Festival “Biserna grana”, as unique in Serbia and region, present beauty of material cultural heritage for more than decade. Festival main aim is to present and protect national costumes, jewelries and headbands. With more than 500 participants per year, through the years became important event for ethnologist, heritage experts and cultural society; also for Novi Sad city (Futog settlement), Serbia and region. Every year, five days in October, people interested in material cultural heritage have opportunity to see, feel and learn about the beauty of the heritage. Festival team, considering good practice over the year, expands their event by workshops, exhibitions in Serbia and region. Europe nations, with all the differences, when we talk about national costume have a lot almost identical units so Festival try to present small things that can became a large one for European nations connecting and making better relations and understanding.

National costume, jewellery and headbands represent important heritage element for every nation, but according to Festival “Biserna grana” opinion, less-favoured element. Specially, this less-favoured position is visible on Serbia territory. Considering this fact, Festival “Biserna grana” organization team think that situation must be changed importantly because we, as nations, will be in situations where new generation would not know anything about cultural heritage. So Festival aim is awareness raising in field of national costume, jewellery and headbands protecting and conservation. As many project in beginning, first steps were not easy and simple, but Festival “Biserna grana” team persistence and wish to success identified aim made Festival “Biserna grana” as successful, important and recognized. In first years it was even hard to find out expert, ethnologists to participate on Festival. Through the year’s situation changed in positive direction. Awareness raising process about cultural heritage expanded and every year Festival “Biserna grana” has more and more participants. National costume protection, as simple as it looks like, is requisite process with many participants. Maybe protection process can be adequately and quality explained by example of one national costume element. This time it could be one female skirt. First thing to begin with is introducing with a unit – skirt material, skirt length, color, ornaments on the skirt, belt, everything that someone can see on first look. By this information’s expert can define period, territory, nation or national minority. Than the process go on, defining ornaments and producing techniques (only in moment of exploring ornaments and producing techniques you can realize how many techniques exist and how different and similar in same moment techniques are on European territory). Also there are many other questions to explore and define – style, are some additional elements, skirt owner social-economic status. All this exploring and defining phases include many people, experts, cultural-art society members, people that do conversation and make new national costume units. In shortest this is explanation of protecting only one element of national costume. For every element of national costume, jewellery and headbands we can make long list of protecting and conversation process. And difficulties in such process are numerous, especially in conversation process and made a new element, unit – finding adequate material, ornament reconstruction (photos are very important supporting mean…). Considering the fact of more than 500 participants per year on every Festival “Biserna grana” it is easy to perceive diversity and beauty of every festivals element, every element of national costume, jewellery and headbands on each participant. Festival “Biserna grana” beauty is presented by new relationships, connections between festival participants. Europe in all beauty of national costume, jewellery and headbands can be motive for every Festival “Biserna grana” for 10 years. Explanations about every element on workshops, seminars are very important, invaluable so Festival team know importance of written word and made material in that sense but also electronically version for modern, digital generation. Although, when we see learning material that belong to our workshops mentors, moderators, the fact is that such material can became a part of cultural heritage and should be protected for future generations.

Festival “Biserna grana” European dimension, since year 2008, is one of the main Festival characteristic. Every day we are in contact, on many different ways, with our heritage and Festival is trying to connect all this elements in completeness and present it in one place in first week in October. Considering all above mentioned, Festival organize national costume presentation by defile trough Novi Sad city center streets. Festival participants (from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Hungary, representatives of national’s minorities from the region…) dressed in original national costumes units represent all European cultural heritage diversity. After defile Festival team organize a special event where few national costume are choose, male and female, and expert from the national costumes field, define and explain every national costume element, part, period when was made, how it was dressed, what present in social, economic, life sense in period when that national costume was elementary clothing. After that, expert in national costume restoration field and expert in producing specific elements of national costumes, present producing process and possibilities for such producing process in present period. During the years, Festival expert associates circle is expanding and every year, we can say with a pride, have new associates with new knowledge that expand perspective and make an opportunity to be better informed about heritage and enjoy in it. National costume, considering the made years, should be protected in different ways considering national costume elements (there is important difference in trousers and necklace conservation) so we make an effort to inform public in adequate sense and devote necessary attention to protecting, conservation process. So quality cooperation with cultural-art societies from Serbia, region and Europe is very important for Festival and theirs participation on Festival. Cultural-art society members are in every day contact with national costumes, members are very devoted in protecting and adequate presenting material and non-material cultural heritage. One of the Festival specialties is musical heritage presenting and protecting, because every cultural-art society presentation include musical-scene presentation (it could be musical-scene presentation of one important, usually happy, life event – for example cultural-art society members are dressed like in first part of 20 century and perform propose of a girl event). One of Festival additional activity is painting exhibition, national costume paintings exhibition in aim of approaching cultural heritage to modern generations. All this Festival activities are directed to general Festival aim – trough every day elements of different European nations (clothing is something without what we cannot live every day and accessories are personal identity elements) present cultural heritage elements in unique completeness and present importance of protecting heritage because, regardless the difference that may be visible, by national costumes we can see how such differences are minor (sometimes on firs view is really hard to define the period of original national costume, nationality and territory so education about national costume, accessories and headbands is necessary).