Kurent's jump marks the beginning of the Shrovetide in Ptuj, when Kurents (or Korants) according to the tradition put their bells on for the first time. They dance with their bells around the fire and thus start their mission: to drive away winter and call spring, happiness, and rich harvest.

This year the Kurents Carnival will be organized exclusively by the Ptuj city municipality. The programme will be somewhat shorter, but they still expect more than 100,000 visitors from Slovenia and abroad. The climax of the event will be the Sunday international parade, in which more than 10,000 people participate every year.

This year more than 80 groups, 25 of them with more than 500 Kurents, will participate. There will be also guest groups from Europe and Africa, even a smaller group from the Carribean is expected. As tradition demands, the seven best known Shrovetide characters from the Slovenian region will be present as well.

Kurent is now also officially a part of the world cultural heritage
This year's Kurent Carnival will strengthen the mission of preserving the domestic and world ethnologic heritage and Shrovetide traditions of the Ptuj region, explained the president of the organizing committee Branko Brumen.

"We would like to draw the young to this wealth, and thus encourage the preservation and care of tradition in future as well – through increasing awareness, recognisability, and public accessibility. We expect to receive soon recognition from Unesco, which will include Kurent into the list of the world cultural heritage," Brumen added.

The programme will be composed of the best from the ethnographic, carnival, and artistic fields – and there is also a repertoire of the best visited entertainment shows. During the seven days of the festival more than 90 Shrovetide events will be organized in Ptuj and its surroundings.

P. B., A. P. J., foto: Miloš Vujinovič/BoBo
Translated by G. K.