“Plum Days“, the cultural and agricultural event, celebrated two jubilees this year: its tenth anniversary and the record number of visitors. The organisers of the Festival estimate that Blace had 100,000 visitors during four days who enjoyed good pop and folk concerts, as well as plum products. Numerous lectures on modern trends in fruit production and meetings of the producers prove that the organizers think strategically about development of this Toplica municipality. Blace municipality is the home of the highest number of plum trees per inhabitant in Serbia – two million trees of this fruit’s different varieties are planted on some 5,000 acres of land.
“We are grateful to the European Union and the Government of Switzerland who supported the Festival through the European Partnership with Municipalities Programme – EU PROGRES, and made our event recognisable by investing 30,000 Euro in its branding“, said Radoje Krstović, Mayor of Blace, during the opening ceremony.
“The EU PROGRES cooperation with Blace municipality resulted in support to this important meeting of fruit producers and entrepreneurs, with an aim to promote plum as a recognisable trademark of Blace and Toplica District. We supported the branding project, which will, apart from the Festival, finance the establishment of a tourist information centre in Blace”, said Graeme Tyndall, EU PROGRES Manager, at the grand opening of the Festival. “The European Union and the Swiss Government, together with EU PROGRES, additionally support development of Blace through infrastructural projects and preparation of documentation for new investments and training of municipal employees“, Tyndall added.
Blace municipality is also working on developing its own brand; just before the “Plum Days“, a statue of this fruit was mounted in the centre of the town, together with the fountain decorated with plum shaped incisions. Fifty producers and processors offered their goods in the streetstalls, together with restaurant owners and souvenir sellers. During the event, the best plum grove and the best farmer were chosen.