International Children's Carnival

In early June, Herceg Novi stages its International Children's Carnival — the children's counterpart to the town's famous winter Mimosa carnival, handing the streets and the celebration entirely to the youngest.

Herceg Novi takes carnival seriously: the winter Mimosa celebration is one of the town's defining traditions, and the children's edition extends that identity to the next generation at the sunniest end of spring. The town centre — squares, promenade and the streets between — becomes the parade ground, decked out for its smallest performers.

Masked children's groups from across the region parade through the town centre in costumes they have spent months preparing, and the day's central ritual mirrors the grown-up carnival with a twist: the city keys are ceremonially handed over to the children, making them Herceg Novi's rulers for the day.

Music and dance carry the programme along the route, and the whole town centre takes on the colour and noise of a festival built to a child's scale — smaller marchers, bigger smiles, and an audience of proud families lining the way.

For the town, the day is more than a spectacle: it is how a carnival culture keeps itself alive, teaching children the pride of months of costume-making and the thrill of a crowd's applause, so that the tradition has heirs ready to carry it into the decades ahead.

The carnival is free to watch and joyfully easy to join as a spectator. Early June is a gentle time on the Herceg Novi riviera — warm enough for the beach, calm enough to enjoy the town — and the children's parade makes a memorable centrepiece for a family visit, with the beaches and the seaside promenade filling the rest of the day.