Pippi Longstocking Festival

Astrid Lindgren, the author of the story about the young main character the festival is named after, has described this Festival as one of the most beautiful embodiments of her work.

Pippi Longstocking Festival in Velenje

This year, the Pippi Festival will take place under the auspices of the European Capital of Culture 2012 project and Festival Velenje and the organiser and its co-organisers assure us that the programme this year will be even richer, more interesting and more diverse. From 18 to 24 September 2011, the child-friendly town of Velenje will again be overtaken by a number of mischievous Pippis and pirates. This year’s topic, LANGUAGES, will be educational and interesting. Numerous workshops will allow children to discover the origin, diversity and colourfulness of the world’s linguistic treasures.

Last year, over 80,000 fun-loving visitors visited the festival: preschoolers and school-aged children, parents, grandparents, educational staff and of course all are fun-loving revellers at heart. The week-long roguish adventures taking place at different sites around Velenje Lake and across the town culminate on Sunday during the family opening day and on the last Saturday of the festival, when Pippi again hands back reign over the town to the mayor. Weekday mornings offer creative workshops, cultural, theatre and music shows predominantly for organised kindergarten and school groups, while the afternoons bask in family fun-time activities.

During the last two decades, the Festival has become important shaping of the town’s image with modern-day Slovenia seeing Velenje as a young town with a strong and successful industry and a lively identity, a modern town of culture, youth and sports. In the European Capital of Culture project, Velenje is the town that brings a touch of playfulness to the activities, as the majority of its projects are intended for children and youths, the future of our culture. At the same time, the town is recognisable for its social attitude and tolerant coexistence. It is a town that is enriched by its diversity. Velenje has a tradition of being one of the most beautifully arranged Slovenian towns with flourishing ideas and numerous opportunities.

You can get more information on the Pipi`s Festival at info@festival-velenje.si (Barbara Pokorny) and you can follow the activities surrounding the Maribor 2012 – European Capital of Culture project at www.maribor2012.info .

If you’re looking to visit, check out our attractive Youth Hostel Velenje just 5 minutes from the centre.

Source: www.slovenia.info