Traditional Events
Carneval
The carnival takes place from mid-January until the eve of Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. On Saturday nights we throw carnival parties, the children’s carnival is on Sunday afternoon and on the last day we organise afternoon events in the main square (the Basilica or, as we call it, the Plac).
Children music festival “Antonja”
The Children’s Music Festival has been held since 1998 directly before St. Anthony’s Day, on June 13, which is also commemorated as Novalja Day. School children perform during the festival.
May Festivities
The May Festivities are a gastronomic and ecological event held during the May holidays and visitors can sample local delicacies prepared by Novalja restaurateurs. Citizens are also offered garden flower seedlings to decorate their gardens. The entire festivity is accompanied by music and dance.
Easter Breakfast
The Easter Breakfast is prepared on Easter Monday in the main square and, in addition to singing and dancing, visitors can get local dishes and specialties that are typical of the Easter season. This event has been held since 2001 and is a special kind of welcome for our pre-season guests.
Novalja Summer Culture Festival
The Novalja Summer Culture Festival begins during “Antonja” – St. Anton’s Day (13th June), which is also celebrated as Novalja Day.
The program lasts for several days and it is infused with various cultural, artistic, entertainment and sporting events – art exhibitions, classical music concerts, folk group (klapa) and ensemble performances, promotions and book exhibitions, theatre performances, outdoor cinema, folk music concerts, shows, sporting competitions, etc.
The Novalja Summer of Music and Triatar
During the Novalja Summer Culture festival, separate parts of the programme include the Novalja Summer of Music, which presents classical music concerts, and the theatre productions of the Novalja Triatar.
The Christmas Festival
The cultural manifestation known as Novalja’s Singing Christmas has been taking place since 1997 between Christmas and New Year. The event includes performances by klapafolk groups and choirs from the island and elsewhere in order to celebrate the holidays with a special programme.
The Nakanat Music Festival
The popular Nakanat Music Festival on the Island of Pag has been held since 2003 on 25th November (St. Catherine’s Day, patron saint of the Parish of Novalja). Nakanat is the traditional folk two-part singing. Pairs of singers come from all over the island of Pag to participate in the Festival.
The male folk groups klapa “Navali” and “Luminali” and the female klapa “Murtelice” preserve the traditional Dalmatian folk singing. Folk liturgical singing has a special value hat can be seen during Holy Week religious ceremonies (from Palm Sunday till Easter).
Pag Cheese and Sheep Fair
The Town of Novalja and the Sheep Breeders’ Association have launched an event called the Pag Cheese and Sheep Fair, which was assigned the task of promoting the sheep and cheese through tourism, while at the same time enhancing the development of animal husbandry in Pag using scientific approaches.
It takes place every year on the first weekend of July and includes an evaluation of the quality of the cheese and of the best collections of sheep and rams.
In addition, there are conferences on topics related to improving the quality of sheep, cheese and meat. Regular topics are related to the future of the sheep on the island, the introduction of new standards in the production of cheese, etc.
