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29.08.2018

Gradić Fest Is Starting Tomorrow

This year’s, 18th in a row, Street Musicians Festival – Gradić Fest – will be opened tomorrow evening with the traditional ceremonial parade of the festival’s participants and citizens of Novi Sad, starting from the Square Trg slobode and ending at the Belgrade Gate in Petrovaradin, followed by a spectacular concert by the Spanish pianist David Moreno. The three-day festival of street art, whose program includes performances by regional and foreign artists, theatre performances, film projections, exhibitions and art performances, will take place from Thursday 30th August to Sunday September 1st, in the Lower Town of the Petrovaradin Fortress.

The ceremonial parade will set out from the center of Novi Sad at 8 p.m., headed by the modern Italian brass orchestra Bandakadabra, alongside the Orquestra Creativa from Portugal and the ensemble Sambansa from Novi Sad, together with thousands of citizens and the guests of the festival. After the parade has crossed the bridge Varadinska duga, the visitors to the festival will have the opportunity to see Moreno’s performance, a virtuosic concert with a piano hanging 6 meters above the ground, aerial acrobatics and inspirational video projections. The virtuoso from Barcelona is coming to Gradić Fest via “Plants AiR” residential program of the Foundation “Novi Sad 2021”, within the platform “Kaleidoskop kulture”, whose goal is the citizens’ joint creation of cultural space and cultural programs in Novi Sad.

The points at which the program of Gradić Fest will take place will be somewhat different from the last year’s, because of the ongoing renovation of numerous facades in the Lower Town, which was one of the festival’s key initiatives when it moved to this location, three years ago. Thus, the Main Stage will be in the hollow next to the Powder Mill “Josif”, behind the Belgrade Gate, while the Small Stage will be just in front of the Belgrade Gate. The other points where performances will take place will be in the Štrosmajerova Street and Beogradska Street, and a part of the program will take place at the recently opened creative center of the Art Association Inbox, PROSTOR, intended for conferences, seminars, lectures, workshops and various art programs.

Among the foreign performers at the festival, the biggest attraction is the French band The Wackids, who play hard rock covers on children’s instruments, while the stars among the regional and local artists will be the band Svemirko; Sara Renar, from Zagreb; Ana & The Changes; and MKDSL, from Belgrade. A festival’s novelty is Gradić Cinema, which will be located at the beginning of the Štrosmajerova Street, offering a selection of excellent documentaries and short films. A rich and diverse program has also been prepared by the Street Musicians Festival’s partner organizations: the associations UGRIP and Suburbium, the platform Fruškać, the Student Cultural Center Novi Sad, students of Architecture from the Faculty of Technical Sciences in Novi Sad, and the theatre troupe Reflektor teatar from Belgrade, who will perform their two hit plays – “Muškarčine” and “Smrt fašizmu! O Ribarima i Slobodi”.

The Street Musicians Festival – Gradić Fest 2018 – is organized by the Art Association Inbox from Novi Sad, with the sponsorship of the city of Novi Sad and the Provincial Secretariat for Culture and Public Information.

Closing the Traffic and Bus Transport for Visitors

The traffic in the Lower Town of the Petrovaradin Fortress will be completely closed from the midnight between Wednesday August 29th and Thursday August 30th to 2 a.m. on Saturday September 1st, as well as from 5 p.m. on Saturday September 1st to 2 a.m. Sunday September 2nd. The Modene Street, the Boulevard Mihalja Pupina and the bridge Varadinska duga will be closed on Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. because of the ceremonial parade.
Free bus transport is provided for the visitors to the Street Musicians Festival on Friday and Saturday; the starting bus stop is on the Square Trg slobode and the last bus stop is on the Petrovaradin side of the bridge Varadinska duga. The visitors who wish to come to the Lower Town by bicycles will have a place to lock and leave their bicycles close to Fruškać’s wooden heart with the inscription “Volem”, on the right slope after the bridge Varadinska duga (when coming to the Lower Town.

Festival’s timetable and map at info desk

The festival’s program, containing the detailed timetable and the map of Gradić, will be available to the visitors at the info desk in the Beogradska Street.

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