250 denars. That is what a Štip pastrmajlija will cost at this year's "Pastrmajlijada" - a price held despite rising costs, as announced by mayor Ivan Jordanov.

That is a figure worth holding on to in a year when almost everything else allowed itself to get more expensive. More than 30 caterers have already secured stalls at that price.

The festival runs on Friday and Saturday, 18 and 19 September, at two locations - the "Vančo Prkje" promenade and the City Stadium.

What changed since last year

Jordanov says they learned from last year's edition. Hence the one structural change: the pastrmajlija will be sold from uniform stands at both locations, with a special traffic regime and extra parking.

Uniform stands sound like a detail, but they are not. That is the difference between a festival that looks like a city event and one that looks like an improvised market with thirty different stalls. Štip clearly worked that out before some bigger cities did.

The programme

On Friday everything starts at 1pm with the traditional cutting of the giant pastrmajlija on the promenade. The afternoon brings folk ensembles and DJ sets, and in the evening Lara Ivanovska, Tasko and Serbian singer Sara Jo perform.

Saturday starts at 11am on the promenade with entertainment and tasting, then moves at 7pm to the City Stadium. There Jovan Jovanov and Elvir Mekić perform, with Željko Joksimović headlining the main concert.

The organisers expect thousands of visitors, including guests from neighbouring countries.

Why this works

Štip is not a tourist destination for its natural beauty. It is a town that holds the country's attention two days a year because it has one dish that fills its entire main street.

That is a formula many Balkan towns chase with expensive branding strategies, and Štip has it built into the product itself. The mayor calls it a gourmet brand, and that is exactly what it is - a brand that grew out of a dish, not a dish invented for a brand.

The question for September is a different one: how many of those thousands of visitors will stay the night in Štip, and how many will drive home the same evening? That is where you measure whether an event is a festival or an economy.