Summer in Velenje Festival

Sailor's Day with children's workshops and events at Pippi's House by the Lake Velenje, Festival Velenje 2023. Author: Peter Žagar

The Summer in Velenje Festival was launched in 1984 under the name Summer Cultural Events in Velenje, marking one of the first multidisciplinary summer city festivals in Slovenia. Organized and coordinated by the Festival Velenje Public Institute, a public cultural organization since 2008, it offers a diverse program featuring music concerts, film screenings, theatre plays, children-oriented programs, and more. The festival spans throughout the summer months, from the end of June to August.

While a part of the program is organized by the institute itself, a significant portion is done in cooperation with other producers. Furthermore, a few other Velenje-based festivals, like the Kunigunda Festival of Young Cultures and a Zither festival called Prešmentane citre, are also incorporated into the wider context of the Summer Cultural Events.

Some of the festival venues include the Velenje Castle, the House of Culture Velenje and its yard, the banks of the Velenje and Škale lakes, the Old square of Velenje (Stari trg), and the many streets and parks of the city.

Festival Velenje Public Institute

The Festival Velenje Public Institute was founded in 2008 as a platform to organize, coordinate, and promote various cultural institutions and events in the Municipality of Velenje. The institute organizes year-long music, theatre, and children's cycles, operates Kino Velenje, Velenje Gallery, and the Puppet and Dance Theatre Velenje, hosts regional fairs, and oversees the biggest children's festival in Slovenia, called Pika's Festival (named after the Slovene name for the children's character Pippi Longstocking). Additionally, the institute is responsible for the Summer in Velenje Festival and several other events.

Programme

Summer Cultural Events comprise a vast array of activities, ranging from open-air musical concerts, theatre performances, weekly open-air cinema screenings, and puppet plays for children, to flea markets and travelogue presentations.

Among these, the festival has hosted renowned artists such as the fado singer Lula Pena (PT), the legendary klezmer band The Klezmatics (US), and the pop icon Josipa Lisac (HR). Additionally, it features a diverse set of Slovene musicians including singer-songwriter Iztok Mlakar, the popular choir Perpetuum Jazzile, and two local jazz musicians: saxophonist and composer Jure Pukl and jazz bassist and composer Robert Jukič. Each year, it also hosts one of the European youth symphonic orchestras.

Part of the Summer Cultural Events program is curated by producers from other parts of Slovenia, such as Imago Sloveniae and Folkart (Festival Lent).

Band Bossa de Novo at a concert in the atrium of Velenje Castle, Festival Velenje 2022. Author: Ksenija Mikor

The performance by Ikiyago Legacy, featuring Burundian traditional drummers, in the central city square, Festival Velenje 2022. Author: Ksenija Mikor

External links

Summer in Velenje Festival web page

Summer in Velenje Festival

Contents

Festival Velenje Public Institute

Programme

See also

External links

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