Freo folk group Zagreb to tour Croatia

NORTH Fremantle folk group Zagreb is dancing on sunshine today after locking in contributions from the cities of Fremantle and Cockburn to tour Croatia next year.
Vice president Raymond Pecotic said the dance group was delighted, with 75 dancers and 35 members of their families expressing interest in joining the cultural ‘excursion’ during school holidays in July.
“For a moment I thought, ‘What have I got myself into?’” he told Freo StreetWise after FPOL last night voted to chip in $5000, adding many of its younger members have never visited Croatia while older members held strong ancestral ties to their homelands.
“The dances they learn are from all different regions of Croatia, so they are getting a taste of different dialects through the songs they sing, different costumes and customs. Now they have an opportunity to see the places these dances come from and regions they represent.”
The City of Cockburn also has chipped in, with City representatives including Mayor Logan Howlett having visited Croatia on May 7 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its ‘Sister City’ agreement with Split. A delegation from Split is due in WA in October.
The mayors of Split’s sister cities across the world were invited to attend, Mayor Howlett having met the Croatian President and members of the Parliament.
Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Fremantle’s ‘Friendship City’ agreement with the City of Korcula, Mr Pecotic said the 2024 tour  is expected to be an emotional one.
“We start in Zagreb then Vukovar, which was a city that was under siege for three months in 1991 and completely destroyed during the homeland war,” he said, adding the tour also coincides with a three-day international folk festival in Dakovo, 240km southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb.
Mr Pecotic said the Croatian Government is incredibly supportive of reconnecting with its diaspora and ensuring second and third generations are engaged with their rich culture and history.
A branch of the WA Croatian Community Centre, the group has about 90 members aged five to 55 who meet twice a week for rehearsals and performances.
“These children will come back with a completely new appreciation and perspective and much stronger bonds among themselves. It is an experience they will never forget,” Mr Pecotic said.
Born in WA, the father of three said the generous contributions by Fremantle and Cockburn reflected the rich cultural traditions and contributions the Croatian community has made and shared with the local community across the arts, business, local government and sports.
“South Fremantle Football Club recently celebrated its Croatian football team of the century,” he said, the honour acknowledging greats such as Dorotich, Gaspar, Jakovich, Sumich, Pavlich and Gerovich.
“And that’s just one link to the South Fremantle football club.”
From 1892 onwards, many Croatians arrived in Fremantle and headed for the eastern goldfields working as  woodcutters, truck loaders and drivers on the ‘woodlines’ which provided timber to the mine furnaces. By the start of  WW1, Croatian migrants settled in the Swan Valley, Spearwood, Fremantle and Osborne Park, most employed in timber work, market gardening and fishing.
Fremantle also has ‘friendship’ agreements with Surabaya and Padang, Indonesia, and Lushunkou, China, and ‘Sister City’ relationships with Seberang Perai, Malaysia, Yokosuka in Japan, Capo d’Orlando and Molfetta, Italy, and Funchal, Portugal.
Cockburn’s sister cities include Mobile in Alabama, US, and Yueyang, Hunan, China.
The City of Perth has nine sister cities including Kagoshima, Japan; Houston, Texas; Taipei, Taiwan; and Chengdu, China.
Read about Fremantle’s sister cities in the October 2018 issue of Freo StreetWise, available at streetwisemedia.com.au.