Makarska has just given spring travelers a much sharper mid-May reason to stop on the Riviera than a generic sunset dinner. In a newly published official update, the Makarska Tourist Board confirms that Autentica Food & Wine Festival returns on 15 May at Kačić Square, with a full-day public program built around local producers, show cooking, workshops, gastro walks, cocktails and an evening Songkillers concert. The same announcement also adds a practical extra for people staying longer: throughout May, selected Makarska restaurants are serving a Dalmatian marenda at a fixed price of 12 EUR.
Before you go: if you are driving in for the day, recheck the official HAK traffic report before leaving, because coastal access and A1 approach conditions can shift quickly in May. If you are planning your evening around the concert, use the official festival page as your final timing reference.
Why this one clears the bar
There are plenty of coastal event listings in May that do not really help travelers do anything. This one is different because the official program is specific enough to plan around now. Makarska is not asking visitors to show up for a vague food weekend sometime later in spring. It has published a dated, place-specific lineup for Thursday, 15 May, starting in the morning and running into the evening on the town's main square.
Time | Official Autentica program item | Why it matters for visitors |
|---|---|---|
10:00 to 21:00 | Food & Wine Market with local products, wines and delicacies | Best window if you want a flexible drop-in visit rather than a fixed seated event |
11:00 to 13:00 | Show cooking with chefs David Skoko and Ivan Vukoja, with students from Makarska's vocational school | Strongest part of the daytime program if you care about local food culture, not just snacking |
14:00 to 16:00 | Gastro patrol with chef David Skoko and food blogger Tina Gazin | Useful if you want a guided format rather than wandering stall to stall |
18:00 to 19:00 | Autentica Fit spring bruschetta session with Tina Gazin | Good late-afternoon option if you are arriving after the beach or Skywalk Biokovo |
20:00 | Songkillers concert | The clearest reason to stay into the evening instead of treating this as a quick daytime stop |
The official festival visuals suggest this is built as much around local producers and regional taste as around the evening entertainment.
What travelers should actually plan around
The smartest way to use this update is not to ask whether Makarska has food events in May. It clearly does. The useful question is what kind of stop you want to build. If you are based on the Makarska Riviera already, the broad market hours make this easy to use as a slow daytime visit with a longer evening finish. If you are coming from Split or another part of central Dalmatia, the real decision is whether to do a same-day food stop or turn it into an overnight stay so the evening concert and dinner atmosphere do not force a rushed return.
The official program also shows that this is not just a drinking event with a few decorative bites. It mixes market browsing, traditional sweets, school-linked cooking, a children's workshop, a restaurant walk and a named cocktail launch. One of the more local details in the announcement is the presentation of the signature cocktail Makarana, created by Poetica Distillery to mark 120 years of organized tourism in Makarska.
The small detail that makes the story more useful
The best practical hook is the month-long side offer. The tourist board says that throughout May, Makarska restaurants participating in the festival are serving a Dalmatian marenda for 12 EUR, focused on dishes built around blue fish. That matters because not every reader can or should be pushed into a one-day event story. If 15 May does not fit your schedule exactly, the marenda element still gives you a live seasonal reason to eat in town before the summer crush arrives.
If you are shaping a wider Riviera stay around this, our earlier Makarska Riviera beaches guide helps with the base-choice side of the trip, while Autentica gives you the food-calendar reason to lock the date.
What not to assume
Do not assume the whole festival is a seated tasting with limited access. The official wording points much more toward an open public square format with several layers of programming. But do not assume you can improvise everything either. If the chef sessions or gastro walk are the part you care about most, it is worth using the official tourist-board page as the last pre-departure check in case timing or logistics are refined again.
Also do not confuse the month-long marenda idea with a full Riviera-wide operational pass. The hard, traveler-safe claim here is the official Makarska program for 15 May and the Makarska restaurant offer through May. Anything broader should be treated as secondary unless you confirm it directly with the local organizer pages you plan to use.
FAQ
When is the Autentica Food & Wine Festival in Makarska?
According to the official Makarska Tourist Board update, the main public festival program takes place on 15 May 2026 at Kačić Square in Makarska.
What time does the Makarska festival start?
The official market program starts at 10:00 and runs until 21:00, with individual workshops and cooking sessions scheduled through the day and the Songkillers concert set for 20:00.
What is the 12 EUR Dalmatian marenda?
The Makarska Tourist Board says selected Makarska restaurants will serve a Dalmatian marenda at a fixed price of 12 EUR through May, focused on simple regional dishes including blue fish.