Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Zagreb

The Irish Croatian Cultural Society will partner up with the Ferdinand Budicki Old-timer Club to mark St. Patrick's Day by organizing Irish Week between 11 and 17 March. The main venue will be Petar Preradović Square, whereas some of the events will also take place in the recently opened Ferdinand Budicki Car Museum.

In a series of events which will take place this month, the admirers of Irish culture, music and food will come unto their own between 11 and 17 March when Petar Preradović Square, better known as the Flower Square, will be the venue of Irish Week. The event is a traditional festival of culture and art which has been held for eight consecutive years one week before the St. Patrick’s Day celebration (17 March). The organizer of this event is the Irish Croatian Cultural Society which has teamed up with the Ferdinand Budicki Old-timer Club, under the auspices of the Embassy of the Republic of Ireland. Besides in the Flower Square, for the first time this year, some of the events will also take place in the recently opened Ferdinand Budicki Car Museum, including a festival to celebrate St. Patrick's Day which will be held there on 15 and 16 March.

According to the organizers' announcements, visitors can look forward to an impressive programme of interesting events. They will take place throughout the entire day, and the evening hours are reserved for a traditional celebration and musical and stage performances by artists from Ireland and Croatia. Of course, both famous Irish specialities and famous Irish ale will also be on offer.

Besides the events in the Flower Square, the Ferdinand Budicki Car Museum will stage an exhibition of art photography entitled “Ireland – A Green Island”. A visit to the exhibition will reveal traditional customs surrounding the celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. Visitors will also be able to see other interesting exhibits: old-timer cars and a “hagiographic” exhibition with enactments from the life and work of St. Patrick, one of the best known Christian saints and the patron saint of Ireland. A legend has it that St. Patrick was among the first Christians who came in contact with the one-time Slavs in the territory that coincides with today's border between Slovenia and Croatia, and he brought them the gift of Christianity. He died in the 5th century. The day of his death, 17 March, has been commemorated by the Irish for over a thousand years as their main religious holiday.

Besides the aforementioned exhibitions, the Ferdinand Budicki Museum will host two book presentations, art performances, as well as a sales exhibition of paintings and other objects which have been crafted by members of the Association of Individuals with Disabilities and the Association Hrabrost (Courage), and so the exhibition will also be a charity event. But even this is not all. On Saturday, 17 March, a convoy of old cars decorated with green colours will pass through the centre of Zagreb, thus announcing St. Patrick's Day.

All those who visit the Irish Week Festival will have an opportunity to participate in a free prize drawing and win one of the attractive prizes. The main prize is a fully paid two-week English course in Ireland. Therefore, come to Irish Week, try your luck or simply enjoy the atmosphere and events that await you there.