Opatija February 1st at Noon: 28th Children's Carnival Parade Gathers Around 3,200 Little Maskers in City Center

Opatija Ahead of the 28th Children's Carnival Parade: More Than Three Thousand Little Maskers Take Over the City Center on February 1st

Opatija on Sunday, February 1, 2026, re-enters its most cheerful winter rhythm: on the main city road, the 28th Children's Carnival Parade is expected, an event that year after year turns the city center into an open stage of children's imagination. According to the organizer's announcement, nearly 3,200 participants distributed in 36 carnival groups should gather in the procession, with the arrival of children from several Croatian counties. The route remains recognizable – from the city market to the Slatina beach – and the program is set so that the little carnivalists stop at several points and stages, where they present costumes and choreographies to the audience that traditionally fills both sides of the street. For visitors planning a weekend in the city, it is useful to consider accommodation offers in Opatija in time, especially since the carnival period regularly increases interest in short winter arrivals to the Riviera.

Time and Route: Start at Noon, Finish at Slatina

According to the event calendar of the Tourist Board of the City of Opatija, the Children's Carnival Parade takes place on Sunday, February 1, 2026, in the time slot from 12:00 to 15:00. The procession moves from the central square in front of the market towards the main city bathing area, and specifically on the Slatina plateau, the final part of the gathering with refreshments and an entertainment program is foreseen. The organizers announce that the children will show their masks on several stages along the route, which is a model that has proven practical in recent years for both participants and the audience: groups have enough space for short performances, and visitors get content distributed throughout the entire corridor, so the crowds "spill over" the city more easily. If you are planning an arrival from outside Opatija, and want to be close to the start or finish of the procession, it is practical to check accommodation near the event venue in advance so that moving on foot would be simpler.

Numbers and Participants: 36 Groups, Guest Appearances from Multiple Regions

The announcement of the 28th edition highlights the scale of the children's procession which in Opatija has already been growing beyond the framework of a local event for decades. According to information from the organizer's announcement, nearly 3,200 children should perform in 36 carnival groups, with participants from Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Istria, Zagreb, and Krapina-Zagorje counties and arrivals from Lika, Međimurje, and Slavonia. Precisely this geographical breadth explains why the Children's Carnival Parade is often perceived as a meeting of different school and kindergarten communities that bring their own ideas, local motifs, and hand-made details to Opatija. In practice, this means that the audience on the same route can see everything in a few hours – from "fairy-tale" characters to thematic costumes that allude to nature, music, or the tradition of the places the children come from. Groups with recognizable names like Candy Land, Dancing Notes, Storm from Vojak, Kastav Bees and Beekeepers, Lovran Legion, Royal Horse Race, Little Willows, and others have also been announced, which further emphasizes how much attention is invested in devising the identity of each group.

Opening with a Message on Children's Rights: Children's City Council at the Head of the Procession

At 12 o'clock, the procession should, according to the organizer's announcement, be opened by the Children's City Council of the City of Opatija led by the child mayor Mihael Šorić, presenting a mask dedicated to the theme of children's rights. Mihael Šorić was elected to the function of child mayor on April 30, 2025, at the constitutive session of the XV convocation of the Children's City Council, which makes his role in such public events symbolically important as well: through the carnival opening of the procession, the child's voice is literally placed at the head of the column, in front of thousands of spectators. In the announcement of the parade, it is emphasized that the theme of the mask also carries a broader message – a reminder that children's creativity and fun can be connected with community values, including the right of children to participation, expression, and visibility. Such a combination of a "big" social theme and children's playfulness, when well measured, is often precisely what distinguishes Opatija's carnival programs from a mere parade of costumes.

Music, Majorettes and Five Stages: How the Program is Envisioned on the Route

The procession, according to the organizer's announcement, takes place accompanied by the Lovran Wind Orchestra and majorettes, and the little carnivalists should present their costumes on five stages set up along the route. Among the prominent points, the greeting part at the Market is mentioned, then stages at key city locations along the main street, and the final reception at Slatina with a hosting and animation program. The announcement also lists the names of persons who should welcome the groups on the stages, and the end of the procession is traditionally linked to refreshments for children – donuts, fruits, and juices – which is a detail that, although it sounds simple, in the logistics of such a large event means serious organization and coordination. For families coming from other places, a weekend in carnival Opatija is often also a small trip to the sea in the middle of winter, so it is not strange that ahead of such dates interest in accommodation offers in Opatija increases, especially in the pedestrian zone or near Slatina.

Traffic and Movement Through the City: What Can Be Expected on the Day of the Procession

Although for February 1, 2026, at the moment of preparing this text, a special notice on traffic regulation has not been published, the experience of previous editions shows that during the Children's Carnival Parade, a temporary closure of part of the main street and adjustments in one-way regimes are generally introduced. For example, the City of Opatija announced for the Children's Carnival Parade 2025 the closure of Marshal Tito Street in a certain time range, with traffic redirection and warnings to drivers about the parking ban on certain sections. Such measures have a simple goal: to enable a safe route for children, parents, escorts, and the audience, reduce the risk of crowds at intersections, and ensure unimpeded passage for services that must remain operational. Because of this, it is reasonable to count on the fact that movement by car through the city center on Sunday around noon will be limited, and arriving earlier or using pedestrian routes is often the most practical solution. If you are coming from outside Opatija, and want to avoid stress with parking and traffic changes, the option to be within walking distance comes in handy – for example through accommodation for visitors in the city or surroundings.

Carnival Background: "The Fifth Season" and Weeks of Events in February

The Children's Carnival Parade is part of the broader program of the Carnival in Opatija 2026, which, according to the announcement of the City of Opatija, began on January 17 at the city market with the raising of the carnival flag and the traditional hanging of the "Pust" (carnival puppet), and continues with a series of events extending through February. In the same program, the Balinjerada is also highlighted, a unique race on ball bearings which in 2026 is held on February 8, as well as the Masked Klapa Marathon on February 6 in the Marino Cvetković sports hall. Precisely this "mosaic" of content makes the carnival important for both local social life and winter tourist dynamics: the city gets a rhythm of events from weekend to weekend, and visitors a reason to stay longer than one afternoon. The Children's Parade in that context is often the emotional highlight: it is visually the most striking, at the same time the most family-oriented, and is perceived in the public as the day when Opatija "opens up" to the youngest and their ideas.

Exhibition “60 Years of the Masked Lumber Club Opatija”: Carnival and Culture in the Same Day

For those coming to Opatija because of the Children's Carnival Parade, the weekend also brings additional cultural content. In the Juraj Šporer Art Pavilion, at Park sv. Jakova 1, the exhibition “60 Years of the Masked Lumber Club Opatija” opens, organized by the Croatian Museum of Tourism in cooperation with the Lumber Club Opatija and Festival Opatija. The exhibition opens on Friday, January 30, 2026, at 6 PM and lasts until February 10, 2026, and the working hours are Tuesdays to Fridays from 4 PM to 7 PM and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 AM to 2 PM and from 4 PM to 7 PM, while on Mondays and holidays it is closed. According to the museum's announcement, the display brings an overview of sixty years of activity of one of the most recognizable masked groups in the area of Opatija and the wider Rijeka region, with archival photographs, original costumes, masks, props, and other objects that testify to the continuity of the carnival tradition. Particularly interesting is the datum that the association was founded in 1966, with a renewal of activity in 1995, and that the presidents of the Lumber Club since 2000 also take on the symbolic role of the "mayor" of Opatija in the masked period. Thereby the story of the carnival moves out of the framework of entertainment and becomes a visible part of local identity – a tradition transmitted through generations, just as the children's parade transmits energy to future years.

Why the Children's Carnival Parade is Important: Community, Creativity, and the Image of the City

In the announcement of the manifestation, the director of the Tourist Board of the City of Opatija Suzi Petričić emphasized that Opatija every year becomes a colorful stage of togetherness and creativity and that the smiles of more than three thousand little carnivalists confirm the carnival heritage that is systematically nurtured. Such messages are not just protocolary: in a city that perceives the carnival as the "fifth season", the children's parade is proof that tradition is not maintained only through memory, but through concrete work – making masks, preparations, rehearsals, travels, and performances. For parents and educators, this is also an opportunity for children to publicly show what they have devised, and for the audience to see how diverse ideas are when children's imagination is given space. Opatija thereby also gets a broader picture: in times when winters on the coast are often quieter, such events fill the streets with people, return liveliness to the center, and show that the city can be a stage even outside the summer season – with a recognizable atmosphere that many gladly link precisely to carnival days.

Sources:

• Tourist Board of the City of Opatija (Visit Opatija) – event calendar and date of the Children's Carnival Parade February 1, 2026 (link)
• City of Opatija – announcement of the Carnival in Opatija 2026 program (dates, Children's Parade February 1, Balinjerada February 8, Lumber Club exhibition) (link)
• City of Opatija – information on the election of Mihael Šorić as child mayor (XV convocation of the Children's City Council) (link)
• Croatian Museum of Tourism (HRMT) – details of the exhibition “60 Years of the Masked Lumber Club Opatija” (duration, working hours, club context) (link)
• City of Opatija – example of temporary traffic regulation for the Children's Carnival Parade 2025 (street closure and parking regime) (link)