Croatian Summer Salsa Festival 2008 - Rovinj
I kept meaning to post but somehow didn't get around to it.
Last month was the Croatian Summer Salsa Festival in Rovinj.
If you haven't been there yet... GO !
Stop whatever your doing and run to your boss/parents/travel agent and say that next year, 25 - 28 June, you'll be going to Croatia. You won't regret it.
First I'd like to thank all the organizers.
These guys and girls worked so hard it's incredible (I won't mention your coffee break Danijel ;) and did a great job. As a team they seem to function really well which shows in the way everything is taken care off.
Sure, there were some problems but most of them were transparent to the people there.
As I was one of the volunteers we met a day before the congress started. I was already in Rovinj and was actually planning to meet up with the organizers even sooner but somehow (thanks tourist info) I wasn't able to find them.
We were originally meant to meet up at 2 but as some of the volunteers wouldn't arrive until 4 that got postponed. It was horrible. It meant I had to spent 2 hours at the hotel pool enjoying the wonderful weather. Ah, the sacrifices we have to make in life.
Wednesday evening there was a small pre-party at a square in town where in the end about 15-20 couples were dancing.
Somehow social dancing anxiety hit again with a vengeance so I just sat there and watched them all. That said, I had a great time so I have no reason to complain.
Thursday registration started and the atmosphere was great. I had the day off (more time at the pool for me) so I enjoyed myself until I started 'working' at the party at night.
The party itself was great but unfortunately the airco broke down.
People would go in to dance only to come outside again, drenched in sweat, 15 minutes later.
The hotel where the party was held was aware of this and was trying to get a mechanic out but apparently that's not as easy as it sounds in summertime in Croatia. We were all keeping our fingers crossed for them to get it solved before Saturday's party.
Friday workshops started and the atmosphere was great.
Both the instructors and the attendees were having a great time and my favourite workshop of the day was by Danijel & Ċ½eljka, 2 of the organisers. Unfortunately I didn't tape it though and I have to admit I can't remember what they did. Guess I should have practised it more.
Friday night the party was held in the town square. I was looking forward to it but in the end we waited forever (ok, only 1.5 hours but it felt like forever) for our food so we missed a big part of it including the shows. As I hadn't seen any shows on Thursday that kept my grand total of shows seen at 0.
Saturday is a bit of blur (yeah, I should have written this sooner) but I remember a lot of running around and generally having a good time doing that.
The airco seemed to work better for the party Saturday evening although it was still warm.
The shows were held outside of the hotel and it was packed! There were people everywhere.
Unfortunately the performers had to come from inside to get to the stage which meant we needed to keep a path clear for them. Fair enough but it meant that I didn't get to see any shows on Saturday either. I guess I set a new record. Total of shows seen at a congress ... 0 :-)
Ah well, I'll wait for the DVD to come out I guess.
Then came Sunday. Sunday is famous at the Croatian Salsa Festival for 1 simple reason.... POOL PARTY ! ! !
The party was held at another hotel on an island. We spend 4 hours on a dock in the burning sun checking wristbands. After 5 minutes the heat was already getting to me and as I had forgotten to bring a cap I decided to buy one. Somebody (not sure who anymore, Danijel?) told me not to pay the price they asked and that was good advice. I actually got it for half price.
As I didn't really like any of the caps I decided to go for the most silly one I could find. A white cap with some text written on it in lovely shiny little stones.
Yes, it made me look incredibly gay but it was a great thing for people to comment on so I had lots of fun conversations that helped the time go by quicker.
And, as most people came in waves (there were still workshops going on) we also had time to swim a bit so it all turned out to be great fun.
The hardest part was sending people away. The party had sold out completely and we had to disappoint people that showed up without a ticket (hint, if you're going next year get your tickets for the party in advance).
At 4 the last boat to the island arrived and we got on to finally get to the party ourselves.
Once we got there everybody was enjoying themselves and the atmosphere was great. After we went for a swim to cool down a bit we joined in the dancing and had a blast. Just this party would have been worth coming down for.
As I'd be working at the party at night as well I started making my way back to the mainland around 7. Much sooner then I would have liked to but I guess volunteering has it downsides as well :)
The party at night was pretty relaxed. The highlight for me was that I finally got to dance with Daniela (and don't think you're off the hook just yet... we still have to do drinks next year Daniela ;-). Or rather, half a dance.
I was exhausted and used the end of the song as an excuse to run away and go sit by the pool again.
Then came Monday and it was time to pack up and leave again. Time to go back to reality.
All that was left was a farewell lunch. Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to most of you. Things got a bit confused when you all went back to the hotel to pick up the floor while I had to leave.
It was great meeting all of you though and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next year !
Some more random memories:
Oh, so you're walter (what can I say, I felt special :-)
Tender chicken (don't ask, you really don't want to know)
me and 5 girls in a Peugeot 206 (yes, life can be pretty good)
Dancing with the sexiest woman at the festival (See, I really wasn't looking to get anything when I said that ;-)
Ice cream in the middle of the night on Sunday (next time we'll have to do that when I'm not exhausted and actually good company. Maybe you'll even get your song then ;-)
Being gay can help you attract women (alledgedly)
We won (hey, Mike said so !)
Nutella (you still owe me 4 private lessons)
Da, volim te (thanks so much for the card. It made my weekend)
Rot op kreng (I figured I'd leave the other one out ;-)
Last month was the Croatian Summer Salsa Festival in Rovinj.
If you haven't been there yet... GO !
Stop whatever your doing and run to your boss/parents/travel agent and say that next year, 25 - 28 June, you'll be going to Croatia. You won't regret it.
First I'd like to thank all the organizers.
These guys and girls worked so hard it's incredible (I won't mention your coffee break Danijel ;) and did a great job. As a team they seem to function really well which shows in the way everything is taken care off.
Sure, there were some problems but most of them were transparent to the people there.
As I was one of the volunteers we met a day before the congress started. I was already in Rovinj and was actually planning to meet up with the organizers even sooner but somehow (thanks tourist info) I wasn't able to find them.
We were originally meant to meet up at 2 but as some of the volunteers wouldn't arrive until 4 that got postponed. It was horrible. It meant I had to spent 2 hours at the hotel pool enjoying the wonderful weather. Ah, the sacrifices we have to make in life.
Wednesday evening there was a small pre-party at a square in town where in the end about 15-20 couples were dancing.
Somehow social dancing anxiety hit again with a vengeance so I just sat there and watched them all. That said, I had a great time so I have no reason to complain.
Thursday registration started and the atmosphere was great. I had the day off (more time at the pool for me) so I enjoyed myself until I started 'working' at the party at night.
The party itself was great but unfortunately the airco broke down.
People would go in to dance only to come outside again, drenched in sweat, 15 minutes later.
The hotel where the party was held was aware of this and was trying to get a mechanic out but apparently that's not as easy as it sounds in summertime in Croatia. We were all keeping our fingers crossed for them to get it solved before Saturday's party.
Friday workshops started and the atmosphere was great.
Both the instructors and the attendees were having a great time and my favourite workshop of the day was by Danijel & Ċ½eljka, 2 of the organisers. Unfortunately I didn't tape it though and I have to admit I can't remember what they did. Guess I should have practised it more.
Friday night the party was held in the town square. I was looking forward to it but in the end we waited forever (ok, only 1.5 hours but it felt like forever) for our food so we missed a big part of it including the shows. As I hadn't seen any shows on Thursday that kept my grand total of shows seen at 0.
Saturday is a bit of blur (yeah, I should have written this sooner) but I remember a lot of running around and generally having a good time doing that.
The airco seemed to work better for the party Saturday evening although it was still warm.
The shows were held outside of the hotel and it was packed! There were people everywhere.
Unfortunately the performers had to come from inside to get to the stage which meant we needed to keep a path clear for them. Fair enough but it meant that I didn't get to see any shows on Saturday either. I guess I set a new record. Total of shows seen at a congress ... 0 :-)
Ah well, I'll wait for the DVD to come out I guess.
Then came Sunday. Sunday is famous at the Croatian Salsa Festival for 1 simple reason.... POOL PARTY ! ! !
The party was held at another hotel on an island. We spend 4 hours on a dock in the burning sun checking wristbands. After 5 minutes the heat was already getting to me and as I had forgotten to bring a cap I decided to buy one. Somebody (not sure who anymore, Danijel?) told me not to pay the price they asked and that was good advice. I actually got it for half price.
As I didn't really like any of the caps I decided to go for the most silly one I could find. A white cap with some text written on it in lovely shiny little stones.
Yes, it made me look incredibly gay but it was a great thing for people to comment on so I had lots of fun conversations that helped the time go by quicker.
And, as most people came in waves (there were still workshops going on) we also had time to swim a bit so it all turned out to be great fun.
The hardest part was sending people away. The party had sold out completely and we had to disappoint people that showed up without a ticket (hint, if you're going next year get your tickets for the party in advance).
At 4 the last boat to the island arrived and we got on to finally get to the party ourselves.
Once we got there everybody was enjoying themselves and the atmosphere was great. After we went for a swim to cool down a bit we joined in the dancing and had a blast. Just this party would have been worth coming down for.
As I'd be working at the party at night as well I started making my way back to the mainland around 7. Much sooner then I would have liked to but I guess volunteering has it downsides as well :)
The party at night was pretty relaxed. The highlight for me was that I finally got to dance with Daniela (and don't think you're off the hook just yet... we still have to do drinks next year Daniela ;-). Or rather, half a dance.
I was exhausted and used the end of the song as an excuse to run away and go sit by the pool again.
Then came Monday and it was time to pack up and leave again. Time to go back to reality.
All that was left was a farewell lunch. Sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to most of you. Things got a bit confused when you all went back to the hotel to pick up the floor while I had to leave.
It was great meeting all of you though and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next year !
Some more random memories:
Oh, so you're walter (what can I say, I felt special :-)
Tender chicken (don't ask, you really don't want to know)
me and 5 girls in a Peugeot 206 (yes, life can be pretty good)
Dancing with the sexiest woman at the festival (See, I really wasn't looking to get anything when I said that ;-)
Ice cream in the middle of the night on Sunday (next time we'll have to do that when I'm not exhausted and actually good company. Maybe you'll even get your song then ;-)
Being gay can help you attract women (alledgedly)
We won (hey, Mike said so !)
Nutella (you still owe me 4 private lessons)
Da, volim te (thanks so much for the card. It made my weekend)
Rot op kreng (I figured I'd leave the other one out ;-)
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