Announcement of the Zadar Carnival

The theme of this year’s “Carnival Time” is Pasograd (Dog City), addressing issues such as the number of pets, available walking areas, the lack of pet-friendly beaches, as well as citizens’ attitudes towards the environment, littering, and neglect of the city’s overall appearance. As befits Carnival, a humorous format will be used to tackle these serious topics.

The programme opens on Friday, 13 February at 11:00 with the traditional handover of the City keys, which the official Mayor, Šime Erlić, will pass on to the new, temporary masked mayor Ivo Petrić, also known as the singer of the Zadar band Sexymotherf...s, the grand masters of Dalmatian hop cup rhythm. From 8:00 pm, the stage at People’s Square will host the grand masters of Istrian hop cup, Gustafi, a band perfectly suited to such celebrations. That same evening, the three best individual masks and the three best couple masks will be selected.

The following day, Saturday, 14 February at 11:30 am, a masked pets fashion show will take place at People’s Square, with the mandatory selection of the three best masks, and all attendees will also be able to take part in a raffle.

Before that, pet owners are invited to take part earlier that morning, from 10:00 am, in a panel discussion entitled “Barking, Meowing and Regulations – a Serious Story in Carnival Disguise”. The discussion is organised under the baton of a newly established county body known by the acronym KOORA, or the “Coordination Working Group for Animal Protection of Zadar County”, founded at the end of last year with the aim of improving the animal protection system and strengthening coordination among all relevant stakeholders.

On Sunday, 15 February at 11:00 am, the Children’s Carnival is on the programme, while at 3:00 pm the central group parade begins, accompanied by live music from the excellent Zadar band Vista. During the parade, the three best group masks will be selected.

The Zadar Tourist Board, together with its partners, has secured spectacular prizes for this special occasion. The winners will receive, among other things, the finest prosciutto in the area and beyond from Lukin butcher’s shop, award-winning wine from Degarra Winery, several pairs of tickets for concerts by Parni Valjak and Željko Bebek at Arsenal, two nights with breakfast at the Hilton Hotel in Preko, as well as a return Croatia Airlines flight to Bari, plus an additional return ticket with free pet transport on the Zadar–Zagreb route.

The Zadar Tourist Board invites all Zadar residents in the mood for Carnival Time to register for group participation in the Sunday parade on 15 February via the following link.

Pet owners are also invited to register for the best owner-and-pet (or pets) costume competition on Saturday, 14 February, starting at 11:30 am at People’s Square, via the following link.