Weekend reserved for nature lovers, hunting, fishing, but also for all those who love to discover new regions of Croatia and neighboring countries, has come to an end. After three days filled with interesting lectures and workshops, the 26th International Nature, Hunting, Fishing, and Tourism Fair, which took place from Friday, October 6th to Sunday, October 8th in the Varaždin Arena along the Drava River, has concluded. This year, the fair, in its 26th edition, gathered around ninety exhibitors from Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Slovakia.
In addition to the sales part, the organizers, in cooperation with partners, also prepared interesting entertaining and educational exhibitions. Thus, in the Fair Hall, there was an exhibition of the Croatian Hunting Association Museum "Stuffed Wildlife of Croatian Regions," which this year had a mountain-themed focus, and alongside it, there was also a children's corner where they could try archery with children's bows and arrows, as well as draw and color animals like deer, bears, wolves, etc.
All interested visitors could also explore the mushroom exhibition of the Smrčak Mushroom Society, which presented visitors with more than 140 mushroom species and prepared mushroom product tastings.
The Croatian Falconry Club presented about ten birds of prey at the fair, including well-known species such as the Eurasian eagle-owl, common buzzards, and peregrine falcons.
At the fair, visitors could also check their health status through preventive examinations organized by the Association of Lung Cancer Patients and Treated "Kaj sad?" and on Sunday, members of the Nordic Walking Club introduced this activity to all interested individuals, contributing to their health.
Regarding professional content, Krunoslav Rac held two lectures on Friday. The first lecture was for schools on the topic "Flora and Fauna of Velebit," while within the fair hall, he held a lecture and book presentation "In the Footsteps of Bears."
Another interesting lecture for schools was "Bear: Ruler of Our Forest," where Alenka Bošnjak from the HLS Hunting Museum told students all about bears.
Organized by the Croatian Hunting Association, there was also a lecture this year on "Wildlife Vehicle Collisions and What Next?" where a lot of data and explanations about the new regulation were provided. The international project "LIFE Wild Wolf," in which HLS actively participates in protecting hunting dogs from encounters with wolves, was also presented.
Additionally, there was a book promotion and lecture "Life in the Forest" by Nikola Borić, who presented a sustainable way of life to everyone present.
It's worth mentioning the culinary workshop by Ecoagro where our renowned chef, Tomislav Špiček, prepared and presented two pheasant dishes.
One of the highlights was the dog show organized by the Croatian Kennel Club, which took place on Saturday and featured over 35 hunting dogs.
During Saturday and Sunday, as is tradition, the Fair Cup in clay pigeon shooting was held in Ljubeščica.
Co-organizer of the fair, alongside the Croatian Hunting Association, was the Croatian Sports Fishing Association, which presented itself through an exhibition space showcasing the recorded successes and trophies of its members.
The fair was supported by the City of Varaždin and Varaždin County. The partner county of this year's fair was Vukovar-Srijem County, which also had its presentation on a 70m2 area.
