The festival summer in Slovenia still in full swing

Numerous festivals organised across Slovenia are scheduled to last until September, with new ones joining them starting in August. There will also be numerous additional events in 2011 to mark the twentieth anniversary of Slovenia’s independence. At this time we will focus our attention on the 22nd International Puppet Festival in Maribor – the city will be the European Capital of Culture in 2012 – and the 10th Tartini Festival of classical music that will inspire the pulse of the seaside cities of Piran, Koper and Izola.

22. International puppet festival 2011 (6th August – 1st September 2011)

Puppets are at home all over the world and the whole world is at home with puppets. Once a year this statement becomes true in Maribor, where puppeteers from numerous countries from around the world gather for the Summer Puppet Pier.?How does Little Red Riding Hood speak Czech, how does the Austrian clown sing, is the bear from Switzerland any different from our bears, how lively is the bird from Germany...? Let them speak or sing in any language – puppets always come to life in a magical way.

Happy days at venues around the Minorite monastery will be celebrated on Saturdays in the month of August, and will be more concentrated during the last weekend before the start of the new school year. In 2012, when Maribor becomes the European Capital of Culture, it will be equally rich with celebrations. Along with The Kurent as the central artistic project, throughout 2012, the Maribor Puppet Theatre will showcase performances each month inviting prestigious puppet shows from abroad, puppets will address passersby in the streets and there will be production workshops that will produce puppet performances based on motifs of well-known European fairytales.

There will be dozens of reasons why one should spend time with the Maribor Puppet Theatre on the banks of the river Drava, experiencing first-class puppet stories for big and small. Click here for more information about the Festival.

10th Tartini Festival 2011 – an international classical music festival (Piran, Koper and Izola, 26th August – 11th September 2011)

The Tartini Festival is an international music festival dedicated to the Piran-born maestro Giuseppe Tartini (1692 – 1770). The opening will take place during the end of August, with Mozart`s celebrated Requiem Mass as interpreted by the excellent “Ensemble 1765” orchestra. The very next day visitors will be able to enjoy a concert by the exceptional Viennese musicians of the Wiener Instrumentalsolisten. The well appreciated festival ensemble, Il Terzo Suono, which never fails to dazzle audiences, will perform this year with the participation of virtuoso soloist Sergio Azzolini. The festival will also host the Nota Bene duo from the famous Salzburg Mozarteum, which is noted for its exceptional performances of 20th century composers. Lovers of baroque music will no doubt greatly appreciate a baroque trio concert with virtuoso sonatas from the Italian Baroque period. Also, two young guitar players will prepare a Tartini Junior guitar concert, while the last performance of the festival will offer a chance to enjoy the melodies of piano and violin, performed by Francesco de Zan and Christophe Coin. The Tartini Festival will be taking place on the Slovenian coast, in the cities of Piran, Izola and Koper. Click here for more information about the Festival.

Let us remind you about some of the festivals that will continue to be in full swing throughout August:

- The Seviqc Brežice 2011 Festival will offer beautiful concerts of early music featuring the best artists from across the world until 4 September. The concerts are presented in Slovenia`s most beautiful cultural monuments at historically important sites.
- 4 September is also the closing date for the Ljubljana Festival, with its long history and tradition of presenting premier artistic events, significantly contributing to the cultural life of Ljubljana.
- The 23rd International Music Festival Summer Imago Sloveniae will take place until 2 September and will be organised across different Slovenian towns, offering classical music concerts.
- The Okarina Etno Festival in Bled, which is a wonderful treat for those visitors who can appreciate unique music, will take place until 31 August.
- Trnfest 2011, with numerous diverse evenings of free-of-charge events (concerts, theatre and dance shows, workshops, children’s programmes, DJ performances, exhibitions, films, and puppet shows by international ensembles) will be in full swing in Ljubljana until 28 August.

Do not miss THE sports event of the summer! The best rowers in the world will compete in one of the world’s most beautiful rowing courses between 28 August and 4 September 2011, at Bled − Bled is ready for the World Rowing Championships 2011.

One of the most beautiful children’s festivals in Europe, where Astrid Lindgren the author of the story whose main character gave the festival its name and is its ambassador, has characterised this festival as one of the most beautiful embodiments of her work, is the subject of the next article.

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