Burning of the carnivals mascot in Mošćenička Draga

The traditional burning of the carnival doll takes place on Ash Wednesday. In Mošćenička Draga which is celebrating this event for the 37th year, the famous Gobo – the character guilty for everything - will be once again put into a rocket and launched into space!

The Kvarner has a rich tradition of carnivals, and the tradition of burning of the carnival man-like doll in MOŠĆENIČKA DRAGA is unique. The doll is burned on Ash Wednesday, when throughout the Kvarner area the carnival craziness winds down. But in Mošćenička Draga, a small tourist resort about 15 km south from Opatija, the carnival doll is literally launched by a rocket into space since the day when man (Neil Armstrong) set his foot on the Moon for the first time.

The idea to launch the carnival doll was born in Mošćenička Draga in the now distant year 1969 and since then it was enacted at the Draga Quay almost every year. The event drew more and more spectators every year, and has developed into a small spectacle; last year around 3.000 spectators watched the event.

Event starts, as always with a stage-managed court trial of the Gobo (gobo in Italian=guilty, hunchbacked) who is always guilty of everything that happened in the previous year. According to the screenplay, the trial is a veritable theatre play which, along with Gobo includes the judge, the prosecutor, the defence lawyer and one well known political person. This year, as we have confidentially found out this person will come from the European Union. The trial itself is preceded by a theatrical escorting of the Gobo followed by the executioner. The entire theatre play is accompanied by a funeral march and after the trial the ‘live’ Gobo is magnificently launched by a rocket into space. Of course, there is a little trick involved, because the live Gobo always manages to hide somehow before the launching, after which there comes the countdown and a big – boom! The twenty-meter high rocket which is assembled for this occasion every year with fire and a big bang flies toward the sky. The spectacle ends every time with another bang – magnificent fireworks.

The entire play lasts about an hour and a half and is truly an unforgettable experience. There will be a parade of carnival flags of all the carnival towns. This, we believe, is an excellent overture into the described spectacle.