The 10th Jubilee Fešta od Grmali once again delighted visitors and highlighted Funtana as an unmissable destination for all lovers of seafood delicacies and great entertainment.
This year’s Fešta od Grmali, held this past Saturday, September 21st, on the Funtana waterfront, attracted numerous visitors from all over Istria and beyond. The organizers – the Funtana Tourist Board and the Municipality of Funtana – prepared a program full of gastronomic delights and musical entertainment, with this year’s edition exceeding all expectations. All day long, the waterfront was filled with the aroma of seafood specialties, and in the evening, a grand concert by Dražen Zečić drew thousands of people.
Visitors enjoyed a wide variety of seafood delicacies, with the star of the show being the grma, Funtana’s native crab, served in numerous variations, from brodetto to various appetizers. For the first time, children from Funtana took on the role of little chefs, preparing their own dishes, which delighted the audience even more. In addition to the gastronomic offerings, the Fešta od Grmali also featured a brodetto cooking competition, where the team “Đelac i kumpanija” claimed this year’s title of best dish. The jury, made up of professional chefs and local experts, praised their dish as the finest.
“The Fešta od Grmali is special and unique, and this tenth edition was exceptional in many ways. We are particularly proud of its large attendance and the rich program, which we further enhanced this year with new content, especially in terms of gastronomic offerings. The atmosphere was fantastic from the start, and we attracted a large number of visitors, both locals and tourists, young and old. Of course, the grma was the main attraction – our local caterers prepared around 300 kilograms of crab, of which 180 kilograms were grma. For the first time, blue crabs were also on the menu, which visitors could try in brodetto. Although it was challenging to procure such a large quantity, with a lot of effort and luck, we succeeded,” said Ana Milohanović Čehić, director of the Funtana Tourist Board.
The Fešta od Grmali, which is already well-known far and wide, once again emphasized Funtana’s fishing heritage and its rich gastronomic offer. “This festival is not only a promotion of Funtana but also proof that our municipality is an unmissable destination for all lovers of seafood delicacies and great entertainment. We are proud of the success of this year’s event and believe that we will continue to delight guests in the coming years,” added Milohanović Čehić.
