Sat 2/6-Sat 2/13
Since 2013, one of the first big festivals of the year has been Kurentovanje (pronounced koo-rahn-toh-VAHN-yah), based on a popular Slovenian festival that draws visitors to the town of Ptuj on Shrove Sunday. Similar to Mardi Gras, it celebrates the coming of spring, with furry costumed “kurents” who chase away the winter with their big bells, and marks the onset of Lent.
The Cleveland version of the festival was launched by members of the Slovenian community in the St. Clair neighborhood, where the Slovenian National Home and Slovenian Museum & Archives are located, as a tribute to their heritage. It started small as a one-day event with parade featuring neighborhood businesses, organizations, bands and dance groups, and an afternoon of food, drink, entertainment and kids’ activities at the Slovenian National Home. Since then it’s evolved into a week’s worth of activities with a Saturday festival that can attract thousands of visitors if the weather cooperates.
This year, unfortunately, thousands of people lining St. Clair Avenue just isn’t in the cards. But the organizers aren’t throwing in the towel. They’ve planned an eight-day series of virtual events that showcase Slovenian culture, food and music, all free and open to all. (Donations are highly encouraged to pay for their costs though).
With Slovenia being named the European Region of Gastronomy 2021, many of the events focus on food. That includes three online cooking classes, starting Saturday February 6 @ 3pm when amateur bakers from around the world share favorite recipes and professional Slovenian chefs share their secrets. In the first edition, you’ll learn about the Slovenian specialty kremšnite, a vanilla custard. Then on Tuesday February 9 @ 7pm, learn to make strudel. Finally, on Thursday February 11 @ 7pm, you’ll see three presentations on making štruklji, a form of apple dumplings. Register in advance to get ingredient lists so you ca apply what you’ve learned. Go here.
In addition, you can tune in Saturday February 6 @ 11:00am for “Mushrooms: A Slovenian Tradition of Foraging,” to learn about the various types of wild mushrooms you can find in this region and how to identify them. Miro Gnjatić will talk about his Kirtland mushroom farm where you can purchase mushrooms and growing kits.
Sunday February 7 @ kids can have fun with a Kurentovanje-themed storytime and sing-along @ 1pm and a “Buld Your Own Kurent Craft & Demo” @ 2:30pm. You can get your own kit for the latter by reserving one at cleveland-kurentovanje/kurent-craft.
Other activities throughout the week include two evenings of Slovenian films; Slovenian Culture Day celebration on Monday, February 8 with a focus on Slovenian literature, poetry and music; and a program on “Traditional Carnivals in Slovenia and Their Changes Over Time” in Wednesday, February 10 @ 6pm, while will share how Kurentovanje evolved and the different ways it’s celebrated.
Then, on Friday February 12 @ 8PM, the kurents make their first appearance at the traditional Kurent jump only it’s a not-very-traditional livestream this year. They’ll be dancing around a bonfire as Patty C and The Guys play Slovenian-style polka music.
The big day is Saturday February 13, when instead o shivering in the cold on St. Clair or waiting in a long line inside the Slovenian National Home for your food and drink, you’ll be celebrating safely at home. From 11am-5pm you can pick up food and drinks, including Kurentovanje Pivo, at Collision Bend Brewing Company in the East Bank of the Flats to enjoy onsite or pick up to go, from 11am-5pm. Then tune in at 7pm for the virtual Cleveland Kurentovanje concert, featuring both live and pre-recorded segments, including the Chardon Polka Band and Bob Kravos & the Boys in the Band playing live from the Slovenian National Home and guest musician Hajime Anzai-Anže playing live from Japan.
To learn about these events and more, including the month-long virtual 5k Kurent Dash, go to clevelandkurentovanje.com/.
Watch a PHOTOSTREAM of Kurentovanje 2020 — one of the few festivals to beat the pandemic to the punch — here.
