Mimosa Festival in Herceg Novi (Praznik mimoze)

Praznik mimoze, the Mimosa Festival, is Herceg Novi's winter festival in honour of the mimosa flower, held since 1969 and also known as Dani mimoze (Mimosa Days). It opens in mid-February and runs for about two weeks over three weekends, with carnival parades, masked balls, the fešta of mimosa, fish and wine, concerts and sports cups. Dates and the full programme of each edition are published by the organisers on praznikmimoze.me; check there, or with the Herceg Novi tourist office, before you travel.

What the festival is

The Tourist Association of Boka Kotorska and the Herceg Novi Municipal Assembly founded the festival to promote tourism. JUK Herceg Fest is its organiser and executive producer, together with the Municipality of Herceg Novi and the Herceg Novi Tourist Organisation. It sits somewhere between a carnival and a folk festival: bundles of mimosa along the streets, fish and wine along the riviera. Its symbols are the Herceg Novi town band (Gradska muzika) and majorettes, the Đenović village band (Mjesna muzika Đenović), the trombonjeri and the maškare.

The organisers' name is Praznik mimoze. "Dani mimoze" is the name used by travel agencies and the press for the same festival. The official programme site, praznikmimoze.me, is in Serbian, English and Russian.

Edition numbers do not follow the founding year: 1969 is given as the first year, yet the 2026 festival was the 57th and the 2027 festival is the 58th.

When it runs

Recent editions opened on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday in mid-February and closed 16 to 18 days later:

The dates have been announced between late October and January: the 2027 programme on 26 October 2026, the 2026 dates at a press presentation in Belgrade in late November 2025, and the 2025 dates by 11 January 2025. A few side events can fall just outside the official dates; in 2026 the karić race Karotrc was held on 1 March, the day after the close.

The programme

The programme changes every year, but its main events come back each edition:

• Opening night: a concert, and in 2026 also a parade from Trg Nikole Đurkovića through the centre, Škver and along the promenade to Igalo, where the mayor handed the city keys to the Kapo, the head of the carnival.
• Berba mimoze (the mimosa harvest), on the first Saturday: the fešta of mimosa, fish and wine along the riviera, the busiest event of the festival with about 20,000 guests a year. In the morning the bands and majorettes parade along the riviera; in 2026 they set off from Kumbor and passed Portonovi and Đenovići on the way to Baošići. A big masked ball follows in the evening.
• International Carnival, on the second Saturday: a procession of carnival groups from Trg Nikole Đurkovića, with performances in Njegoševa street and a show in Park Boke. In 2026 more than 600 participants in 22 groups came from Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria, hosted by Herceg Novi's carnival group Maškare.
• Closing night, on the last weekend: "Suđenje karnevalu", the mock trial of the carnival figure, followed by an open-air concert.

Around these come concerts by regional performers, a children's masked ball, a flower exhibition at Institut Igalo, Skalinada (a race up the town's stairs), the Salon vina wine fair, theatre, literary and folklore evenings, days of guest cities, picigin on the beach, card tournaments of briškula and trešeta, and "Mimoza" cups in football, basketball, sailing, sport fishing, chess and other sports. In 2026 a new programme, "Mimoza na Orjenu", took the festival into the hinterland with a hiking tour, an exhibition on Orjen's katuni and local products.

Where it takes place

Everything happens in Herceg Novi municipality. The official events map lists five places: Igalo, Herceg Novi itself, Đenovići, Bijela and Kumbor, where Portonovi is. Regular venues are Trg Nikole Đurkovića, Škver, the seaside promenade, the Igalo plateau, Park Boke, Njegoševa street, Park Hall (Dvorana Park), Institut Igalo and Raffaello beach; Baošići and Orjen have hosted events too.

The mimosa

The mimosa flowers in winter, when little else on the riviera does, which is why the festival is held in February and why the flower became the trademark of winter tourism on this part of the coast.

Tickets

Some events are ticketed, mainly concerts in halls and the wine fair; tickets are sold online at hercegfestulaznice.me and at the venue box offices. Prices are set for each edition, and the programme on praznikmimoze.me shows which events need a ticket.

Getting there in winter

Tivat and Dubrovnik airports are each less than 40 km from Herceg Novi. From Tivat Airport the road to Herceg Novi can cross the bay on the Kamenari-Lepetane ferry, which also runs through the night; the current timetable is on trajekt.me. Herceg Novi's February climate normals (ZHMS, 1961-1990) are a mean of 8.7 °C, with average daily highs of 12.8 °C and lows of 5.2 °C, and precipitation on 13 days; check the weather before you go. During the 2026 festival Herceg Novi counted more than 20,000 visitors in 15 days and hotel occupancy of 80-100%, so book accommodation early.

For other winter events, see New Year in Montenegro, Montenegro in February and when to visit.