Events

Welcome to our CALENDAR page, where we list a few events happening around Green Slovenia, just in case you like the look of one and then you could investigate further! But there are so many other LOCAL FESTIVALS and shows happening all over Slovenia, pretty much every weekend and during the whole year.

We very much recommend that if you are lucky enough to be here when a certain festival is on then you try to visit it as a great way to find local products for sale and to meet the very friendly local people!

You can get a lot more ideas about places to see or activities available to you all year round on our DAYTRIPS and SECRET PLACES to VISIT page or on our new SECRET PLACES TREASURE MAP!

Here is how a Year goes! 

 

JANUARY..

Snow walking to Predjama castle, if there is snow.. there is usually some in January..

Winter Walking Wonderland

We have many wonderful white hikes direct from Lipizzaner Lodge that are just perfect in the snow. Two different walks take you seperately to the fairytale Predjama castle and into the surrounding forest, another goes along the base of the local Nanos mountain and then up into the forest to see the magnificent valley view.

We cannot guarantee the snow, but there are so many routes through the forests and up into the local mountains that the walks here are always amazing in the winter.. check out our Lodge Walks page..

New Year Hike up St Lawrence (1,019m)

Our local tourist association, Pudgura,  have a new Year's day guided hike up one of our most favourite local mountains. St Lawrence is one of the big peaks you can see from Lipizzaner Lodge and we call it the "Stairway to Heaven", as it feels like you are walking up an enormous staircase, but the views from the top are very rewarding. A great way to get the new year into your legs and to meet some local people.

 

FEBRUARY..

Carnival

Carnival time is 40 days before Easter. All over the place people are dancing and jumping around in bear costumes, or looking like wombles or witches or ringing their bells and making lots of noise to scare away the evil Winter spirits. It's great fun here at carnival time and you could see some fantastic processions that are just not on the radar for regular tourists. In fact you might see a dragon, a witch or a human frog, but you will be very unlikely to see another tourist!

The main carnivals here take place on the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday, (Pancake day), but there is a full weekend of events to enjoy around this time. The Radolca carnival procession also takes place on a Sunday. The biggest carnival in Slovenia is in the oldest city of Ptuj, where about 50,000 spectators are expected. The main carnival procession is again on the Sunday These carnivals are big news here and even have their own websites.. http://www.kurentovanje.net/en/

We have visited the Illistra Bistrica, Postojna and Cerknica carnivals so far and we plan to be at the Ptuj carnival next time. If you haven't seen a Slovenian carnival then why not pop over to Green Slovenia for a long weekend to see all the action! They are fabulous events and every unpronouncabubble carnival character name has a history and story behind it.

Krisna Cave 4Hour Adventure

We have been asked especially by the guides at Krišna cave to mention their 4 hour caving trip as one of many fantastic Winter Slovenian activites available to you. The water levels are usually just perfect at this time of year, the temperature is exactly the same in the cave all year round anyway and there are so few tourists that now is a great time to see this cave by rubber boat and then in rubber boots!

A one hour tour of the cave is also possible, of course and this cave is special as you are given the protective clothing and helmet to wear, so you feel like a real caver and you have to enter the cave by rubber boat. The cave is just 35 minutes from the Lodge and you can easily combine the nearby fairytale Sneznik (Snow Mountain) castle or the amazing Green Heart walk in the Loška Dolina (Loz) valley to have fantastic day out. 

 

MARCH..

The end of Winter is celebrated all over Slovenia at different festivals, for example have you heard about the St Gregory celebration?

In the traditional iron forging town of Kropa, (where our cafe lampshade holders were cast), there is a festival of streams and water in March, where boats made by local kids are floated on the water by candlelight. The river thunders through this little industrial revolution town and really is a sight to see. We also know a very nice homely restaurant at the top of the town.

Passion Play, Skofja Loka

Slovenia's second oldest town hosts a series of incredible plays in the run up to Easter, involving a cast of 80 horse riders and 800 volunteers. This beautiful medieval town gives 8 performances of this epic religious story, but get this.. once every 5 years.. next performance is in 2021!! The town provides a perfect backdrop for these performances and the whole place will be buzzing over these 3 weeks. Skofja Loka old town is a really nice place to be at any Easter time and well worth a half day visit from the Lodge.

World Ski Championships at Kranska Gora

Often held at Slovenia's main Ski Resort which hosts a leg of the downhill championship.

World Ski Jumping at Planica

And the new Ski Jumping Centre in the north western corner of Slovenia is purpose built for big championship events. (Only 90 mins drive from the Lodge). We have been to see the ski jump, close to Kranska Gora, one of Slovenia's main skiing destinations, it is like a huge cliff face. How those guys jump off we will never know! There is usually a jump off during a weekend in March.

In summer don't miss going up to the top of the ski jump and zooming down suspended on a zip wire!!

Ljubljana Collectables Fair

What a lovely place next to the river for a market. Search for a rare stamp, gem or coin at this traditional fair and then get a hot chocolate or glass of wine at a neighbouring cafe.

Asparagus Festival

Usually takes place at Brestovica in the Teran wine producing region in the nearby rocky Karst region.

 

APRIL..

Radolovlica Chocolate Festival

Slovenia's largest choctastic event takes place usually every April in Radolca with shows, presentations and lots of choccy! There are lots of shows and demonstrations planned.. here is a link to their English website http://www.festival-cokolade.si/en/programme/

Medieval Market and Fair, Ptuj

Usually at the end of April this beautiful medieval town hosts a traditional fair with lots of stalls. Why not also take a walk up to the castle and visit the wondeful museums there?

Salt & Antiques Festival at Piran

See how this high quality salt is produced and enjoy a day down on the Slovenian coast at the end of April.

 

MAY..

May and September are truly wonderful months to visit Slovenia, as the days are long and fresh, the kids are at school and Slovenia is exploding with colour. In May every shade of green decorates the countryside and the new flowers are in full bloom. It's a truly magical time to jump on a bike or go exploring by foot. As Slovenia has so many micro regions, you can literally go from valley to valley or mountain to mountain to see the best of the new flowers on different weeks at this time of year, as the countryside springs into full bloom!

Ice Cream Festival, Portorož

Slovenia's main seaside resort hosts an event that is sure to be popular with everyone in May.

Wildflower Festival, Bohinj

This 2 week festival takes place in the last week in May and first week in June in the heart of the Slovenian Alps showcasing a huge amount of Alpine flowers. It is just another great excuse to also visit the beautiful lake Bohinj and maybe explore th new path up the "Little Bridge" Gorge nearby.

Asparagus Festival, Strunjan

This quiet little seaside resort on the Slovenian coast usually has 2 days of asparagus fun at the end of May. Strunjan is also a place where local people go to swim, as it is quiet, has a nice long stretch of waterfront and is a pretty little spot.

Pottery Market

In Radolca at the end of May there is a ceramics fair where producers from Slovenia and abroad display their wares and present demonstrations in the ancient town centre.

Jazz Festival, Cerkno

The stunning drive alone from Lipizzaner Lodge to Cerkno will be a real treat and then you can enjoy the jazz on offer during May in this pretty little mountain town.

 

JUNE..

Postojna Music Shows

Our local town of Postojna has a different free music show on offer most days in the main square on sunny evenings. A great way to end your day out with some foot tapping and an ice cream.

Carters Festival

This is like a summer carnival in Postojna where horses, carriages and local people have a procession fro the town centre down to the caves for a big festival with music and gulash making competitions, stalls selling local goodies and even a dog agility competition.

Idrija Lace Festival

Unesco protected Idrija is already one of our favourite tips for a secret day out as there is so much variety of stuff to do here on a day trip. The journey down the second largest ever mercury mine in the world is a hot tip and when the mine was open, the women needed to find extra income to support their mining families, so over the centuries they developed idrija as a world centre for lace making. You can find all about this at the lace festival taking place mid June!

Škofja Loka Medieval Festival

Another hot tip for a great day out is the drive to Slovena's second oldest town of Škofja Loka. Ths medieval town is crammed with ancient wonky buildings, frescoes and has a pretty river running through it under beautiful bridges. The festival is usually mid-end of June and a really great excuse to explore this ancient town and meet the local people at their stalls.

Battle of Nicopolis and Fencing Tournament, Celje

It is quite difficult to actually find out when and where you can see medieval knights fighting in Slovenia's amazing castles. So it is wonderful to know that Celje castle has a full season of events that visitors to Slovenia will love in a beautiful setting. In June there are fencing tournaments, cooking and costume workshops and a battle reenactment planned. All well within reach of Lipizzaner Lodge for a great day out.

Cherry Festival, Dobrovo

One of Slovenia's finest wine regions, the unpronouncable "Goriška Brda" (Gorica hills) also grows cherries and is one of the first places in Slovenia to have ripe cherries available. So it should come as no surprise to you that they have a festival to celebrate this over the first 2 weekends of June with cherry hiking, biking, wine tasting and lots of exciting local events. We have tried the cherries from here and they are sweet and delicious!

JULY..

Iron Forging Festival

In Kropa at the start of July you can see all the traditional methods of iron forging including making the same nails that were sent all around Europe from this lovely little town with a thuderous river flowing through the centre, which powered the iron industry there. You could also check out the wonderful museum in Kropa to make a great day out.

Summer Music during July

Radolca is a great place to stop over on the way back to the Lodge from lakes Bled and Bohinj. Even better during July as you can hear music in the medieval square played by young musicians from all over the world. There are several very nice restaurants and cafes here in the square so this really is a lovely stopover for our guests, surrounded by 500 year old frescos on the town house walls.

Medieval Workshops at Celje Castle

Check out the workshops and visit Celje castle to experience the medieval flavour of one of Slovenia's most beautiful castles.

Lake Bled Classical Music Festival

One of Slovenia's most iconic destinations hosts different music concerts around the lake in the first 3 weeks of July. A great way to end your day trip to this beautiful Alpine lake.

 

AUGUST..

the Floating Castle Festival

This is a multi art local festival in different villages around the magnificent local Sneznik (Snow Mountain) castle in the last week in August. Check out the website in English for the events. These villages are really close to the Lodge, so if you want to get a real flavour of a Slovenian summer festival and meet the local people, this could be the event for you! FLOATINGCASTLEFESTIVAL.COM

a spot of jousting at the Sneznik Castle summer festival..
a spot of jousting at the Sneznik Castle summer festival..

 

Festival of Log Carting & the Countryside at the local Toplar

Its usually at the start of August when our local tourist association hosts a large festival event in the grounds of the giant wooden hayrack musem, just a forest walk from Lipizzaner Lodge. There are stalls selling local handicrafts and displays of logging and loading logs onto huge horse drawn wooden carts. (Logging was a very important activity in this area as our logs were transported to Venice, for example to provide the foundations for the island city and later our huge trees were used for ships masts in Trieste and Venice).  There will be lots of local food and music available.

Dragons Cubs Festival

Parties, shows and displays are happening all over our Postojna region. Many events are run by the local youngsters.

Pivka historic Battle Reinaction

On the 3rd weekend in September a historic battle is replayed at the Pivka military museum. More to come

Tartini Classical Music Festival, Piran

End of August and start of September, the pretty seaside Venetian town of Piran, with a beautiful twn centre square named after the Slovenian composer, Tartini, plays host to daily musical performances.

Medieval Market, Radolca

Go back in time to the town with the only preserved castle moat in Slovenia for a magical medieval festival at the start of August. There are arts and crafts on display in this very pretty old town centre.

Radolca Music Festival

Takes place in the old town hall, mid August for music lovers.

Teran & Prosciutto Festival, Dutovlje

Towards the end of August you can visit one of the many local wine festivals for one of the Slovenian wines that are actually completely unique in the world. Teran is only made in a small red rocky region with iron rich soil to give the wne a deep red colour. It is the perfect accompanyment for tasting the local wind dried prosciutto, so yet another good reasn for a festival!

Lesce Model Aircraft Festival

Usually mid August at the Lesce Airfield.

Local Composer "Avsenik" Festival

This is a local festival in the birthplace of Avsenik, Begunje na Gorenjskem for Slovenian folk music end of August.

Medieval Festival at Celje Castle

Over the last weekend in August, Celje castle, 90 mins from the Lodge, usually hosts a wonderful medieval festival, with costumes, knights, stalls and fun for all the family.

 

SEPTEMBER..

This is another great month to visit Slovenia, with still warm and sunny days, but even less people around! The hiking, biking and riding still feel like Summer. There is a lot you fit into a long weekend here and September is a very special time in the wine calender as vineyards are choosing the best days to pick the juicy grapes. The rest of the countryside is bursting with apples, plums and other fruit as the garden basket overflows.

Wine Picking season

We offer several grape picking daytrips at different partner vineyards around Slovenia. You will get to spend the day at a beautiful location, helping to pick grapes. You will be treated like a normal wine picker and receive a worker's lunch and evening meal, but you also get to take a few bottles of the vintage home with you! Watch this space for more news of when the grape picking season starts.

Pippi Longstocking Festival, Velenje

End Sep. Join these lovely ladies at the Pippi Longstocking festival, which is a massive event in Slovenia's kids calender. There is lots to do here in Velenje and you will be really surprised how the story about a little Swedish girl is worshipped in Slovenia.

Mountain Bike Race around Predjama Castle Forest

We wouldn't normally tell you about an event where the info is just in Slovene as there is not a lot of point linking to a website you cant read, but this is the local mountain bike race in the forests around here and there are also maps to look at on this website.. so here it is..

http://erazem.kombinat.si/Erazem/Prva.html There are several distances, 30km, 50km or 70km to choose from and you are guarunteed a bouncy, challenging ride in the woods and mountains surrounding the spectacular Predjama castle on usually the first weekend in September.. biketastic!

Festival and Battle at the Pivka Tank Museum

Every September the impressive tank museum in Pivka has a local fair with stalls, local produce and yummy food. Military enthusiasts also recreate a battle from the many wars and the evil empires that have trodden all over Slovenian soil throughout history.

Bloke Festival and Horse show

Every September the residents of this beautiful plateau have a festival with excellent local cooked food on offer, stalls full od locally made goodies and a horse show at the wild west ranch. You could finish off your day by going to the nearby Bloke lake to have a dip or read the wooden mural story of the local Robin Hood character, Martin Krpan, who took on the Ottoman empire and won! 

The 17 Disappearing Lakes Museum Festival

Enjoy the local tradesman displays and local produce at this festival to celebrate the first year of this lovely museum, which shows you all about the 17 disappearing lakes interconnected in this micro region. There is also a gentle 4 hour mountain bike ride organised to tour past some of the lakes.

Muggia Jazz Festival

Every September this pretty little Italian Fishing village just 30 mins from Lipizzaner Lodge has a jazz festival.... nice! (Only fans of the UK tv show "the fast show" will gets this little joke!)

 

OCTOBER..

Welcome to RED, ORANGE and GOLDEN Slovenia! Yes Green Slovenia explodes into an Autumnal paradise. The days are usually still sunny and warm and the evenings fresh and clear!

Mushroom Festival Weekend at the Toplar

At the start of October, really close to Landol, our local tourist association hosts a mushroom festival at the local Toplar (a giant hayrack museum with lots of interesting farmimg and logging antiques on show). Learn what to pick and see it cooked by local experts.

Metlika Bela (White) Krajina Young Red Wine Festival

Usually mid Oct. Enjoy this unique opportunity to sample the new red wine from this completely undiscovered wine growing region of Slovenia.

The Green Heart Walk

Also mid Oct. Join the fabulous 5 hour hike along the shores of a disappearing lake, into the forest, along country tracks, through pretty villages and a stopover at one of Slovenia's most beautiful castles, Sneznik, Snow Mountain castle.

The walk is guided with English speakers and at each stopping point there are wooden stalls with locally made goodies, drinks and demonstrations on offer. This is a great way for a visitor to walk along one of Green Slovenia's most beautiful undiscovered areas.

Ljubljana Chocolate Festival

Yummy!

Barcolana, Sailing Festival, Trieste, Italy

Mid October is the time thousands of yachts and sailing vessels meet up on the Italian coast, just 35 minutes from the Lodge, for a huge sailing festival.

Many people go to the hills surrounding Trieste to look down on the race and this vibrant Italian coastal city is full of action for the weekend.

Ljubljana Marathon

Usually end Oct. Your chance to run along the streets of one of Europes prettiest and most compact capital cities.

Metlika Bela (White) Krajina Wine Walk

End Oct. Join up to 800 local people on this nature walk around the vineyards of White Kranja to enjoy the new vintages.

Dormouse Hunting

October is a special month in the Slovenian hunting calender, where cute little dormice are pursued in the forests by  groups of men (usually) sleeping in tents and making campfires.

Many years ago the dormouse was an essential addition to the Autumn diet and the furs were used for clothing to keep warm, so you get a real feeling of Slovenian tradition and forest life if you get the unique chance to go out with a group and see the technique used to catch these furry tree hoppers.

Witch Hunting

Check out the witch hunting activities and workshops all through October at Celje castle, 90 mins from the Lodge. There are also chances to see knights at the castle.

Krišna Cave 4 Hour Adventure

Don't forget the best time to do the 4 or 8 hour underground cave tour is in the winter due to higher water levels and a complete lack of any visitors to Slovenia at all!

And the best thing is the cave is the same temperature all year round!

 

NOVEMBER..

Enjoy probably the clearest blue skies of the year for your hiking, biking and exploring. Experience the end of the autumnal fall at the lakes, take in the sunshine by the sea, walk up the mountains for crystal clear views.. you can see Venice from the top of our local Nanos mountain..

 

Osmica Time

November marks the special time of year when farms have finished making their wine and open their doors for visitors to come and have a fabulous meal and taste the new wine!

The farms serve their own home made cheese and meat products and you can also buy all sorts of locally produced delights.

But nobody knows exactly when each farm opens and you can only find Osmica farms by looking for a branch placed at the side of the road and each farm is only open for 8 days, which is the time it takes the leaves to drop off the branch.. fantastic!

This tradition only takes in the mini regions along the Italian border and we are told a trip over the paper border into the Italian foothills is also a great adventure at this time of year.

Stag Rutting

Take a trip at night or very early morning into the forest to hear and maybe see the big boys doing battle at this particular time of the year! We did this one cold, clear evening and it was a fantastic feeling to be at one with nature and the stars.

What you do is sit at the end of a huge grassy plateau with warm flask of tea and listen as the deer make their way down the thickly forested mountains at night to feed on the lush meadow grass.

Depending on weather conditions, (wind is not popular with deer as they cannot smell their predators), the stags bellow out their warnings to competitors and their invitations to the ladies as the sounds get nearer and nearer during the evening, as they approach the feeding area.

If you are lucky you will see the stags on the field in the moonlight, but to hear them calling all night and the click of antlers as they fight it out is a beautiful experience under the stars and a unique evening out.

 

DECEMBER..

Why not have a different pre Christmas experienceing visiting the Christmas markets in both Ljubljana and Trieste followed by a spot of wine tasting somewhere in the Slovenian hills afterwards.

There are no queues at the Croatian border this time of year, so also a great opportunity to pop into Istria, find a cute hill top village and have a pre Christmas meal to complete your weekend away!

Christmas Markets

Christmas is a much, much quieter affair in Slovenia so DO NOT EXPECT stall after stall selling junk that you don't want and massive crowds like at home.. there will be a few stalls here selling mainly food and drink and then you pop off around the delightful little old town centres to find your special unique Slovenian gifts..

Radolca (50 mins drive) every weekend in December, with local stalls and festive fun. There are many other Christmas markets and fairs around Slovenia and north Italy in December to visit.

fantastic local food at Christmas time in one of the many restaurants in Istrian hill top villages..
fantastic local food at Christmas time in one of the many restaurants in Istrian hill top villages..

 

Christmas light show

At the Postojna caves there is a lights festival during the festive period. The drip stones are lit up by various lighting to make them seem even more mysterious ad festive.. Don't forget caves are the same temperature all year round, so it will actually feel nice and snug inside a cave at Christmas time!

Christmas Nativities

These are very popular in Slovenia and rather than being viewed in the run up to Xmas day, most people here go to see them in the holidays between Christmas day and New Year.

Most churches have a nativity and some have several. All are hand made and very different to the kind of Christmas commercialism that you might be getting tired of at home. There is usually a nice big nativity exhibition of hand made displays from all around Slovenia at the central church in Skofija Loka. This is also a very nice old town to visit at this time of year.

You can find out a little more info on Slovenia's churches by checking out our Daytrips page.

Osmica

Farms are still opening for exclusive 8 day periods, marked by a tree branch on the side of the road to indicate there is food and drink available to try and for sale. (see November for more details).

Email: info@lipizzanerlodge.com

Address: Landol 17, Postojna 6230, Slovenia

Phone: +386 5620 3443
Mobile: +386 40 47 0239 or +386 40 37 8037

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