasted three days, the audience could enjoy the Petrovac jazz program for longer. However, due to the corona virus, it was also reduced to three days this year.
"Due to finances, the withdrawal of many sponsors, due to the situation, we have decided that this year it will be three days. Fortunately, we have our old friends and sponsors of the festival who will stay with us and support both manifestations as well as the traditional patrons and traditional friends of the festival - the Municipality of Budva and TO Budva. Although they will be shortened, the quality of the program for this year will not be lacking", promises Mihajlović.
The support of other cultural institutions was also absent this time when it comes to these two events.
"We notice that many manifestations have significant financial support, both this year and in previous years. Obviously, in the opinion of those who distribute the funds, we did not deserve to be the only traditional festivals, which are also highly valued in the world. This is evidenced by the cooperation with more than eight festivals in the world, where we lead musicians from Montenegro and thus promote the country and artists from this area, and as far as I know, no one does that. Both manifestations are in the world association of jazz and reggae festivals. That's why we are surprised that we don't have help and support from the institutions", asks Mihajlović.
The fact that they do not have support in Montenegro did not prevent them from starting similar events in the neighboring country.
"From this year, we are starting the Jazzaland project, which we plan to do in Temerin. This is our first step forward in the direction of cross-border organizing and we know that we are definitely the only one in Montenegro that launched this kind of project, especially for jazz and blues music", he believes, recalling that in 2015 he stayed in China for the events he works on an invitation from the Ministry of Culture of that country.
"Then we took advantage of the opportunity and promoted event tourism under the slogan 'Let your destination be an event'. This project that we are starting in Temerin is just the beginning of spreading this idea to other cities and countries. "Whether it's jazz, reggae, or some other musical genre, the country can promote itself and gain income through event tourism, especially if they are organized in the post-season," concludes Mihajlović.
The audience will have the opportunity to find out soon who will participate in the aforementioned events, and everything will be published on social networks. Mihajlović promises that this time also those who visit the festivals will be satisfied with the program.
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