MIK memorable moments

Refugee camp at this border locality was the first stop on the way to "greener pastures" of the West for people from Istria, Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe. The camp had a meeting room equipped with the luxury item called TV set.

One evening someone tuned to the JRT channel and noticed that MIK concert was on the way. This attracted the attention from the Istrians in the room and they took seats to watch. After some time a man walked in and asked to switch to RAI, so he can watch a western movie there. When the rest of the viewers refused to change the channel, the man announced that he was going to get police and report that "you people are watching communist TV". People ignored him, and he walked out. Ten minutes later, he was back, and this time with the camp police officer. The officer was signor Marino, originally from Izola, whom we all knew and liked, and often shared prosciutto and wine with, when relatives form Istria came for a visit. He walked in with the man that wanted to watch cowboys on RAI, stood in the back of the room and watched the MIK concert till the end.

Novi Vinodolski, 1973

On the way to the final concert in Novi Vinodolski, a large Ford passed us. Being that the Ford was a rarity on the roads those days, it was easy to figure out that it belonged to the legendary Ivo Robić, who lived in Ičići. Of course, by following it we go to Novi and to MIK without getting lost. Robić, being the top singer in the country, and engagements everywhere, had no time to learn the lyrics for his song, and read it as he was singing from a sheet of paper. The song was difficult for the ear and didn't do too well in audience vote. The star singer had to take it, simply, because he was - Ivo Robić!

Rijeka, 2006 (1)

During the rehearsal at Karolina Riječka pier, an unusual squeaky sound started coming from the area behind the stage, that is, from the end of the pier. Several people, sitting in the spectators' area started guessing what the sound was. Someone said seagulls - but there was none flying around... but they could have been on the water behind the pier. Good enough explanation, until Mirjana Bobuš noticed that the back stage panel was moving and figured out that the sound was coming from the winch, hoisting the back stage fishermen net. Someone immediately commented: "Too bad. Mirjana was already going to write a song about seagulls." Explanation of the joke: Mirjana Bobuš has written songs about anything and everything that one's eyes, ears, and heart can detect on Kvarner.

Rijeka, 2006 (2)

The song "Mojoj hćeri", written and sung by Mirjana Bobuš, is one of those songs that all mothers can identify with. During the concert, Mary (from New York) noticed tears on the face of the woman sitting next to her. She took a napkin from her purse and offered it to the neighbor. Next song the same thing happened. Only this time both women had tears on their cheeks. The neighbor said to Mary: "You are crying too?" "Yes", Mary replied, "but not about this song - because I don't understand Italian. I am still crying from the previous one." The song in Italian (dialect of Pula/Pola) was "Pola son qua" by Galiano Pahor.