In honour of the great Serbian heroine of the past, poetess, guitarist, journalist, and activist Milica Stojadinović Srpkinja, in the year when Novi Sad is the European Capital of Culture, from 3 to 5 June, the public will have the opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural programme of the ‘Vila’ family festival, in the unique ambience of Fruška Gora in Vrdnik (Fruška Terme Resort), where Milica spent most of her childhood.

This unique festival is being held for the first time, within the Heroines programme arch, and it will gather local and international artists, the modern-day heroines, through a wide range of musical, theatrical and visual performances, workshops, and gastronomic events.
From classical music, through pop, to metal music – ‘Vila’ will bring to Vrdnik, gothic fairy Tarja Turunen, classical music fairies – violinist Simone Lamsma performing with the orchestra of Camerata Novi Sad, and violist Tabea Zimmermann, four fairies that make up the band Warpaint, fairy Jenny (Ace of Base), as well as the regional fairies Natali Dizdar, Kaliopi, and Amira Medunjanin accompanied by Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, who will all contribute to the fairy-tale festival atmosphere with their performances.

The heroines whose voices are heard far and wide, Anica Dobra and Nataša Miljković, will read fairy tales to children and tell old stories in a different way. In addition, the programme for the youngest will include workshops, dance performances and literary events, which will brighten up the first weekend in June for children.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to enjoy the theatre because Nataša Ninković and Zoran Cvijanović will perform the play ‘Dust’, directed by the young renowned director Veljko Mićunović.

The three-day open-air film programme will entertain both children and adults, when, among others, one of the films that has recently won over the audience, will be shown – ‘How I Learned to Fly’, based on the book by Jasminka Petrović, directed by Radivoje Andrić.

The children’s corner will include an obstacle course, games such as foot billiards, frisbees, flying kites and throwing light aeroplanes without engines, with animators who will guide the children through the games at all times. The youngest will develop various intellectual, motor, social, and even emotional skills within the ‘Oblutak’ workshop for which Dunja Šašić, a certified expert in creative work with children, is in charge. The children’s programme will be completed by the Girls Rock Camp.

While the little ones are enjoying their activities, the ‘Great Shade’ zone has been designed, which spreads over as much as 400 square meters, where parents can enjoy having a picnic and the atmosphere of a garden party. A food zone will be set up, as well as toilets with running water. Also, there will be a bazaar with 20 stands nearby, which will sell fine homemade food, wine, jewellery, and clothes of local designers, natural cosmetics, and similar products. These zones complete the family event and form a corner where everyone can find something for themselves.

The partner of the Heroine programme arch is Erste Bank, which will present itself at the ‘Vila’ festival through a series of entertaining and educational Erste programmes for children. Children will learn about money with the help of the game ‘Guardians of the Dragon’s Treasure’ and the theatre play of the same name. The dragon generously shares its treasure with children, but in order to keep it, children must know the answers to numerous questions. The play ‘Guardians of the Dragon’s Treasure’ is suitable for children aged 6 to 11, but with the support of parents, younger children will surely enjoy it as well. In this way, children will make their first steps towards financial literacy and create an excellent basis for money management through interaction and fun.

In addition to the chill-out zone, DDOR will open a DDOR Forest Classroom at the ‘Vila’ festival, where children will learn through play – they will plant flowers on their own, learning how to do it properly along the way.

‘FOREST OF IDEA(S) – Together We Create Idea(s) That Preserve Nature’ is a children’s eco-educational programme organized by IDEA at the ‘Villa’ festival with eco-activists from the author team of the children’s environmental television series ‘Nature Yourself’, which promote an involved attitude towards nature. The workshops will be held on 4 and 5 June from 4 to 8 p.m. At the workshops, the children will build a house for insects, the so-called ‘hotel for bugs’, as well as small plant bombs made from recycled paper with seeds for 15 species of honey bees to be used for the guerrilla planting of a ‘paradise for bees’. ‘Šumenkov Instrumentarijum’ workshop will include the production of instruments from natural materials and playing blades of grass, didgeridoo, reed saxophone, whistle, sound bow – mouth harp, and the like. At the workshops ‘Brzometlicin’ and ‘Piratin reciklarijum’, children will make souvenirs out of recycled materials – plastic bottles will become pots, and milk cartons will be turned into wallets.

More details about the festival itself, timetables, and maps with exact locations will soon be available on the website and fruskogorskavila.rs.

Photo: Jelena Ivanović, Srđan Doroški, Miloš Nadaždin, Promo