Roštiljijada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leskovac Grill FestivalРоштиљијада
Roštiljijada |
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A typical stand
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| Location(s) | Leskovac, Serbia |
| Years active | from 1989, annually |
The Roštiljijada (pronounced Rosh-til-yee-yah-dah) is a super fun yearly festival! It's also known as the Leskovac Grill Festival. This exciting event happens every September in Leskovac, a city in Serbia.
Imagine a whole street filled with the delicious smell of grilled meat! That's what happens during Roštiljijada. The main street in Leskovac closes for five days and nights. It turns into a giant outdoor restaurant with many grill stands. People come from all over Serbia and even from other countries to enjoy the food and fun.
The festival also has cool competitions. One of the most famous is making the world's biggest pljeskavica. A pljeskavica is like a giant, tasty burger! This festival is definitely the biggest event of the year in Leskovac.
To make the festival even more exciting, the local tourism group plans many activities. They organize concerts, fashion shows, and even a Miss Election. There's also a big carnival! The organizers have worked hard to make it a top event, similar to the famous Oktoberfest in Munich.
Roštiljijada is one of the most popular tourist events in Serbia. In 2013, a record 600,000 people visited the festival! More than 200 barbecue stands were cooking up delicious food. Many visitors come from nearby countries like Slovenia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece, Hungary, Romania, and even France.
World Records for Giant Burgers
The Leskovac Grill Festival is famous for its world records! In September 2016, a new record was set for the world's biggest Pljeskavica. This giant burger weighed 63 kilograms (about 139 pounds)! It was 169 centimeters (about 66 inches) wide and 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) thick.
A talented grill master named Predrag Lazarević and his team made this huge burger. Another grill master, Ljubiša Đorđević, had previously held the record in 2009 with a 49-kilogram (about 108-pound) pljeskavica.
International Carnival Fun
In 2009, Leskovac officially became an International Carnival City. This means it joined a special group called The Association of European Carnival Cities. This group has over 50 members from Europe and America.
The Leskovac carnival happens during the Roštiljijada festival. About 1,200 people take part in the carnival parade. A big part of these participants, about one-third, come from other countries! The city government even thought about making the carnival a separate big event to attract even more tourists.
