The annual multicultural Festival Lent is a strange creature – almost as if by magic it transforms the city of Maribor into a small world of its own. It is the largest Slovene open-air event of its kind and one of the biggest summer festivals in Europe.
Between 22nd June and 7th July, you will get the chance to see, feel and hear an eclectic mix of events, including concerts of classical, jazz, rock, pop and ethno music; evenings with singer-songwriters and chansons; theatre and dance performances; drama and puppet theatres; creative workshops for children; sports performances and much more. The Festival also hosts the colourful International folklore Festival Folkart, the spicy Jazz Festival Jazzlent and the diverse Street theatre Festival Ana Desetnica. All these events and performances take place at more than 30 venues around town, including stages, squares, parks and streets.
This year there are some novelties waiting for you - exquisite highlights and hidden gems waiting to be discovered on the streets of Maribor and on one of many Festival Lent venues.
The CENTRAL STAGE AT THE DRAVA RIVER, a wonderful open-air location with an auditorium seating about 2000 people. In 2012 there are – as every year – some top performances on the schedule, with Grammy Award winner, R & B and Soul singer Macy Gray as the headliner, the Jamaican reggae-legends Ernest Ranglin, Monty Alexander, Sly & Robbie with the exclusive guest Bitty McLean, the blues star Lucky Peterson and Portugal fado singer Ana Moura with the band Deolinda. The International folklore Festival Folkart will host the phenomenal groups from Benin, Moldavia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Peru, Mexico, Serbia, Italia and Slovenia.
JAZZLENT is renowned for promoting the best Slovene jazz artists and for bringing some of the world’s best jazz musicians to Maribor, this year John Scofield, Erik Truffaz, Dhafer Youseff and among other Toni Kitanovski with Cherkezi Orchestra. Very popular happenings of the jazz stage are midnight jam sessions. Regular guests never miss them!
VEČER STAGE, located near the oldest vine in the world, delivers hard-hitting rock, along with some excellent hip-hop, R & B, metal and a refreshing selection of Slovene and Balkan vibes. Given the music genres which are most commonly represented at this venue it comes natural that Večer Stage is most popular with young audience. The stars of this stage in 2012 are Skindred, Kiril, S.A.R.S and !DELADAP.
If you would like to see the stars of tomorrow – and party with them till dawn – be sure to visit MLADINA STAGE at the new venue in Udarnik Cinema, where they joined forces with CREATIVE UNDERGROUND electronic stage and established a real all-night-long party place. The SPEGLCELT, illumined by candles and torches, presents the perfect setting for more intimate and subtle performances, especially of jazz, chanson, ethno music and the likes. Lovers of classical music will find their delight in the UNION HALL and the SYNAGOGUE – each of these charming venues is unique while both offer extraordinary acoustics. Stand-up comedy found its shelter in renovated VETRINJSKI MANSION.
At the STREET FOOD FESTIVAL »SLADOLENT« by River Drava food lovers will enjoy street food á la Festival Lent, this year during all 16 festival days.
Children are always a big focus of the festival: the ART CAMP in the city park is almost a festival in itself and gives children from 2 to 99 years of age the opportunity to take part in various creative workshops.
Sports fans can actively participate in a wide range of events at SPORT LENT, including streetball tournaments, beach volleyball, beach soccer, rowing competitions and many more.
The streets of Maribor and its squares will come to life during numerous STREET THEATRE events, which will range from charming clown performances to explosive pyrotechnics spectacles.