The twenty-fifth edition of the Nature, hunting, fishing, tourism fair was held from October 7 to 9 2022 in the Arena sports hall in Varaždin, with the support of the City of Varaždin and Varaždin County, and gathered sixty-four exhibitors from Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia.
At the opening ceremony, the director of the Fair, Maja Šimenc, from the company DMK Vall 042, addressed the gathering on behalf of the organizers:
- It is my pleasure to welcome you here today after a full three years since the last holding of our fair, a break caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. First of all, I would like to thank the City of Varaždin and Varaždin County, without whose support, in these complex times, we would not have been able to organize the fair, and along them also to the co-organizers from the Croatian Hunting Association and the Croatian Sports Fishing Association, who are our constant support in the preparation and production of the fair.
Vladimir Sever, president of the Croatian Sports Fishing Association:
- I cannot describe the pleasure and happiness that we are again, for the 25th time, in Varaždin at this wonderful traditional event. I would like to highlight the good cooperation with the Croatian Hunting Association, and I believe that it will continue through the development of this fair. I hope that after these pandemic years, we will all stick together even stronger on this story in order to gain mass and quality as it was in some earlier years.
Ivica Budor, president of the Croatian Hunting Association:
- I am glad that after two years of the pandemic, we are here again at the fair in Varaždin. We have prepared a rich program of side contents, among which I highlight the 24th Hunting horn meeting, a lecture related to the attack of wild game on vehicles in traffic, the promotion of the book "Records of a Hunter" by Ivo Gregurić, and together with the fair we hold a session of the HLS Executive Board
The fair was officially opened by the mayor of Varaždin, Neven Bosilj:
- 25 years is a really nice number and I am proud that we have organizers who were so persistent that they tog to see this silver jubilee. Personally, I consider hunting and fishing to be extremely important activities in the preservation of the environment and ecosystem, and for that reason I especially thank all members of hunting and fishing associations for their daily engagement.
During the ceremonial opening, the director of the fair, Maja Šimenc, awarded certificates of appreciation for their support in the establishment and implementation of the fair throughout all these years to the Croatian Hunting Association, the Croatian Sports Fishing Association and the Varaždin County Hunting Association, and a certificate of appreciation for supporting the implementation of the fair to the only company that participated in all 25 editions – ammunition factory, company M-90, which was taken over by director Alexander Tuček.
The Varaždin County Hunting Association awarded gold plaques to five of its members for 50 years of hunting. This recognition was received by Stjepan Lukinec, Viktor Lazar, Stjepan Dretar, Josip Ereš and Ivan Mihalić.
In addition to the sales part, the organizers, in cooperation with their partners, also prepared interesting entertainment and educational exhibitions, so the exhibition of the Museum of the Croatian Hunting Association "Taxidermy diorama of the Croatian regions" was set up in the Fair Hall, and there was also a corner for children where they could try shooting with a children's bow and arrow and draw and color animals such as deer, bear, wolf,...
All those interested could view the mushroom exhibition of the Smrčak Mushroom Society, which presented more than 140 types of mushrooms to the visitors and prepared a tasting of mushroom products.
The Croatian falconry club presented its 10 birds of prey to the visitors of the fair, among which were the well-known barn owls, hen hawks and peregrine falcons.
The exhibition of small animals, about 40 of them, was prepared by the Association for the Protection and Breeding of Small Animals in 2011, and the sounds of warblers, pheasants and other feathered game could be heard on the fair grounds during all three days.
On the premises of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, a project called "Listen to the voice of nature" was presented on Friday with the aim of encouraging positive changes, attitudes and habits about nature protection and biodiversity conservation. Children had the opportunity to experience a virtual visit to selected protected areas using VR glasses as part of their educational program "Diverterra".
At the fair this year as well, you could check your personal health status with preventive examinations at the "Kaj sad?" Association of Lung Cancer Patients, and on Sunday members of the Nordic Walking Club introduced this activity to all interested parties, which certainly contributes to their health.
Visitors to the Fair had the opportunity to see a selection of the most beautiful photos "Forest through the eyes of a forester" from the photo exhibition of the 17th Bjelovar Photography Fair.
As for professional content, two lectures were held on Friday by the Croatian Forestry Society and the Croatian Chamber of Forestry Engineers and Wood Technology, the first on the topic of growing truffle seedlings and the second on the topic of new challenges in the management of forest stands.
Organized by CHA, a lecture "Vehicle collisions with wild game and what to do next?" was held on Saturday, where a lot of information and explanations about the new regulation were presented. In addition, this year CHA organized the 24th Show of Hunting Horns and Choirs, and the participants held their first performance on Saturday at the Varaždin main square, and later in the fair hall.
The promotion of the book "Records of a Hunter" by Ivo Gregurić was also held.
During Saturday and Sunday, the traditional Fair Cup in shooting flying targets was held in nearby Ljubeščica.
The co-organizer of the Fair, along with CHA / HLS, is the Croatian Sports and Fishing Association, and they presented themselves at the fair through the exhibition area where the recorded successes and trophies of their members were located.
