Festival of Traditional Crafts
6.-7.6.2026.
In the heart of the stone streets of Bale, on June 6 and 7, 2026, the Festival of Traditional Crafts returns — a two-day event celebrating heritage, ancestral skills, and the authentic spirit of Istria. Throughout the festival weekend, Bale will become a living stage filled with traditional crafts, music, dance, local gastronomy, and stories that connect the past with the present.
The full festival programme is available on the official website of the Festival of Traditional Crafts and via [LINK]
Visitors will have the opportunity to experience demonstrations of traditional crafts such as carving the native Bale stone, an open-air blacksmith show, bottle weaving, the making of traditional Rovinj sweet bows, repairing fishing nets, weaving willow baskets, crafting traditional fishing traps, and presentations of traditional weaving techniques. The festival gathers artisans and guardians of heritage who preserve and share the values of traditional life and craftsmanship.
Saturday, June 6, under the theme “Of Stone and Iron” brings a rich programme for all generations: a local producers’ fair, ceramics and calligraphy workshops, a vintage car exhibition, a traditional food corner featuring the farmers’ “Marenda težaka,” demonstrations of handmade pljukanci pasta prepared in the Bale style, as well as lectures and presentations. The evening will feature concerts of Istrian ethno music by Elis Lovrić and the group Balkalar, while the dance programme will bring the festival to life from the afternoon onward through folk dance workshops, tango gatherings, and milonga events that will fill the streets of Bale and the local cinema hall with music, movement, and social gatherings under the open sky.
Sunday, June 7, themed “Thread, Olive and Tradition” is dedicated to the textile, fishing, and rural traditions of Istria. Visitors will be able to take part in interactive workshops, attend lectures on Istrian heritage and nature, taste Somnis wines and extra virgin olive oil from OPG Lupić, and enjoy a special musical programme featuring Dunja Knebl, Roko Margeta, and Kruno Carić. The festival will conclude at midnight with the fire performance “Dragons within you.”
A special place within the programme is reserved for the youngest visitors. Throughout the weekend, an exhibition of children’s artworks from the Naridola and Neven kindergartens titled “Bale Through the Eyes of Little Masters” will be on display, alongside creative workshops and BOOKMOBILE, a travelling children’s bookstore.
The Festival of Traditional Crafts is more than just an event — it is a meeting point of community, tradition, and contemporary life. Through music, craftsmanship, gastronomy, and dance, Bale once again revives the spirit of the Mediterranean as it once was.
Admission to all events is free.
The festival is organised with the support and collaboration of: Municipality of Bale, Tourist Board of the Municipality of Bale, Istria County, Italian Community of Valle (Bale), Batana Ecomuseum, Ethnographic Museum of Istria, Istrian Historical Society (IPD–SSI), Malo Brdo, Studio 11
