"Creski kaić"

"Creski kaić"

“Creski Kaić – The Days of Cres Maritime Heritage and Tradition” is a seven-day cultural, sporting and entertainment event. The main goal of the event is to preserve and valorise the intangible cultural heritage of Cres related to maritime affairs and fisheries, but also to bring into focus the important role of maritime and fishing heritage in preserving the island's identity.
The programme is both entertaining and educational, taking us back to the times before the appearance of plastic boats and motor boats and reminding us how Cres lived by the sea and from the sea back then.
The waterfront is turned into a maritime-historical promenade with a series of exhibitions and workshops presenting the old techniques of building and maintenance of traditional boats of Cres, called the Cres "kaić".
Cres sailors and shipbuilders always spent their free time, especially on Sundays and holidays, gathering in taverns to play games and sing songs. Locals and visitors can take part in traditional games tournaments: bocce, briscola and tresette, mora cantada, chess, tug of war. Tournaments are also part of the event.
The culinary part of the programme gives visitors the chance to enjoy a variety of traditional Cres dishes: lamb dishes such as tripe, krijica, mozjini, and gista which are considered special delicacies of the island cuisine and a rarely seen treat in the modern Mediterranean cuisine. The main square becomes a stage for a cooking competition in preparing brudet (fish stew), the most popular local method of preparing fish. The fish used for the competition is the entire catch from angling and spearfishing contests held earlier that day.
Music performances by local musicians, klapas and bands take place every evening in the main square.
The central event of the week is the traditional wooden boats sailing regatta: traditional boat types - pasara, guc, gajeta, batana - gather in Cres bay to take part in the regatta. To complete the experience, a boat review called “The Play of Light and Sails” takes place in the evening that same day, in the historical port of Cres.