Dear Friends!
Every year we have in Ptuj Carnival time - KURENTOVANJE! The Kurentovanje is the most important carnival event in Slovenia of enormous public significance. The 49-year-old tradition is famous for organised performances the aim of which is to preserve and develop the extraordinary movable cultural legacy and ethnographical tradition from the Ptuj region.It originates in a hundred-year-old tradition of carnival celebrations on the Drava and Ptuj fields. The traditional carnival starts on Saturday, more than a week before Shrove Tuesday, with the gathering of typical Slovene carnival masks and figures. Different performances take place every day; in afternoons town streets and squares are enlivened by performances of various artists, street-theatre groups, musicians and others; in evenings, the masked ball continues in the carnival tent where at sounds of popular national and foreign music groups, good food and drinks abound. The event culminates on Sunday with the traditional international parade, and ends on Tuesday with the burial of the Carnival.
Kurent or Korant - the main carnival figureKurent or Korant is the most famous traditional carnival figure of the entire region. The carnival in Ptuj is named after it. At the same time, it is the most popular and frequent traditional carnival figure in the Ptuj and Drava fields, and in Haloze hills. Kurent or Korant, as it is known today, gets its origin in popular tradition. Traditionally, the Kurent's outfit used to be reserved only to unmarried men, but nowadays Kurent-Korant can be as well married men as children and women. There are two types of Kurent-Korant: the so-called "feathery" and the "horned" one. Kurent-Korant wears sheep skin coat, around its waist hangs a chain with huge bells, heavy boots and gaiters protect feet, while the head is covered by a cap. A wooden club is normally carried in the left hand.
Kurentovanje is visited by more than 100,000 people every year,
Saturday and Sunday parades are watched by 60-70,000 people,
in eleven days, there are some 15-20,000 people expected to party in the carnival tent,
afternoon programmes in the town are followed by more than 1,000 people every day,
Kurentovanje is becoming more and more recognizable in Slovenia and abroad, and more than 100,000 spectators follow daily information by means of mass media,
participants in parades are numerous: the Saturday parade boasts more than 1,000 participants, and the Sunday parade over 2,000 and around 600 Kurents,
Kurentovanje is the most prominent cultural and ethnographical event in Slovenia .
Kurent or Korant - the main carnival figureKurent or Korant is the most famous traditional carnival figure of the entire region. The carnival in Ptuj is named after it. At the same time, it is the most popular and frequent traditional carnival figure in the Ptuj and Drava fields, and in Haloze hills. Kurent or Korant, as it is known today, gets its origin in popular tradition. Traditionally, the Kurent's outfit used to be reserved only to unmarried men, but nowadays Kurent-Korant can be as well married men as children and women. There are two types of Kurent-Korant: the so-called "feathery" and the "horned" one. Kurent-Korant wears sheep skin coat, around its waist hangs a chain with huge bells, heavy boots and gaiters protect feet, while the head is covered by a cap. A wooden club is normally carried in the left hand.
Kurentovanje is visited by more than 100,000 people every year,
Saturday and Sunday parades are watched by 60-70,000 people,
in eleven days, there are some 15-20,000 people expected to party in the carnival tent,
afternoon programmes in the town are followed by more than 1,000 people every day,
Kurentovanje is becoming more and more recognizable in Slovenia and abroad, and more than 100,000 spectators follow daily information by means of mass media,
participants in parades are numerous: the Saturday parade boasts more than 1,000 participants, and the Sunday parade over 2,000 and around 600 Kurents,
Kurentovanje is the most prominent cultural and ethnographical event in Slovenia .
Tanja
Did you know two Belgian undercover agents were at the Putj carnival.
ReplyDeleteThey were controling the city to see if it was a good city for a Comenius partnership.
You can see them in Tanja's last picture.
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