March 24, 2019 - The great international carnival procession with about 400 participants, ended the jubilee 50th Mimosa Festival, which broke all records - by duration, number of participants, program and attendance. The closing saw the traditional trial and burning of the culprit for Herceg Novi's citizens in the past year – Mito Kovertic (Bribe Envelope), as well as the concert by Svetlana Ceca Ražnatović.

22 March 2019 - The Majorette club "Lili" from Herceg Novi will take part in a national championship in modern dances in Podgorica on Sunday, March 24th.

This championship includes several types of modern dance, and 35 members of the "Lili" club will compete in the category of majorette dance. They prepared seven choreographies and hope for good results, said the coach and choreographer Ljiljana Porobić.

"We compete with three formations - with our bees, cadets and joint juniors and seniors formation, as well as with one duo and three solo performances. We are ready, we have worked hard, and we hope that we win some medals. It remains to be seen whether our hard work and effort will be recognized and how well can we perform on stage. Before going to Podgorica, the Majorette club "Lili" will take part in the final segments of the Mimosa Festival program: "Thank you for 50" and the carnival parade," said the choreographer in an interview for Radio Herceg Novi.

"We have accepted the invitation to be on the Square of Nikola Đurković tomorrow, as well as on Saturday in the carnival parade. It's a bit tiring, we have a lot of work to do in only three days, but since we now have day-to-day training because of the competition, we are in good shape, and we will try to present ourselves in the best way possible," she explained.

In five years of existence, the Majorette club "Lili" has won numerous acknowledgments and awards, including eight European medals, and their favorite one is their very first medal."We have plenty of medals from state championships and international competitions, so many that we lost count. There are probably around 40 in different categories. The biggest prizes that are the most meaningful to us are eight European medals. Although we look forward to every prize, we always emphasize that our first European medal is somehow the most desirable," Porobić said.

After the national championship, the members of the Majorette club "Lili" will continue to train well for the European championship that will be held in late August in France.

March 22, 2019 - The Orjen Development and Protection Agency will organise on Sunday, March 24, an educational pedestrian tour marking the World Water Day. Departure is scheduled for 10 am from the plateau of the Kotobilje Spring, and the last point is Ljuti karst (750 m above sea level) below the former motel Borići, on the southern edge of the Orjen Nature Park.

March 21, 2019 - The promotion of the monograph "Mimosa Festival - 50 years of the Flower Festival" is scheduled for Friday, March 22 at 7 pm in the "Park" Hall.

18 March 2019 - The Masquerade Ball Finale on the occasion of 50th Mimosa Festival was held on March 17 in Herceg Novi, for the first time in the hotel "Park" in Bijela. For a good atmosphere and proper entertainment, the fun and energetic Indira Forza was in charge, who said that it is nice to be present at the jubilee Mimosa Festival and that it is always nice to spend time in Herceg Novi and Montenegro.

"You can feel the buzz, everyone is in costumes and masks. It is beautiful, we are all excited and what else do I have to do except make best party in the world," said Indira, a former soloist of the Colonia group.

The popular Croatian singer expressed her satisfaction that she was a guest of Herceg Novi during the masquerade ball because she likes to wear costumes and masks in beautiful colors and noted that she is happy that her business allows her this joy.

"Well, did not you notice, I am actually wearing the costumes and masks all the time? My job allows this game, I am always in costumes. It is characteristic of me that when you come to my concert, the dancers and I are always in costumes, and that is what I am really happy about," Indira said through a laugh and called her costume "Lady on the trampoline".

She recalled her performances and socializing with her colleagues in Herceg Novi, who had left her in good memory. According to her, the love between her and the people in Montenegro is reciprocal and lasts for many years and will continue. She is proud to be singing her old hits and new songs from the album "Valkira" with the same glow. She thanked the audience for giving her the wings.

Park Hotel owner Čedo Popović said that he wanted to host the Mimosa Festival's Masquerade Ball and that this was an extraordinary event that should be maximally supported.

"My wish is that the first masquerade ball will be held next year in a new hotel in Kumbor," Popović said.

He also added that the tourist season begins with them in about 15-20 days, and the announcements for this year are excellent and the capacities are filled.

At the 50th Mimosa Festival, a total of five masquerade balls were held, of which four were for adults and one for children. All of them were successfully organized and well attended, said the director of the Public Institution of Culture "Herceg Fest" Gordana Porobić Krcunović.

16 March 2019 - Starting at the city center, through City taverns and Cafe "Beograd, all the way to Škver, the atmosphere was conducted by a custom small cars race and the second race "Karotrc" for the 50th Mimosa Festival. This event attracted audiences of all generations, as well as the participants. Smiles and applause were present during the entire event, while two-seat and three-seat cars raced down the hill. The 700-meter long race track was successfully finished from many participants coming from Herceg Novi, Kotor, Tivat, Budva, Šibenik, Belgrade, Banja Luka, and Trebinje.

Herceg Novi's Deputy Mayor, Miloš Konjević, and the oldest member of the non-governmental organization "Maškare", Damir Bakica, opened the race.

"This is a phenomenal event that deserves to be traditional within the Mimosa Festival, and every year it is organized on an even higher level," said the Deputy Mayor Miloš Konjević, satisfied with the number of participants and spectators and enthusiasm about the atmosphere

"I used to drive as a kid, when I was seven to eight years old. I made a pause until I was 30 and last year I drove again," Konjevic said, adding that the race is a true example of the content of the Mimosa Festival that needs to be cherished, which returns old customs and games.

He thanked the non-governmental organization "Maškare" and Ivan Peulić, who brought this idea to Herceg Novi and Mimosa Festival. He said that "Karotrc" is a great intro to the finale of the 50th Mimosa Festival, which will be a spectacle. As he announced, the festival ends next weekend by carnival parade of 18 groups, traditional burning of carnival and a big concert by Ceca Ražnatović in Igalo.

Members of the "Maškare" non-governmental organization, who are the initiators of this sport and entertainment event, took care of the good organization of the second race.

"Our initiative has started since the moment when we are at Rijeka's carnival, where we heard that something similar is being organized, so we came up with an idea to do it in a somewhat different way," concluded Ivan Peulić from NGO "Maškare".

14 March 2019 - “Shop local and seasonal at our pop up food market, meet the producers and learn about organic agriculture around Luštica peninsula," says the invitation by Luštica Bay representatives for their weekend event Hello Spring!

A two-day local food market named  Hello Spring will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24 from 10 am to 6 pm, at the promenade in the marina settlement Luštica Bay, in Krtoli near Tivat.

The organisers of the food and home-made local products bazaar, the company Luštica Development and the Secretariat for Tourism and Entrepreneurship of the Municipality of Tivat, provided participation for 20 agricultural producers, as well as members of the entrepreneurial section of Elementary School "Drago Milić" and High School "Mladost" from Tivat, Institute for healthy (organic) food - Agrovita, and the producers of Agro Cluster Nikšić.

Numerous producers of cheese, brandy, pickled vegetables, sugar-dipped fruit, honey, soap and herbs from the Bay of Kotor and the surrounding area will be exhibiting their products at the fair. These individual exhibitors include Olga Ovčar, Vidak Tomašević, Julka Radmanović, Predrag Klakor, Mile Dačević, Rašo Miljančić and others. The bazaar offers will also add fruits, vegetables, various types of wine, juice and oil, brought to the fair by Bosiljka Vuksanović, Ethno village "Đedovina", Đorđije Bulajić, Vebija Abazović, Vesna Pavić Mamula, Gvozden Kankaraš and Jelena Pejanović.

Andrej Zasidko will display vegetable bouquets and other handicrafts. Olive products will be presented by the Moric family, as one of the entrepreneurial visionaries on the Luštica peninsula and one of the first individuals from the peninsula to put into operation his long family heritage.

This weekend event that promotes domestic production will also offer a special program for the youngest visitors that includes drawing, painting and competition games, a show of local gastronomic delicacies and education by the producers.

All exhibitors and visitors of the bazaar will have the opportunity to learn more about agricultural tourism, agricultural clusters and Montenegrin food brands by attending the seminars of agricultural production experts - Ilija Moric, Đorđe Bulajić and Svetozar Radonjić.

12 March 2019 - The campaign aimed at cleaning the park and the beach under Tito's Villa in Igalo, which was originally announced last week, and due to adverse weather conditions it was postponed for today, ended with the collection of ten sacks of small waste as well as three extensive piles of large waste.

“The public utility service workers came together with volunteers and cleaned up the entire green area around Tito’s Villa, after which they headed down to the beach to clean the rest. While we were collecting small waste, they collected the large waste so the entire action was well coordinated," one of the volunteers told the News Agency Radio Jadran.

As a segment of the Institute Igalo, the villa that once belonged to a lifetime president of SFR Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, is one of several dozen luxurious villas that were built in the former Yugoslavia and served the lifetime Yugoslav president. The reason for the construction of the complex was the success of Tito's treatment at the old spa in Igalo, which had greatly benefited his health and is why the government decided to build the villa near this spa. The villa is designed for 30 guests, with the possibility of using medical and rehabilitation services. It has hosted many world political leaders as well as public figures.

This four-story, 5,500 square-meter building is surrounded by 75,000 square meters botanical garden. During the winter, the winds carried an extensive amount of waste around the Villa, which was the main reason the area needed cleaning.

According to the observations of both locals and tourists, the Montenegrin coast has problems with waste, despite the great efforts of state-owned companies and volunteers to maintain the beaches clean. The winds often carry waste on Montenegrin beaches, and this problem is one that also troubles the country’s neighbour, Croatia.

Local activists expect competent city companies to cleanse the beach mechanically soon because volunteers cannot clean this area effectively without proper equipment.

In today's action, the park around the Villa was cleaned in detail, as well as a segment of the Igalo beach and the parking and green area next to the park.

“The result of this action was great. There was positive energy and excellent communication with public utility service workers. We were instructed to contact them for anything we needed, “says Boca, who radiated happiness after yet another successful eco-friendly action.

The enthusiasm of these young eco-activists, who first started to clean the area along the Mojsdeški road, did not even weaken after their fifth action, because they announced cleaning action at Vrbanj shortly.

10 March 2019 - Around 140 various costumes and masks from Kotor, Tivat, Budva, Herceg Novi and even some cities from Russia, took part in the second big Masquerade Ball on the 50th Mimosa Festival organized by the Igalo Institute.

The beginning was marked by the local music of Đenovići and the majorette club Lili, while the band "Stari Kapetann" was a great introductory to popular regional singer Dženan Lončarević. The participants and the guests described the atmosphere as unforgettable and hot. Dženan Lončarević sang all famous pop, rock and folk hits, varying Bijelo Dugme, Čolić, Dino Merlin, Yu Grupa as well as Tina Tarner hits, Oliver Mandić and Prljavo Kazalište.

The organizers provided financial awards for individual and group costumes. For individual - up to three members, 600, 300 and 200 EUR, and for group ones - from three to eight members, 800, 500 and 300 EUR.

The audience chose the best animators, the most original ideas and the most beautiful costumes and masks.

In the singles competition, the most successful costume was "The King of Mimosa and the Old Fisherman", the second was the costume "AmputiNiranje" (Vučić and Putin) and the third "Crimean Octopus" and "Mastrelak".

In the category of the group's first prize, the "Happy Merry Wife" costume, the second "Satiri" from Herceg Novi, and the third "Grand Stars Jury" equalled with "Exotic Travel".

The next masquerade ball at the 50th Mimosa Festival is on March 16th with Indira Forca at Hotel Park in Bijela.

The "Zelenika family", which included Milan Nikolic, Janko Radovic, Zarko Ceprnic, Predrag Banicevic and Nikola Lucic was the best team in the Picigin tournament that was held at the beach “Rafaelo” in Herceg Novi.

Ten teams took part in the competition, and the second-placed includes members of the team "Stos pit" Ilija Dotlic, Vladimir Cerevicki, Tihomir Vuksanovic, Mihailo Vuksanovic and Branislav Stevic.

In third was the team "Zelenicke igre" i.e. Zoran Pestoric, Dado Rolovic, Dejan Sofranac, Dado Kavazic and Srdjan Gecaj. This team was awarded last year as the best.

The judges were Kiko Maric, the play-writer Stevan Koprivica and the architect Bobo Popovic and picigin veterans.

In the tournament, as a member of the team “Got”, the popular Croatian singer Goran Karan also took part in the competition, who played very well, but also excited the audience when he started singing and performed at the beach Rafaelo.

Picigin is over 90 years old and is played by adjusting water polo to local conditions. It is played in the shallow waters of Split beaches and brought over from students from Prague. This attractive sport arrived to Herceg Novi at least 60 years ago.

Picigin is played in the shallow water with five players in one team and no opponent. The goal of the game is that the ball does not touch the sea surface or the beach, and needs to be kept up as long as possible. It is also spiced up with as many attractive moves as possible. It's important to pay attention. The game is played with a rubber ball the size of a palm or smaller, and the players forcefully, with one hand, hit the ball to their teammate or in an empty space.

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Text by Slavica Kosic, on March 10th 2019, read more at Vijesti