page_title: Izbično
section_title: Izbičijada
hierarchical_section_title: Izbično / Izbičijada
caption_attribution_description: Hrvatski: Misa na Izbičijadi 2007. godine u Izbičnu.
context_page_description: Izbično is a settlement in the north-west of the Široki Brijeg Municipality, below the Varda Hill.
  The Župa of St. Joseph the Worker of Izbično includes Donja Britvica, Gornja Britvica and Solde hamlet, which belongs to the Donji Crnač settlement. Every year on August 16, the settlement celebrates Izbičijada, a festival which gathers inhabitants of Izbično, as well as the people who emigrated from the village, and other guests.
  Five main hamlets of Izbično are: Crnjci, Hrkaći, Pavkovići, Tribošić, and Solde.
context_section_description: Izbičijada is a festival held on the Polje (a field), every year on August 16 since 1997. Izbičijada begins with a mass in the church of Izbično, and then continues in Polje. The fest there usually starts with a football match, and afterwards people gather in large tents or beer gardens. Famous people have attended these events including Marko Perković Thompson, Mate Bulić and during the 10th anniversary of Izbičijada, The Kardinal of Sarajevo and Vrhbosna Vinko Puljić. Kardinal Puljić has had mass in the Izbično church but has never had mass in the Široki Brijeg Church.
  Izbično, and the surrounding areas of Široki Brijeg were subject to partizan watch dogs who were looking for signs of any sort of nationalism to a Croatian state. many people during this time period were sent to jail for just singing Folk tunes passed down through generations. This festival is also the celebration of the two Dragicas, who were killed by the Partisans just for not disclosing the location of their husbands, which the partisans disclosed later that the two Dragicas did not know where they were. The two Dragicas were sisters-in-law and part of their torture was to be hung outside on the coldest night of the year with water soaked clothes. in the morning, both remarkably were still alive. they were forced to strip and in doing so striped their skin off their bodies too. the mother, and Mother-in-law of the two Dragicas were called outside by the Partisan Soldiers to dig a hole. both Dragicas were shot and were buried alive by their Mother.
  since then, in the early 1990s, Rajko Pavković had skin cancer. unfortunately during the times of Yugoslavia there was no opportunity to take care of the Dragicas' grave. Rajko built a fence around the site to ensure that Cows would not walk over the grave and graze the land above it. within the next weeks, Rajko's Cancer disappeared. since that instance, people from the village and the surrounding areas have come to pray at the grave sight. Ultimately Izbičijada is a celebration and miracles that the Dragicas have performed, and how the Dragicas are Croatian Martyrs.
  There are many people that come from Izbično that live around the world. This festival is an opportunity after the feast day of the Assumption of Mary on the 15th of August for the diaspora to come together. many left during the Yugoslavian regime, to move to Austria and Canada. Many who returned from Canada to visit family in Izbično, before 1991, were tortured and interrogated since they left on visitors visa to Canada and claimed refugee status upon arrival to Canada.
caption: Detail from 2007 Izbičijada
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