|
|
|
|
“I decided to check out the exterior of the Exit Fest and walked out of the gates. Once you are out of the gates, you are not allowed in again. What now!? I thought I would wander around and drink beer with some random folks. There were tons of foreigners and Serbs from all over Serbia at every corner. I found...” – Charles Cather, blogger and teacher, contributor and honourable member of the Urban Book Circle.
|
|
Coat of arms of Serbia
on the flag of the United States
|
Charles Cather (United States, 1976) is an American blogger and teacher. Originally from Greenup, Illinois, Charles entered the public eye upon leaving his job in the United States to visit and tour Serbia. Charles lives and works in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia and plans on visiting every town, village and city in the country. He is the coach of the baseball club Gradolica Beckerek in Zrenjanin and was recently appointed Development and Equipment Coordinator of the Serbian Lacrosse Federation. He teaches the English language to highschool students throughout Serbia and has volunteered as a firefighter in Nis. Cather is a contributor and honourable member of the Urban Book Circle (Canada).
|
|
No Thanks
|
A funny situation happened to me this morning. I kept the name of the bar out of the story to keep the employees from getting in trouble.
Last night, I stopped off in a little bar that is in some hidden little passage in Novi Sad. I didn’t have a place to leave my two bags and asked this pretty little bartender if there were any storage places in the city where I could lock up my bags until the next day. She was such a sweetie. She told me that she would just lock my things up in their shop next door and I could get them anytime. Most sane people wouldn’t hand over their computer and other items to a strange bartender but she was pretty and Serbian so I knew I could trust her.
Last night, I stopped off in a little bar that is in some hidden little passage in Novi Sad. I didn’t have a place to leave my two bags and asked this pretty little bartender if there were any storage places in the city where I could lock up my bags until the next day. She was such a sweetie. She told me that she would just lock my things up in their shop next door and I could get them anytime. Most sane people wouldn’t hand over their computer and other items to a strange bartender but she was pretty and Serbian so I knew I could trust her.
|
|
Crowd at Dance Arena by Bernard Bodo, Exit photo team
|
I ended up going to Exit Fest at 9:00 PM. My camera guy and I interviewed a
group of beautiful English and Welsh gals, shot some footage of the Pet Shop
Boys and of tons of the stages, etc. I left him around 2:00 AM to check out the
different stages. It was rainy and cold all night long. I was only wearing
shorts and a small t-shirt.
I decided to check out the exterior of the Exit Fest and walked out of the gates. Once you are out of the gates, you are not allowed in again. What now!? I thought I would wander around and drink beer with some random folks. There were tons of foreigners and Serbs from all over Serbia at every corner. I found some great people to help me pass a few hours. 4:00 AM came and I was still wandering the streets of Novi Sad in the rain: their isn’t much that is open at 4:00 AM in Serbia.
I decided to check out the exterior of the Exit Fest and walked out of the gates. Once you are out of the gates, you are not allowed in again. What now!? I thought I would wander around and drink beer with some random folks. There were tons of foreigners and Serbs from all over Serbia at every corner. I found some great people to help me pass a few hours. 4:00 AM came and I was still wandering the streets of Novi Sad in the rain: their isn’t much that is open at 4:00 AM in Serbia.
Novi Sad is the Capital of Vojvodina province, the northern part of Republic of Serbia. The city is situated on the left bank of the Danube River, about 80 km from Belgrade.
|
Exit (also known as State of Exit) is an award-winning summer music festival which is held at the Petrovaradin Fortress in the city of Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia. It was officially proclaimed as the 'Best Major European festival' at the EU Festival Awards, which were held in Groningen in January 2014. The EU Festival Award is considered one of the most prestigious festival awards in the world, and for the 2014 ceremony 620 000 people voted, choosing between 360 festivals from 34 countries.
|
I thought I would head to the bus station to get back home so I could sleep but remembered that I had left my bag in that bar! I hadn’t the slightest idea where I had found that little bar. Ha ha ha! There were lots of folks walking around the center, but none of them had heard of that bar! After over an hour of searching for it, I found it! They weren’t scheduled to open till 9:00 AM. I killed as much time as I could till a coffee shop opened.
At 9:00 AM I popped over to the bar. The front door was open and a guy and a gal were sleeping on the couch! Ha ha! I cleared my throat, but they didn’t wake. I finally said, “IZVINITE” pretty loudly. This guy opened his eyes and jumped up. I asked him if they were open and he said that they were. I asked him if it was normal for the employees to be sleeping on the couch during work hours. He said that they had all been to Exit Fest all night and hadn’t slept. LOL! He knew why I was there and went to get my bag for me. I thanked him for going through all of the trouble of keeping my bag, etc. He said that it was no problem at all and that they were happy to help. I offered to buy him a coffee for all of his issues and he said, “No thanks. I am going to go back in and go to sleep till someone else comes in!”
At 9:00 AM I popped over to the bar. The front door was open and a guy and a gal were sleeping on the couch! Ha ha! I cleared my throat, but they didn’t wake. I finally said, “IZVINITE” pretty loudly. This guy opened his eyes and jumped up. I asked him if they were open and he said that they were. I asked him if it was normal for the employees to be sleeping on the couch during work hours. He said that they had all been to Exit Fest all night and hadn’t slept. LOL! He knew why I was there and went to get my bag for me. I thanked him for going through all of the trouble of keeping my bag, etc. He said that it was no problem at all and that they were happy to help. I offered to buy him a coffee for all of his issues and he said, “No thanks. I am going to go back in and go to sleep till someone else comes in!”
The Best Music Festival in Europe
This is the best music festival in Europe. I had many foreigners that took a moment to let me interview them. They all loved Exit and said it was their favorite music fest ever. They all had great things to say about Serbian people...
1.
|
2.
|
3.
|
1. These two were from England. The guy was on the cover of 24 Sata. He has been to every Exit Fest and said it is his favorite in the world. He loves Serbs.
2. My buddy and I by the Exit sign.
3. This was a group of crazy dudes from Ireland, Scotland and England. I had a blast talking with them. They gave a great interview. They also had great things to say about Serbian people.
4.
|
5.
|
6.
|
4. My crazyyy Serbian buddy.
5. This was a group of beautiful young Canadian Serbs. They were very happy to be here for Exit. We had a great interview.
6. My Serbian boys from Florida!!! They are living in the USA, but their heart is in Serbia.
|
|
__________________________
__________________________
|
|
Charles Cather, blogger and teacher
|
Note: The Urban Book Circle does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that the Urban Book Circle has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our Terms and Conditions.
|
|
Column & Photographs: Charles Cather
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Charles Cather
Photo of Crowd at Dance Arena courtesy of Bernard Bodo, Exit photo team
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Bernard Bodo, Exit photo team
Photos of Exit 2013 and Exit 2014 courtesy of Exit photo team
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Exit photo team
Design & Artwork by Djuradj Vujcic
Illustrated by Sarah Riordan
Edited by Prvoslav Vujcic
and Deidre McAuliffe
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Urban Book Circle
C O N T A C T
Published by Urban Book Circle on July 31, 2014
Urban Book Circle® (UBC)
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Charles Cather
Photo of Crowd at Dance Arena courtesy of Bernard Bodo, Exit photo team
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Bernard Bodo, Exit photo team
Photos of Exit 2013 and Exit 2014 courtesy of Exit photo team
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Exit photo team
Design & Artwork by Djuradj Vujcic
Illustrated by Sarah Riordan
Edited by Prvoslav Vujcic
and Deidre McAuliffe
All rights reserved 2014. Copyright © Urban Book Circle
C O N T A C T
Published by Urban Book Circle on July 31, 2014
Urban Book Circle® (UBC)
Urban Book Circle: a circle of the gifted, literate and brave.
