Zmaj Children Games ( sr, Змајеве дечије игре / ''Zmajeve dečije igre'') is one of the biggest
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...
for children in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and the
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
region. Named after
Jovan Jovanović Zmaj
Jovan Jovanović Zmaj ( sr-cyr, Јован Јовановић Змаj, pronounced ; 24 November 1833 – 1 June 1904) was a Serbian poet.
Jovanović worked as a physician; he wrote in many poetry genres, including love, lyric, patriotic, poli ...
, one of the most famous Serbian poets and writers of
children's literature
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
, the festival is held annually in June and December in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
, the capital of the Serbian province of
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
.
The first festival was held in June 1958 under the name "''Festival of literature for children, drama and
puppet
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
theatre''" ("''Фестивал дечије поезије, драме и луткарског позоришта''"). Its organizer is
Matica Srpska
The Matica srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Матица српска, Matica srpska, la, Matrix Serbica, grc, Μάτιτσα Σρπσκα) is the oldest Serbian language independent, non-profit, non-governmental and cultural-scientific Serbian national inst ...
in Novi Sad. In 1969, the name was changed to ''Zmaj Children Games''.
The main idea behind the festival is to gather writers, illustrators, critics, publishers, editors and readers of children's literature from Serbia and beyond. The Zmaj Children Games have their own publishing in the form of the magazine "''Детињство''" (''Childhood'') and hold a gathering of well respected children's literature authors in Zmaj Jovina Street 26.
Every June for a few days, children's plays, concerts, and shows gather children from Novi Sad and its surrounding region in Zmaj Jovina Street (the main street in Novi Sad's
city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
).
See also
*
Sremska Kamenica
Sremska Kamenica (Serbian Cyrillic: ''Сремска Каменица'', ) is a town and urban neighborhood of Novi Sad, in Serbia.
Name
In Serbian, the town is known as ''Sremska Kamenica'' (Сремска Каменица), in Croatian ...
, Novi Sad neighborhood, home to the Zmaj museum in the home of
Jovan Jovanović Zmaj
Jovan Jovanović Zmaj ( sr-cyr, Јован Јовановић Змаj, pronounced ; 24 November 1833 – 1 June 1904) was a Serbian poet.
Jovanović worked as a physician; he wrote in many poetry genres, including love, lyric, patriotic, poli ...
.
External links
Zmajeve Decje Igre(Official site)
{{Novi Sad, state=autocollapse
Recurring events established in 1958
Children's festivals
Culture in Novi Sad
Tourism in Novi Sad
Festivals in Serbia