16.09.2023.
Minister Vučević attends event in Kikinda
Acting on behalf of the President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević attended a business and family event in Kikinda today, which is being held for the 38th time.
The most famous and biggest festival in Kikinda, named after pumpkin, i.e. “ludaja”, brings tens of thousands of visitors together every year. The visitors flock to this town in Vojvodina in a festive mood every September.
Addressing the gathering, Minister Vučević congratulated the mayor of Kikinda and all the citizens of Kikinda on keeping alive this tradition and on having created a brand.- You have taught us that there are some really good things in our country. We constantly talk about other countries and their festivals and products, sometimes we rightly admire them, sometimes we exaggerate, but we often forget the things that have distinguished us for years, decades, centuries. And what has distinguished Banat and Kikinda for almost four decades now is this wonderful story, this festival - said Minister Vučević.
According to him, pumpkins are incredibly big this year too, and people in Kikinda claim that "if we climb one, we can almost see the whole of Banat or at least its northern part".
- Congratulations to everyone, primarily to those who have participated in the competition. Congratulations to our Hungarian neighbours on the victory. I hope we will have excellent relations with our friends from Hungary, Romania and all other countries. I am very happy to see friends from various Serbian municipalities and cities, they have come from eastern, southern and central Serbia, from other parts of Vojvodina, to enjoy the hospitality of the people of Kikinda, to enjoy the plains of Banat, to enjoy Kikinda, which deserves to regain a position on the map of events in our country - said Minister Vučević.
He also expressed his hope that very soon it would become much easier, faster and, most importantly, safer to get to Kikinda.- We will build the famous "smiley", in an effort to connect even better, to have better and safer roads, to help people travel more safely, to attract even more guests to Kikinda, to solve the issue of a hotel, to open some new facilities, to make new things that will improve the lives of the citizens of Kikinda and the people who gravitate towards Kikinda, i.e. the entire northern Banat district - Minister Vučević said.
On behalf of the President of the Republic of Serbia, he also congratulated the citizens of Kikinda on this great festival.
- Congratulations to you and your families on your hospitality, on your industriousness and hard work. This is also a family holiday, we believe in families, we are proud of our children, our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, our grandparents; we are not ashamed of our families as some would want us to be. We know who our mother is and who our father is, we know who our son is and who our daughter is, we believe in these things and we stick together, having no intention of imposing anything on anyone, but we will not have anyone impose anything on us either. We love our Kikinda and the plains of Banat and we also love “ludajas”, some people call them "the bananas of Banat", and I simply call them pumpkins. If you have something better to show us, go ahead, this is the best we have. Long live Kikinda, long live our heroic Banat in wonderful Vojvodina and long live our only fatherland, long live Serbia - Minister Vučević said.
The host of the event, the mayor of Kikinda, Nikola Lukač, pointed out the importance of the event for all the residents of Kikinda.- During the four days of the festival, the city of Kikinda turns into a big "guest room" where all the residents of Kikinda want to warmly welcome you and present ourselves in the best light and show you, in this short period of time, the best things that Kikinda has to offer - said Lukač.
According to him, this event helps preserve the culture and customs of all the nations living in Kikinda.
Minister Vučevuć presented prizes to the winners of the longest and the heaviest “ludaja” pumpkin awards. He presented a trophy to Dušan Jankov, who has grown a 309 cm-long pumpkin, and to Tibor Kokai, whose record-breaking pumpkin weighs 865.5 kg.
During the event, Minister Vučević also visited "Banatski fruštuk" (Banat breakfast), "Gostinska soba" (Guest room) and "Ulica starih zanata" (Street of old crafts), where he spoke to the participants and exhibitors.Head of the Defence Minister’s Cabinet, Brigadier General Goran Momčilović, Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister, Ana Lekić, representatives of the local self-government and citizens also attended the event.
This most important business/tourist and family event in Kikinda, which brings together guests from all over the country and the region, is being held for the 38th time this year. Parts of the event are traditionally dedicated to gastronomy, economy, agriculture and culture.
"Banatski Fruštuk" is dedicated to gastronomy, and dozens of women's associations are participating in it, showing their skills in preparing dishes characteristic of Banat. “Gostinska soba” contains cultural and artistic program with folk ensembles and guests participating. There is also the event "Ulica starih zanata", where local manufacturers and businesses practicing old crafts present their products and crafts.
More than 200 exhibitors are taking part in the event, and the event gathers up to 65,000 tourists.
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