May 24–25, 1998
Invitational Composers’ Competition

After the first invitational composers’ competition on the theme Bread, Grain, Harvest, which resulted in 14 new solo songs, the organizers of this year’s Days of Josif Marinković decided that the new theme would be Hilandar, as 1998 marked the 800th anniversary of this Serbian sanctuary.

We have no data on how the social life of Jews in Novi Bečej and Vranjevo was organized. However, there remains a general impression among those who remembered that time that the main strength that united them was their religious community, which followed the development of the community and sought to organize assistance whenever a family faced difficulties.

Folk songs like "Hey homesteads, I will come to you again..." or "Hey homesteads in the north of Bačka," with their exceptional melody and perhaps perfectly chosen words, awaken a longing for homesteads even in those who have never experienced their charms in reality.

In the photographs that tell a story of the past, we see Boško Maksić, known as "Šeboj," once a symbol of hard work and prosperity. Born in Kuman, he was a wealthy farmer and a respected member of his community. However, after World War II, his life took a tragic turn. The forced expropriation of his property by the regime completely shattered his life and stability.

The first parliamentary elections for the Constituent Assembly were called only two years after the unification, at a time when the bourgeoisie believed it had achieved a certain level of international and internal consolidation.

After the Obznana proclamation of 1920, the authorities banned the activities of SKOJ, the revolutionary youth organization of the working class, which also gathered a significant number of rural young people. Despite frequent police raids and arrests, the organization was re-established in Kuman in 1923 and continued to operate illegally until the dictatorship of 1929.

May 25–27, 1995
Open Competition for Solo Singers

After the first two “Horizons on the Tisa,” the organizers began preparations for the third festival with even greater enthusiasm and foresight.

Our prominent writer, Isidora Sekulić, says about the homeland:
“Where is the homeland for people? It’s where others around them understand, completely and deeply, what they say, from the last external and internal tremor of their language, they understand what delights them and what hurts them.

Banat, a vast and fertile plain, but densely dotted with swamps and river branches, became a hub of migration for various peoples in the second half of the 18th century. The indigenous peoples, Serbs and Hungarians, were greatly reduced after the Austro-Turkish wars and the plague epidemics, and the vast areas were empty.

A turning point for Zvezda, and perhaps for football in Novi Bečej in general, came in 1939. Players who had once been children had now matured into young, competent footballers, whose skills far surpassed those of Jedinstvo players. Most of these footballers had come up through the youth clubs Zvezda and Banat, where they systematically honed their football abilities without guidance from older players.

May 14–15, 1993

After months of preparation and searching for the right concept and content, the first Days of Josif Marinković – “Horizons on the Tisa” were held on May 14 and 15, 1993, at the Workers’ Hall “Jovan Veselinov Žarko” in Novi Bečej.

Sara, not only as a teacher but also as a homemaker, was an exceptionally hardworking woman. I had the privilege of hearing this from my sister, who was one of her students in elementary school. Their home was always tidy, and the preserves Sara made were always top-quality. In this regard, she was a role model to many.

In early 1992, following the adoption of the Serbian Water Law, three public water management companies were established across the territory of Republic of Serbia, covering the entire country. These companies are:

The Kikinda Canal stretches from its confluence with the Main Canal to its junction with the Zlatica River near Sajan, with a total length of 50.34 km. Its primary function is to collect the Zlatica’s internal waters during periods when the sluice gate at Padej is closed, as well as its own internal waters along the route, and discharge them into the Main Canal.

Sava Baračkov was born in 1929 in Kumane, Banat, where he completed elementary school. He attended construction and architectural secondary schools in Novi Bečej, Petrovgrad, and Novi Sad. In 1955, he graduated from the Department of Scenography at the Academy of Applied Arts in Belgrade, under the mentorship of Professor Milenko Šerban.

In the final years before the outbreak of the Second World War, a need emerged in Novi Bečej for the establishment of a new football club that would bring together working-class and artisan youth. At that time, Football Club Zvezda already had a stable squad and was, to some extent, closed to the admission of new players from these social groups. As a result, in 1940, a group of young men—mostly of Hungarian origin—founded Sports Club Napredak.

Even in his youth, Bogdan Čiplić was reserved and somewhat detached from social life, although he was a good conversationalist, open as a person, and musically educated. Because of that, he could easily fit into any tavern company. But he lacked one crucial thing—a desire for such a lifestyle. Just like the expression jokingly says: "but"—what ruins a girl’s happiness. That "but" steered Bogdan Čiplić’s life.

19–21 May 2004
Open Competition for Solo Singers

The biennial alternation between the solo singers’ competition and the invitational composers’ competition for solo songs found its rhythm, so the 12th edition of “Horizons on the Tisa” was marked by the fifth open competition for solo singers.

Altered economic conditions and the development of productive forces in agriculture are the main reasons for the disappearance of farmhouses. With the reduction of land ownership limits after World War II, first to 20, and then to 10 hectares, farmhouses lose their previous significance in production.

The defeat against Banat, which had experienced adult players, did not discourage the boys of Zvezda. On the contrary, they devoted themselves even more to training and played two away matches – the first in Bašaid and the second in Baodra. In these games, Zvezda also included a few former Jedinstvo players, which added physical strength to the team, but it came at the cost of the technical combination play that had been their trademark. Had they continued this way, Zvezda probably would not have fared better than Banat.

I begin to feel my homeland even on the road to Novi Bečej, right after leaving Kumane. On that road from Kumane to Novi Bečej—whether by train or bus—I start recalling everything that once existed there or what ties me to that path, from the time when my love for my homeland was most deeply growing.

Pavle Janković - Šole, born on January 19, 1939, in Novi Bečej, was one of the most respected Serbian poets, whose poetry, although primarily intended for children, carried deep messages for adults as well. His name in literature is associated with an authentic and gentle approach to childhood, making him an expert in understanding children's thoughts and dreams.

May 29–30, 1997

In the last days of May 1997, the small town on the left bank of the Tisa River once again came alive with the spirit of the Days of Josif Marinković.

Milorad “Mića” Josimović (born in 1949) is a versatile artist and designer, a man whose creativity and craftsmanship have left a lasting mark on the artistic life of Novi Bečej and beyond.