A 2.10-metre pastrmajlija with 17 kilos of meat: for two days Štip runs at a capacity it never otherwise reaches

Two metres and ten centimetres of pastrmajlija. Seventeen kilos of pork, four litres of cooking oil, twenty kilos of flour. The eighteenth edition of Štip's "Pastrmalijada" opened with the traditional slicing of the giant pastrmajlija on the "Vančo Prkje" promenade.

It was made by baker Nikolče Malinov and his team. That is one part of a festival that fills Štip every year with people who travel for a single dish - and that is not a small economic fact.

What is new this year

Unlike last year, pastrmajlija is being served at the City Stadium too, not only on the promenade. Event coordinator Goran Arsovski said more stalls are planned by the stands and around the stadium, so visitors can combine the music programme with the speciality they came for in the first place.

The price is 250 denars, the same at both locations. The evening concerts on 19 September are at the stadium - Jovan Jovanov, Elvir Mekić and Željko Joksimović are performing.

Mayor Ivan Jordanov said the city is organisationally ready to receive guests from Macedonia and from abroad. The municipality has also announced a special traffic regime and extra parking locations for the expected turnout. Jordanov urged visitors from nearby towns and countries to set off a few hours early.

The number that is not on the menu

Jordanov pointed out something rarely said at an event like this: the festival is held up by local businesses and the local economy, and hundreds of hospitality venues earn their money from the visitors over the weekend.

That is the whole point, and that is why it is worth counting. A town in eastern Macedonia spends two days a year running at a capacity it otherwise never reaches. The question left hanging is why that capacity only switches on for a speciality dish and a concert, instead of for something that lasts thirty days rather than two.