Badlfest: a festival of culture, music, sports and entertainment under a starry sky

Krapinske Toplice, a place whose history dates back to ancient times, became a real center of culture and entertainment for all its residents and visitors this weekend. This municipality, which is located 50 kilometers from Zagreb, has been known since time immemorial for its thermal water sources, which are believed to have been used since ancient times.

Knowing that the ancient Romans also lived in the area of ​​Zagorje and built an entire complex in Varaždin, it is believed that they must have descended towards Krapina, but this has yet to be proven.

Badlfest, Photo: Adria.fun

The first sources about Krapinske Toplice date back to 1334, and the first hospital appeared in 1609, built by Franj Keglević. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Krapinske Toplice developed more and more and thus became the most famous bathing resort. However, tourism flourished when merchant Jakob Badl bought the existing property and baths and built a hotel, spa, restaurant, and parks.

It is in his honor, Badlfest, a very interesting festival under the starry sky, that I had to visit this weekend, is organized.

Badlfest, Photo: Adria.fun

The celebration began already on Thursday, July 18, with the celebration of Health Day at the Krapinske Toplice Special Hospital, the Magdalena Clinic, and the Ana Polyclinic, and thus the exhibition at the Children’s Department pavilion was opened.

The schedule of events thus spread across all parts of the town, from Central Park, where various sports events were held, such as a mini-football tournament, the Aleja parking lot, where the concerts of Marko Škugor, Severina, Opća opasnost,  Podvinčani, and Smooth Band were held, the municipal library, where an exhibition of traditional wooden toys by Ivana Šuštić and Lovro Fijan, and the spa itself, more precisely Aquae Vivae with parties and an open day of KPA Zaron.

Badlfest, Photo: Adria.fun

After arriving at the settlement already around 6 pm, a crowd slowly started to form. There were visitors from everywhere, from around Krapina, Zagreb, and even from Germany. The cafes were full, the shade was not so keenly sought after the heat wave subsided this weekend, and people were walking around and exploring the entire offer.

As I noticed from the car that something was happening in Central Park, I immediately headed there.

Badlfest, Photo: Adria.fun

At the very entrance, I was greeted by a detailed schedule of all the events, and an interesting poetic performance immediately caught my eye, which I will tell you more about a little later because I still had to wait for its start.

Walking through the park, I noticed that this small place was full of children, which pleasantly surprised me. Laughter and little feet running towards the children’s playground were everywhere.

Pathway took me to the exhibition of pictures of the Underwater Activities Club Zaron and the first mentioned exhibition at the pavilion at the Children’s Department. Through several examples, they showed the underwater world, which they named “Man and the Sea”.

Badlfest, Photo: Adria.fun

Already from a distance, more precisely from the parking lot Aleja, some famous songs could be heard, so as someone whose roots are half from Moslavina – half from Zagorje, I had to see what was happening there! Well, yes, of course, the performance of Podvinčani, a band from Jesenje near Krapina, started playing when I arrived.

In addition to dancing visitors and a playful band, we were also greeted by a diverse gastronomic offer at the Aleja parking lot, so you could try various local wines and delicacies, but since I wasn’t so hungry, I was hooked on chicken nuggets and fries.

Time passed quickly for me, and as the show I was looking forward to was getting closer and closer, it was time to return to Central Park. But look, what a coincidence, I chose a slightly different path and found a presentation by the Zagorski vrganj Mushroom Association, which was also preparing a mushroom kettle here, near Krapinske Toplice Elementary School.

As someone who likes hiking and peeking into every corner of the forests of our homeland, I always come across various mushrooms along the way, so of course I was interested in what I may or may not pick. On that occasion, the kind gentleman at the stand introduced me to the world of mushrooms, which I can certainly take home so that I can make something delicious from nature myself.

Badlfest, Photo: Adria.fun

The time has come for a real performance! The park slowly began to fill with people eagerly awaiting the start of the play “What is Love” performed by the author Adam Končić, Petar Halut on the violin, Vinko Grubešić on the cello, Alan Dović on the guitar and Tomislav Parmać on the piano. Their entire performance can also be seen at the Komedija Theater Club in Zagreb.

Through this musical and poetic performance, the author guides you through the answer to a question that has no answer, because explaining what love is is actually impossible. However, it is different for each of us and everyone feels it differently.

In addition to the songs, the author decorated the performance with a series of jokes about various male-female relationships, which caused laughter and applause in all rows, but also from comfortable deckchairs on the side.

After so much fun and laughter, it’s time to go home and get ready for the trip towards south, because soon a new event is being prepared on one of our beautiful islands.

This publication was co-financed by the Fund for the Promotion of Pluralism and Diversity of Electronic Media.