Guča Trumpet Festival

The Guča Trumpet Festival (Serbian: Фестивал трубача у Гучи, romanized: Festival trubača u Guči), also known as the Dragačevski Sabor (Serbian: Драгачевски сабор or Dragačevo Fair (Fete, Gathering or Assembly), pronounced [draɡǎːtʃeʋskiː sǎːbor]), is an annual Balkan brass band festival and competition held in the town of Guča, in the Dragačevo region and Lučani municipality of Serbia.

The festival takes place from Friday to Sunday in early August and includes an opening concert on Friday night, celebrations on Saturday night and a competition on Sunday. The opening concert on Friday includes previous competition winners, each band getting to play three tunes while folk dancers in traditional dress dance kolos and oros. The song Sa Ovčara i Kablara marks the beginning of the festival each year. Apart from the regular brass orchestras, the competition also includes the children and youth orchestras. Elimination heats are held earlier in the year and only a few dozen bands qualify to compete. The competitors are in the most part self-taught. They play by ear and quite spontaneously, relying on their musical memory. Notable regular performers at the festival include Boban Marković, Goran Bregović, Fejat Sejdić, Fanfare Ciocărlia, and Shantel.

Since the festival is free, there is no official count of the number of attendees; however, many publications estimate it to be hundreds of thousands of people per day. It is estimated that from 1961 to 2017, the festival had 16 million visitors. Patrons provide gratuities to bands who play on the street. The festival is popular with foreigners as well as locals, many of whom have never been abroad. The festival is also characterized by many stalls selling beer and local foods, including many pig roasts. Free camping as well as paid showers are provided for attendees. The festival has also been the subject of several documentaries and films.