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There are evenings that simply pass.
And there are evenings that continue to live long after the stage lights fade.
The closing evening of the Children’s Creativity Festival “Zvezdara” was exactly that kind of evening. One of those nights where you remember not only the programme, but the feeling. The smiles. The stage fright of young artists waiting behind the curtain. The looks on their parents’ faces. The applause that comes straight from the heart.
As part of the Prijedor City Day celebrations, the stage belonged to children that evening. To talent. To young people who may still sit in school classrooms, yet already carry within them artistry, courage, and creativity.
We called it “Zvjezdano veče” (“Starry Evening”), because they were the true stars of our city.
The evening opened with Aleksa Malenčić, a student of Jovan Dučić Elementary School in Lamovita, performing the poem “Moj grad” (“My City”). And it felt symbolic that this story began with poetry. With verses about a city that has so much to be proud of. Not only its streets and buildings, but also the children growing into kind, talented, and compassionate people.
Music soon filled the theatre. Lara Badnjević, a student of Desanka Maksimović Elementary School and Savo Balaban Music School, as well as a member of the Scout Troop “Dr Mladen Stojanović”, brought tenderness and emotion with the song “Staza zove nas” (“The Trail Calls Us”). In her performance, one could feel her love for music, for scouting, and that special spark that makes the audience fall silent after the very first notes.
And then came true artistic magic.
The accordion trio of Miloš Zec’s orchestra “Sky Glory” showed just how serious, dedicated, and impressive young talent can be when talent and hard work come together. Milan Pauković, Aleksa Cvijić, and Savan Jovanić performed Jevgenij Derbenko’s Collage on Themes from the Opera “Carmen” by Georges Bizet. The sounds of Bizet’s “Carmen” took on new life through the energy of these young musicians, who guided the audience through rhythm, movement, and emotion.
A particularly special part of the evening were the short films created during the festival workshops. One of them emerged from the workshop “Kako nastaje film” (“How a Film Is Made”), where young participants stepped into the world of cameras, framing, and cinematic storytelling alongside Danijel Špadić and Zoran Pilipović. The second film was created during a workshop at “Neven”, led by our dear Nikolina Fuštar and Jelena Topić from the organisation “Kike-Tačke”. Watching their work, it became clear that children’s creativity knows no limits when given the space to grow. These films were not merely the result of workshops. They were proof of how much children have to say when we truly listen to them.
Perhaps the most beautiful moment of the evening came quietly, through poetry.
During this festival, we realised that poets are not merely our guests. They sit among us. In classrooms. In school hallways. In children’s rooms. That is why a special round of applause belonged to David Marić, a student of Dositej Obradović Elementary School, whose poem “Humanost nas povezuje” (“Kindness Brings Us Together”) reminded everyone present of what matters most: that kindness always finds us when we make room for it among people.
Music continued to connect generations and emotions. Soprano Anđela Stanojević, accompanied on piano by Zorica Novaković, brought a moment of elegance and tenderness with the composition “Gdje si dušo, gdje si rano” (“Where Are You, My Soul, Where Are You, My Wound”).
After her, the enchanting Anja Stupar from the Association for the Preservation of Tradition Prijedor stepped onto the stage and, accompanied on piano by Željko Šormaz, performed the song “Što te nema” (“Why Aren’t You Here”). It was one of those moments when music quiets an entire hall and emotion becomes something shared by everyone listening.
Then, together, we stepped into a world of imagination through the puppet play “Kića i Mića u carstvu crvića” (“Kića and Mića in the Kingdom of Little Worms”), performed by the students of Desanka Maksimović Elementary School in Garevci. Playfulness, laughter, and sincere joy once again reminded us how simple and pure art can be when it comes from a child’s heart.
The audience then enjoyed a powerful performance of the song “Libar”, masterfully performed by Kalina Odicki, a student of “Sveti Sava” Grammar School, a young artist whose voice is already winning over European stages.
And finally, dance.
Exactly the kind of ending an evening like this deserved. Joyful, vibrant, and full of life.
At that moment, the stage was filled with the youngest performers. More than fifty little stars of the Children’s Folklore Ensemble of SKUD “Dr Mladen Stojanović” (Serbian Cultural and Artistic Society “Dr Mladen Stojanović”) completely enchanted the audience with “Igre iz okoline Beograda” (“Dances from the Belgrade Region”), filling the stage with smiles, energy, and playful steps, and earning long and heartfelt applause.
But the festival did not end when the curtain fell.
Quite the opposite.
The life of the festival continued in the theatre foyer, among exhibitions, conversations, children’s excitement, and the aromas of food prepared by the students of the Hospitality School. Visitors had the opportunity to see the works of Boris Eremić’s painting school and the comic art school of “Sveti Sava” Grammar School, as well as innovations created by students of the Electrotechnical School in Prijedor, young people who are already developing ideas worthy of admiration and attention
A special charm was brought by the students of the Hospitality School themselves, who through their effort, presentation, and flavours showed just how much love can live within a profession. Their tables were not merely places for tasting food, but places of encounter, smiles, and togetherness.
And perhaps that is the most important thing “Zvezdara” brought to our city.
Not merely a festival.
But a space where children were given the opportunity to be seen. Heard. Encouraged. Loved for who they are.
Because when we give children a stage, they always show us something far greater than talent.
They show us the future.
And that evening, Prijedor truly had every reason to shine.
❤️
