The Slovenian scout festival is traditionally held on Saturday before the World Earth Day, as on that day in 1951 the Association of Scouts of Slovenia was founded. In the days around April 22, every year throughout Slovenia, there is a plethora of events, with which the scouts want to draw attention to the importance of the organisation for the development of young people.

The biggest event on the day of Slovenian scouts is Feštival, which attracted more than 1500 visitors last year. "The event is mainly intended for scouts between the ages of 6 and 15, but activities are taking place for all generations at the festival," emphasized Pina Maja Bulc, who has been a scout for eight years.

"The event is organized by the Ljubljana City Scout Association, but packs from all over Slovenia come to help out with individual activities," explained Pina when a long line of scouts in blue uniforms passed by. "These are the Croats," she added. "This year more than 100 scouts from Rijeka have come to visit us." Alongside the young from Ljubljana and Rijeka, Tivoli also hosted scouts from Carinthia, Maribor, Murska Sobota, Postojna, Sežana and other parts of Slovenia.

Workshops, activities, presentations
Scout workshops and activities spread out on grassy surfaces between Jakopič's promenade and the Tivoli pond, where visitors could try themselves in canoeing. In addition to rowing, which is among the most visited “stations” every year, scouts and all other passers-by could take part in more than fifty different activities - from archery, swordsmanship, special scout games, mini adrenaline park and yoga to various workshops, such as getting to know herbs, debating club and the scouts’ music studio.

In addition to this, several societies presented their activities at Feštival, and Slovenian police and soldiers showed their work. "Activities are adapted to younger children, while scouts who are a little older already come mainly for socializing," explained Pina. A special station was also dedicated to this, a place where scouts could make refreshing drinks and chat.

"We are trying to make our activities as interesting as possible, showing how they look like when we do them at camps," Pina said. When asked what convinced her most to join the scouts, she replied: "Definitely the company. It's true that real friendships that last a lifetime develop here. We are practically a family."

In the end, Pina explained to us that the camp season is active all year long, but that Feštival nevertheless presents some kind of symbolic introduction into the time when scouts have the most work: "This is certainly the biggest thing before the summer when the high season starts and when the bulk of the campsite activities is taking place. "