Carnival of Flowers
The tourist season in Bela Crkva is opened by the international manifestation "Carnival of Flowers", which has a tradition of over 150 years. Written record of carnivals in Bela Crkva dates back to the year 1852. when the carnivals were held on the occasion of carnival festivities. Today, the "Carnival of Flowers" is a multidisciplinary event, and it represents a combination of tourism and commerce, which involves local, regional and other segments, promoting Bela Crkva and its potential, as well as the potential of the entire region. The entire city participates in the carnival, and the streets and facades are tidied up and decorated especially for this occasion.
The Carnival of Flowers programme is seven days long. It includes the presentation of flowers in open and closed spaces, in floral courtyards, gardens, terraces, with a selection of the most beautiful garden in Bela Crkva. The programme includes musical and other cultural celebrations, dedicated to flowers and carnivals, exhibitions, promotions, media presentations and other programs and activities that are appropriate for the festival and the city events, cultural programs related to the multi-nationality of this area, and the cultural and artistic programs based on language, folklore and traditions of national minorities, as well as hosting carnival troupes, singing groups and folklore associations. The finale of the carnival is a special event, a procession which passes the entire city, with exhibits that are prepared months in advance, especially for this occasion. In addition to exhibits, there are majorettes, as well as participants from all carnival towns in Serbia and abroad, and at the end of the procession fireworks light the sky, with music and laughter ... Every year, the "Carnival of Flowers" is held on the last week of June, and it is expected that a large number of visitors will come to enjoy this event.
During 1852., the first carnival in Bela Crkva was held, as an event for a German theater group hailing from Vršac. Due to the success achieved, the Magistrate has approved to organize the carnival next year, with special events in major taverns. In 1910, the "First Bela Crkva carnival society" was founded. The first organized carnival in Bela Crkva was in 1911. Carnival festivities began on Saturday or Sunday at the Bela Crkva railway station, a greeting would be said to the "Prince and Princess" of the Carnival, which would arrive by regular passenger train. On the day of Shrove Tuesday (February - March) the Great Carnival Parade would be held. Carnival groups would gather in front of the Vandelini Chapel (demolished in 1967) and then the parade would enter Miletic street.
There, on the balcony of the Magistrate, the mayor welcomed the participants. At the head were young men - horsemen, followed by the big car driving the "prince and princess", behind them a group of men and women lavishly dressed. After World War II, while the authorities permitted, the Carnival was maintained, but during a period of ten years the evennt was not held. As a tourist event it was reintorduced at the beginning of the 1960s, this time as "flower carnival" - Carnival of Flowers, an economic and tourist event held on a new date (summer period), and with new content, without religious connotations.
