Sun and light festival in Nin: unforgettable experiences with sunrise, music and art

This year, the Nin tourist workers organized the traditional 16th Festival of Sun and Light, but not on June 21 as usual, since the first day of summer this year was June 20 because it is a leap year.

The sponsors of the event were the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Zadar County, with collaborators including the Archaeological Museum Zadar – Museum of Nin Antiquities, Petar Zoranić Nin Elementary School, and the Morska Vila Nin Kindergarten. The organizer was the Tourist Board of the City of Nin.

Sound of the Gong
The sound of the gong at 5:39:35 AM marked the moment when the Sun flashed its first morning ray above Velebit. Many captured this moment with their mobile phones. Due to the high saturation of the air with Saharan sand, the Sun appeared over the slopes of Velebit at the mentioned time, looking like the moon, which was a unique scene.

Early Morning Program
In the early morning program, soprano Nela Šarić provided an unforgettable experience in front of the Church of the Holy Cross, one of the most important cultural landmarks of the royal city. The musical enjoyment was experienced by all those who arrived early in the morning to the monument of Grgur Ninski. Their enthusiasm and impressions were conveyed by those who experienced it for the first time. Those who visited the festival multiple times confirmed that it is a special experience to come to the holy Croatian Nin and enjoy a concert in honor of the awakening of the Sun and the beginning of summer among significant monuments.

Children's Program
The second part of the program took place from 9 AM onwards. Children from the Morska Vila Nin Kindergarten performed their program in the church known as the smallest cathedral in the world. Students of Petar Zoranić Nin Elementary School enhanced the first day of summer with their musical and dance performances. In the Museum of Nin Antiquities, a creative workshop was held where young creatives made the Sun and the Church of the Holy Cross out of clay.

Solar Noon
Tourists and visitors of Nin had the opportunity to observe solar noon in the Church of the Holy Cross with an expert interpretation by the curator of the Museum of Nin Antiquities, Majda Dadić, PhD. She explained how the church functions as a sundial and calendar, as it was built to represent solstices and equinoxes. These insights were left by Mladen Pejaković in the work "The Number from Light", and the festival is a tribute to this heritage.

Evening Program
The rich festival program continued in the evening with a costumed tour in Croatian and English titled "Poet Petar Zoranić Ninjanin Guides You Through the History of the Royal City". Guides, dressed in the costumes of the poet and the fairy Hrvatica, led tourists through the streets of Nin, explaining the history of the city and its people.

Lecture
The festival concluded with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Ante Uglešić at Višeslav Square on the topic "The Baptismal Font with the Name of Duke Višeslav, the Most Famous National and Religious Symbol of Croats".

The festival is developing as a tourist attraction that combines various arts – music, visual, performing, and dance. It also educates the youngest about the astronomical significance of the church, and adults about the architectural and historical importance of the church, which many call the Croatian Stonehenge. The festival enriches the atmosphere of entering summer, providing visitors with unforgettable moments at the start of the season.