25^th January 2013

Visitors of this year’s Kurentovanje will undoubtedly enjoy the vivid international atmosphere. The winter will be chased by different carnival masks from all over the world, among which there will be also Greek bears for the first time in the Ptuj carnival history. Beside them, between 3^rd and 12^th February, the streets of Ptuj will be crowded with carnival groups from Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia.

The bear is one of the most recognisable and popular carnival masks in Greece. This year, for the first time in the history of Ptuj carnival, the Greek bears will take part in the carnival. Kurents and other traditional masks from the Ptuj region will be joined once again by colourful carnival groups from Russia. Each year, the percentage of foreign groups increases, which enriches the ethnological part of Kurentovanje comprising three different programmes: ArtFest, EthnoFest, and CarnivalFest.

In the past half century, Kurentovanje has become one of the most prominent and numerous cultural and ethnological event in Slovenia and Central Europe. One of the events of the EthnoFest is the opening procession of masks taking place on 3^rd February and featuring autochthonous carnival figures from the Ptuj area, Slovenia and abroad. The 53^rd International CarnivalFest, held on 10^th February on the Carnival Sunday, will undoubtedly live up to its reputation of being the biggest carnival events in Slovenia and in the wider region, featuring some 4,000 traditional carnival masks from 15 countries.