MEFEST - english




	Every year, besides the films, MEFEST offers its guests a range of Associated events which diversify this Festival. This year the planned event are outings, sports competitions, round-tables, as well as culinary competitions.

	The outing to Viminacium and Ram Viminacium is an old Roman town located only about thirty kilometers from Veliko Gradište. It used to be one of the centres of the Eastern Empire, and today it is the place of intensive archaeological research. Find more on www… Ram is a medieval fortress overhanging the Danube. Around the fortress there was a settlement, founded in the Middle Ages; today there is a village of the same name where one can take a ferry to travel from Eastern Serbia to Vojvodina. Ram is famous for the stone mine, and also for Danube fishermen who catch large quantities of fish in the marsh of Ram. Find more on www…

			The outing to the Iron gates and the monastery of Tuman Only 20 kilometers downstream from Veliko Gradište and Silver Lake, there is the entrance to the famous gorge of Đerdap and the National Park Đerdap. At the entrance to the gorge, there is thes old fortress of Golubački grad that guarded this part of the Danube Valley in the Middle Ages. The travel through this gorge, along the Danube banks, at the very border between Serbia and Romania, is indeed unforgettable, especially because of the famous Iron gates that a long time ago used to be almost an unbridgeable obstacle for boatmen. The Danube, that is about 6 kilometres wide near Golubački grad, is merely a couple of hundred meters wide here. In the hinterland of the National Park Đerdap, on the slopes of the Homolje Mountains, there is the medieval monastery of Tumane. The beauty of its frescoes and surroundings made it the central sanctuary of Eastern Serbia.

	The ride on the ecological boat on Silver Lake Silver lake is the largest oxbow lake on the Danube. It is 14 kilometres long, and about 300 metres wide. For the purposes of preserving the lake, the use of any kind of petrol and diesel engines is prohibited. Therefore, the guests are given the chance to tour the lake from an electric-powered boat, which uses the energy of its rechargeable accumulators of great capacity.

			The round-table on preserving the Danube ecosystem It is in the tradition of MEFEST to organize a round-table on ecology. This time, the topic will be the Preservation of the ecosystem of the Danube as the greatest river in Europe. The participants of the Festival will be given the specifics of the round-table subsequently. During the Festival there is a possibility of organizing a round-table on Health food as well.

	The round-table on Regional tourist cooperation Veliko Gradište has always been a border place, because Romania is right across the Danube. Some hundred kilometres downstream there is the triangle between Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria. It all provides a sound basis for the round-table on Regional tourist cooperation. The participants of the Festival will be given the specifics of the round-table subsequently. There is a possibility of expanding the round-table with the participants from Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

			The exhibition of paintings, graphics and sculptures Although being a small municipality, with only about 6,500 inhabitants living in the town zone, Veliko Gradište has always been culturally nuanced area. It can be seen in the town architecture, as well as in the number of academy-trained painters and sculptors. For the occasion of MEFEST, a group exhibition of the artists of Gradište will be staged.

	Fishhook and float fishing Silver Lake is also famous for particularly large amounts of fish. It is one of the favourite fishermen’s destinations in Serbia. At the end of the lake, near the dam, close by the guest-houses, there is a marked path for the fishing competition. All the interested participants of the Festival will be provided with identical fishing rods, floats, fishhooks, lures and food for attracting fish. The competition is two hours long, and the winner is the one who catches the largest quantity of fish for the time. The winner is to receive an award, and the catch will immediately be cooked for the guests of the Festival.

			The tennis tournament Close by the guest-houses, there are tennis courts of Silver Lake Resort. All the interested participants of the Festival will be able to sign up for the tennis tournament. The qualifying matches are played after a set is won st, while the semi-final and final matches are played after two sets are won. The tournament is played on 4 courts at the same time. If you would like, you could bring your own racket; if not, you will be provided with one by the organizer and the tennis club. In addition, during the Festival the guests are able to take recreation playing tennis.

	The competition in cooking beans Veliko Gradište is famous in the region for its special sort of beans, called "Gradištanac". Traditionally, every year a competition takes place in the town in cooking beans with cured meat, bacon, and vegetables. It seldom happens that there are less than 25 cooking teams in the competition. The gastronomic quality of this specialty is determined by a special jury that gives the prize, and besides sampling this dish, the guests of the Festival will be able to see and take note of some new recipes.

			The competition in cooking fish broth All Danubian countries have the tradition of cooking fish broth. From country to country, the recipes vary, yet they are always based on the same principal ingredient – fresh Danube fish. In Serbia, there is a tradition of local competition where winners are chosen to represent their town in the central competition at the end of the summer. During the Festival, the guests will be able to get their hands on some old recipes of Danube fishermen, as well as to try this specialty during the local competition.

	Slapstick fishing of catfish with fishermen It is an old tradition of Danube fishermen to catch catfish using a slapstick. Catfish, one of the biggest sorts of Danube fish (can weigh over 150 kg) is a bottom fish. However, it is very curious, and on a hit of a specially designed wood over the water surface, it rises from the bottom, reaches the boat and takes the lure. The interested guests of the Festival will be enabled to go to the river with fishermen and participate in this specific way of fishing themselves. We recommend this to those who need extra adrenaline, since catfish is caught in the middle of the open flow of the river, close by the border between Romania and Serbia, and there can be pretty enormous fish in a boat. All the catch will end on the plates of the guests of the Festival the same day.