Zmaj Children Games (Serbian: Змајеве дечије игре / Zmajeve dečije igre) is one of the biggest festivals for children in Serbia and the Novi Sad region. Named after Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, one of the most famous Serbian poets and writers of children's literature, the festival is held annually in June and December in Novi Sad, the capital of the Serbian province of Vojvodina.
The first festival was held in June 1958 under the name "Festival of literature for children, drama and puppet theatre" ("Фестивал дечије поезије, драме и луткарског позоришта"). Its organizer is Matica Srpska in Novi Sad. In 1969, the name was changed to Zmaj Children Games.
The main idea behind the festival is to gather writers, illustrators, critics, publishers, editors and readers of children's literature from Serbia and beyond. The Zmaj Children Games have their own publishing in the form of the magazine "Детињство" (Childhood) and hold a gathering of well respected children's literature authors in Zmaj Jovina Street 26.
Every June for a few days, children's plays, concerts, and shows gather children from Novi Sad and its surrounding region in Zmaj Jovina Street (the main street in Novi Sad's city centre).
Famous quotes containing the words children and/or games:
“Affection, indulgence, and humor alike are powerless against the instinct of children to rebel. It is essential to their minds and their wills as exercise is to their bodies. If they have no reasons, they will invent them, like nations bound on war. It is hard to imagine families limp enough always to be at peace. Wherever there is character there will be conflict. The best that children and parents can hope for is that the wounds of their conflict may not be too deep or too lasting.”
—New York State Division of Youth Newsletter (20th century)
“Intelligence and war are games, perhaps the only meaningful games left. If any player becomes too proficient, the game is threatened with termination.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)