Kurentovanje

The most prominent Mardi Gras event in Slovenia is Kurentovanje, a spring, and fertility festival. The festival has been held in Ptuj, Slovenia's oldest town, every year between Candlemas and Ash Wednesday since 1961. Kurent, Slovenia's most important folklore character, is the highlight of the festival. This character is described as an extravagant god of endless pleasure and hedonism in early Slavic customs.

Today's festival features groups of kurents or kurenti dressed in traditional sheepskin clothing wielding wooden clubs adorned with hedgehog skins known as jeevke, whose noise is said to "drive away winter." Kurenti's appearance thus signals the end of winter and the start of spring. Originally, only unmarried males were allowed to wear the current, but today, married men, children, and women are welcome to cosplay. To attract international tourists, Kurentovanje was expanded to include more than two days of activities, including performances in the square in front of the city hall, the Carnival's burial, and a carnival tent entertainment program.

When: February

Where: Ptuj, Slovenia