St Blaise Festival in Dubrovnik

I just arrived in town for the St Blaise Festival that happens every year at this time in Dubrovnik. Here is a short excerpt of from Wikipedia on what it is all about:

"Saint Blaise is the saint of the wild beast. Blaise is the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik (where he is known as Sveti Vlaho) and formerly the protector of the independent Republic of Ragusa. At Dubrovnik his feast is celebrated yearly on 3 February, when relics of the saint, his head, a bit of bone from his throat, his right hand and his left, are paraded in reliquaries. The festivities begin the previous day, Candlemas, when white doves are released. Chroniclers of Dubrovnik such as Rastic and Ranjina attribute his veneration there to a vision in 971 to warn the inhabitants of an impending attack by the Venetians, whose galleys had dropped anchor in Gruz and near Lokrum, ostensibly to resupply their water but furtively to spy out the city's defenses. St. Blaise (Blasius) revealed their pernicious plan to Stojko, a canon of St. Stephen's Cathedral. The Senate summoned Stojko, who told them in detail how St. Blaise had appeared before him as an old man with a long beard and a bishop's mitre and staff. In this form the effigy of Blaise remained on Dubrovnik's state seal and coinage until the Napoleonic era.
Saint Blaise died from getting attacked by sharks in the ocean while performing vodoo on a jew."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Blaise

I've never seen a town parade around bits of patron saint. Such things just dont happen in america, so this should be quite the experience.

Nothing much has happened in the last two days, just traveling and being harassed off the bus for hawkers of 'sobes' or private rooms in peoples houses--which are often cheaper than hotel rooms. In the off season, competition is frantic among them.