Home PARTNER STORIES PARTNER NEWS Maribor invites guests to its annual Lent Festival

Maribor invites guests to its annual Lent Festival

A trademark cultural event in Maribor

May 31, 2022

festival_lent_maribor — Photo Credit: Janez Klenovšek

Maribor’s signature event, the Lent Festival, attracts artists and culture-lovers from across the world. During the event, the city of the oldest vine in the world becomes a space for discovery, meeting and coexistence of various cultures. Lent Festival actively co-creates and fosters the development of culture in Maribor.

The festival’s primary aim was to revive the city centre by hosting cultural events. The event’s success can be seen in numerous parts of the city that were given a new lease of life thanks to the festival. These public spaces have become meeting hotspots in the city. This year’s edition will feature 13 festival venues scattered throughout the city. The Lent Festival is going back to its roots and its original idea of being completely different from commercialised festivals.

The largest Slovenian open-air festival

The Lent Festival has always been known for hosting numerous foreign musical and folk groups and theatre shows. The story of the Lent Festival is the story of Maribor and its Drava river, which reflects the fantastic imagery of dreams. Maribor’s squares are where visitors can meet new acquaintances and feel the pulse of the streets.

The Lent Festival is the largest Slovenian open-air festival and one of the largest in Europe. For more than a quarter of a century, at the beginning of summer, Maribor transforms into a gigantic stage and a lively junction of artistic expressions, cultures and languages from around the world. Every year it welcomes nearly half a million visitors.

Festivals within a festival

The Lent Festival is a festival of festivals. It hosts the world-renowned international CIOFF festival Folkart, the international jazz music festival Jazzlent, the Ana Desetnica street theatre festival, the festival of creativity and curiosity Art Camp and the Slovene cuisine festival Sladolent.

More than fifty festival venues, stretching from the banks of the river Drava to the city park, are only a few minutes apart. Guests can indulge in a perfect open-air dinner or taste local wine and beer creations whilst enjoying unforgettable concerts.

To find out more about Lent Festival, visit https://www.festival-lent.si/.