Vesna Ferenac: Novigrad shapes its post-season offer according to a concept in which sport plays the main role

Even though the peak of the tourist season is far behind us, the Novigrad-Cittanova Tourist Association works extensively in the post-season as well. The autumn, predominantly sports program, will be reinforced at the end of October with an excellent gastronomic event. But let's start in order.

Northwestern Istria is today a popular tourist destination for professional and recreational athletes who value excellent conditions for recreation in nature and sports infrastructure. Novigrad shapes its post-season offer precisely according to the concept in which sport plays the main role.

"It all started twelve years ago when we joined together as a cluster and when we started developing defined tourist products. So we had gourmet days such as Asparagus Day, Chowder Day, Shellfish Day, etc., then Wellness Days, and we also organized a winter football tournament which was attended by clubs from European leagues. This influenced the arrival of young football teams for preparations, so we started organizing tournaments for young football players up to the age of 16, and among others, we hosted Barcelona, ​​Milan, Roma, LA Galaxy, Manchester City, who is our regular guest.

That's how the conversation with football started and we were working on bringing teams here in the pre- and post-season and getting the word out about it. The story began to develop, and so did the infrastructure. Now we have good pitches, and all this is accompanied by quality accommodation and gastronomic offer. The story continued with tennis and cycling, and has now spread to other sports such as swimming, futsal, dancing, etc., explained the director of the Novigrad-Cittanova Tourist Board, Vesna Ferenac.

This year's sports autumn started with the European swimming competition, and then there was a tournament of future football stars from world-famous clubs. About 400 runners then took part in the international race Novigrad Cittanova Run, and an international futsal tournament was also held. It should be added that Novigrad is hosting the 6th Mediterranean Cup in majorette sports for the first time.

But the sports program is only one part of the efforts that the Novigrad-Cittanova Tourist Association invests in extending the season. The second part is especially interesting for lovers of gastronomic delights.

Namely, after a very successful event Park Food Fest in October 2019, and with the desire to continue and expand the event after a two-year break due to the pandemic, the Tourist Board of Novigrad-Cittanova, in cooperation with the Northwestern Istria Cluster, is organizing the second edition of the Park Food Fest wine and gastronomy event, which will be held in Novigrad in Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October 2022 in the city port of Mandrač.

It is an event that combines two concepts of gastronomic offer: street food offer of catering partners and showcooking renowned restaurateurs from the area of ​​northwestern Istria.

The backbone of the concept is the content that will be held in the Novigrad Fishermen's Park, next to the harbor where the fishing boats are anchored, where the chefs will at different times have showcooking, while gastro partners will offer Istrian specialties throughout the day. In addition to the gourmet offer, there will also be a rich selection of renowned winemakers from the area of ​​NW Istria.

"Fine dining restaurants will present their offer to all visitors. Namely, the restaurant staff will come out of their kitchens and show what the dishes they prepare look like. As they are seasonal foods, we do not know exactly what they will prepare until the moment of creation, but we know that they will use domestic products that are combined with wines and extra virgin olive oil from northwestern Istria. Thus, the whole story is connected with domestic and seasonal products that are presented to a wider mass of people, which is the concept of the Park Food Fest.", says Ferenac.

At the location, the organizer will prepare unified logistics for eno-gastronomic contents, equipped with appropriate catering equipment that will enable adequate preparation and distribution of food and drinks. It is imperative that the dish is inspired by seasonal food, i.e. Istrian cuisine, and that it is operationally adapted to the preparation and consumption of food under the given conditions. Gastro partners of the event will prepare and offer their gastronomic offer on the theme of Istrian cuisine according to the street food concept.

Dishes will be served throughout the day (from 12:20 p.m. to around XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.), while famous chefs will have a gastro show at different times during which they will prepare special dishes, which the audience will be able to taste. For example, one point will offer burgers, another will offer tapas, and the third will offer fish-based dishes, while the chefs will show cooking demonstrate the preparation of imaginative dishes. Of course, certain combinations of food are also possible, depending on the interests and capabilities of the partners.

So, it is a concept on the trail of the globally current trend of street food, which retains the concept of simple and quick preparation and serving, but in this case of high-quality, autochthonous ingredients and carefully designed dishes. Given that brewing is normally associated with the street food concept of gastronomy, in addition to quality Istrian wines, Istrian craft beers will also be served.

The complete offer of food and drinks will be charged at the central cash desk. There will also be entertainment, music and animation content adapted to the location, from the afternoon to the evening.

It should be pointed out that special care will be taken about the environmental sustainability of the event, so that all food will be served in visually appealing containers made of recyclable material, wooden or biodegradable utensils will be used for eating, wine will be poured into branded glass wine glasses which guests can take with them as a souvenir, as well as reusable reusable beer glasses.  

The event will once again have its own musical background with the performance of three smaller bands as well as the program manager, and it will be an opportunity to socialize and have a good time.

The goal of the event is to valorize the rich wine and gastronomic offer of northwestern Istria, as well as Istria as a whole, while popularizing the attractive localities of northwestern Istria. It is a specific form of promotion of eno-gastronomy, and thus an important component in the development of the tourist product of gourmet tourism in the destination.

The day before, on Friday October 28, another gastronomic event will be held - Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights.

"I would single this out because Aminess is our partner, and they have been developing this project for several years. Aminess invests a lot in its staff, every year it holds workshops for chefs, waiters and its employees so that they too can promote the specific cuisine of this area.", Ferenac points out.

Aminess Wine & Gourmet Nights will be held in the Oliveto Aminess Maestral Hotel restaurant, and the five-course menu will be prepared by famous chefs David Skoko and Hrvoje Zirojević, while a member of the Aminess gourmet team, Martina Labinjan, will be in charge of making desserts. Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy the specially selected wine offer of the Matošević winery from Kruncica.

Photo source: Novigrad-Cittanova Tourist Board