On the first weekend of July, Zagreb offers hot asphalt, the futile relief of chilled water or beer, sweat and excitement in the air, and crowds in which more people step on your foot than in a rush-hour tram. Osijek offers a gentler, more relaxed summer rhythm – one that pulses not under floodlights but beneath the tree canopies. This is especially true of the weekend of 4 and 5 July, when King Tomislav Park hosts this year’s second edition of the Evening of Wine and Art, twice as good this time as it has been extended to two days. 
Photo: Element media
With music from Fluentes, the Dino Dvornik Tribute Band, and Vanja and Nešvil Funk, there will be art installations, exhibitions and performances, along with local food paired with excellent wines from Slavonian and Danube-region winemakers. If Graševina alone is not enough, you can cool off at Copacabana, either on the natural Drava-river sand or in the renovated pools. At the same time, Đakovo offers the finest and best of tradition. 
Photo: Adriana Lončarević
Everyone is welcome at the 59th Đakovački vezovi (Đakovo Embroidery festival), provided they arrive curious and hungry. On Friday, 4 July, a ceremonial opening is planned, when the town becomes a stage for folklore, horse-drawn carriages, tamburitza music and traditional costumes. There will be a parade, a craft fair, gold embroidery, Lipizzaner horses, and ethno-gastro corners without wristbands, beer queues or security telling you to move two metres to the left. On Sunday morning a cheerful and festive parade of costumes from around the world will march through the town, and over the first July weekend Slavonske lole play on Friday, Cubismo on Saturday and Miroslav Škoro on Sunday.
Photo: Marko Banić
And the crowds? They will be at the Graševina stands and in front of the tamburitza stages. The nerves? Perhaps only when someone snatches the last glass of chilled rosé from you. The stress? Strictly when you have to choose between fiš (fish paprikash) and perkelt.
03.07.2025.
