Pisana Loka Festival
Made with urban reinvigoration plans in mind, Pisana Loka used to be just a series of music concerts in the city centre. In 2011, the festival organisation was handed over to Zavod O, a cultural association run by the local youth, and its ambitions noticeably rose. It started connecting the various local institutions, groups and actors, from the local skateboarders to the pensioners society, the Ivan Tavčar Public Library, the scouts, student organisations and various local cultural enthusiasts and associations. The festival locations are numerous, with some of them being Sokolski dom Cultural Centre, Loka Castle, summer garden of some local bars and the old city centre square.
Up until now, Pisana Loka hosted bands such as Laibach, Bakalina, Uršula Ramoveš in Fantje z Jazbecove grape, Katarina Juvančič & Dejan Lapanja, Vasko Atanasovski Trio, Dan D, Joe Cocker Tribute, Jan Plestenjak, Hamo & Tribute 2 Love – all in all, a varied line-up that joins alternative musicians with big pop acts. The festival also started encompassing the Loka Blues Fest and has a collaboration with the In Memoriam Prof. Peter Hafner Festival. There are series of public tribunes (with topics ranging from the cultural prospects of the town to youth employability), an open air cinema, numerous theatre performances (hosting both acts like the performances of the street theatre collective KUD Ljud as well as the more traditional comedy shows), gallery exhibitions and other events that actively try to engage the local and regional population.