6th Dubica Autumn Fair Held

The Autumn Fair in Gornja Dubica near Odžak is a traditional economic and cultural event that gathers local producers, craftsmen, and numerous visitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the diaspora. The fair is aimed at popularizing authentic domestic products, preserving tradition, and strengthening the unity of the Posavina region.

This past weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, the sixth annual Dubica Autumn Fair was held in Gornja Dubica near Odžak.

"Following the opening on Friday, we prepared lunch for our guests and friends on Saturday and Sunday, which was followed by a cultural and artistic program," says one of the main organizers of the fair, Petar Tadić. He notes that what truly defined the character of this fair was unity—firstly among the organizers themselves, and then among the guests, exhibitors, and visitors.

"We all put in the effort to give this fair the kind of soul that a beautiful event should have for a village and for our municipality. God willing, this event will expand beyond the borders of our municipality. Our friends answered our call, providing an opportunity for conversations and agreements for the future, because we all want people to stay in Posavina and we want our youth to return to us as soon as possible," says Petar. He emphasizes that while all exhibitors up until this year had been from Odžak, this edition featured participants from Gradačac, Brčko, and the Republic of Croatia.

"We have great cooperation with people who mostly manufacture their own products, and in this way, we helped them showcase their work to other communities. Next year we will go even harder; we've seen that we can do it and that people love these kinds of gatherings. There was a very, very beautiful atmosphere, accompanied by traditional original music, which is an indispensable part of every experience here," Tadić proudly highlights.

The parish of Gornja Dubica belongs to the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna and is located in the Dobor deanery alongside fourteen other parishes in that part of Bosnian Posavina. The seat of the parish is located in the village of Gornja Dubica. The parish community consists of six settlements: Gornja and Donja Dubica, Osječak, Papučija, Vojskova, and Zorice. Before the Homeland War, it had 5,460 parishioners living in 1,250 family homes. Half of the displaced parishioners had returned by the year 2000. Today, there are 1,500 of them, as Novo Selo was separated from the parish in 2001 to establish a new one. In addition to the main parish church, they also have three branch churches.