“Guca Is Not Just a Trumpet Festival”: Finals at 6 PM

Sixteen trumpet orchestras take the stage in Guca tonight for the finals of Serbia’s national trumpet orchestra competition, “Sa Ovcara i Kablara.” The official program of the 65th Dragacevo Trumpet Festival lists a 6 PM start, with the awards ceremony set for 10:45 PM.

Today is the third and final day of the festival, which runs from August 7 to 9, 2026. Guca has held the event since 1961, making this year’s gathering a milestone edition. Tonight’s contest on the stadium stage decides who carries the title of best trumpet, and the winning orchestras return next August as laureates, opening the festival’s main stage.

This year’s host is basketball player Marko Keselj, state secretary at the Ministry of Sports, who raised the festival flag at the opening ceremony.

“Guca is not just a trumpet festival, it’s a place where people, tradition and emotion come together. I am deeply honored to be this year’s host.”

Keselj said this addressing the crowd in Guca at the start of the festival, which we covered ahead of the opening. After the flag was raised, several orchestras played “Mars na Drinu” together, followed by the festival anthem.

What the Final Day Looks Like

Sunday in Guca starts early and ends past midnight. The schedule runs as follows:

• 7 AM, trumpeters’ wake up call at the Trumpeter’s Monument
• 10:30 AM, opening of the Old Dragacevo Wedding in the courtyard of the Trumpet Museum
• 11 AM, festival procession and wedding procession through the streets of Guca
• 2 PM, performance by the “Abrasevic” cultural arts society from Cacak on the Culture Center stage
• 4 PM, children’s art ensemble from Grac, led by Julijana Protic
• 6 PM, finals of the competition at the stadium

The program is not limited to the competition. The procession through the small town and the wedding in the museum courtyard are a big part of why many people come at all.

Who Performs After the Awards?

At 9 PM, the People’s Orchestra takes the stage under conductor Vlada Panovic, joined by Dejan Jevdjic’s trumpet orchestra. Singing with them are Nada Topcagic, Rade Jorovic, Marina Stankic and Nenad Manojlovic. Awards are handed out at 10:45 PM, and Jevdjic opens his own concert at 11:15 PM.

That means the orchestras crowned best tonight celebrate their win right away, on the same spot and in front of the same crowd. No pause, no waiting until tomorrow.

What Happened Over the Previous Two Days

Friday’s lineup featured Bojan Ristic and Dejan Petrovic’s Big Band. Saturday was the strongest night for names, with Boban Markovic, Dejan Lazarevic and Ekrem Mamutovic performing back to back. That same evening also brought last year’s winners: the orchestras of Vladimir Ivanovic, Elvis Bajramovic, Dragacevo Trumpets and an orchestra from Knjazevac.

Lucani municipality president Milija Milenkovic warned of large crowds.

“We expect a large number of guests, and I believe this year’s festival will once again confirm why Guca is a symbol of the trumpet, tradition and hospitality.”

According to media reporting from the scene, the opening drew a noticeably bigger crowd than in previous years.

How Many People Actually Pass Through Guca

No one counts visitors at the entrance, because there is no entrance to count them at. There is, however, one figure that shows every year just how much strain the small town is under. During last year’s 64th festival, traffic police recorded 756 violations in stepped up road checks between August 8 and 10.

On top of that, accommodation in Guca and the surrounding area sold out before this year’s festival even began, with prices reaching up to 800 euros for the festival days. If the municipality’s estimate holds, last year’s traffic figure could easily be topped once the festival wraps up and the entire stretched out departure afternoon is added to the count.

The last note falls after midnight. Until then, Guca still has one more final, one more procession and one more wedding ahead of it.