FOLKART

International Folklore Festival FOLKART 2013

June 25 – 29 (performances at the Central stage at the Drava river and Art Camp stage)

25 YEARS OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY

First, there was AFS Študent, an academic folklore group of the Cultural Arts Society of the University of Maribor. After that, Folkart "happened"!

In 1989, the generation of highly creative young people, that were playful, creative and hardworking, wanted to share their experience from festivals all around the world and decided to bring foklore to Maribor! They created a festival and named it Folkart. They said: “If we create a festival, it has to be the biggest in the country and equal to the best festivals worldwide!”

That also marked the beginning of their collaboration with the non-governmental International council of Organizations of Folklore festivals and folk arts CIOFF (Conseil International des Organisations de Festivals de Folklore et d'Arts Traditionnels).

The generation of extraordinary people created something that still lasts today. Soon after its formation, Folkart became the biggest folklore festival in Slovenia. Year after year it offered a higher level of quality because of the unstoppable desire of organizers. During the next decade, their ambitions placed Folkart among the leading European folklore festivals and its reputation also reached other continents.

International Festival Lent developed from Folkart, which was the first part of the mosaic of events by the river Drava, in the old city centre and the heart of Maribor.

Folkart is a firework of colours and diversity. Organized by Narodni dom Maribor and with the help of the members of the Academic folklore group Študent it is a symbol of friendship and bonds between nations from all over the world.

The people of Maribor love that, during the festival, the streets are full of different cultures. During the week, they can enjoy morning performances of folklore groups in the city centre and during the evenings, they move to the Central stage to witness soft sounds Polynesian singing, strong steps of Russian Cossack, hot rhythms of Latin America or the mysterious ritual dances of the black continent. During its rich history, the festival has attracted folklore groups from all Europe and other continents, which comes down to over 220 foreign and Slovene folklore groups with over 7700 members.

We are especially proud to mention folklore groups, such as Maori group "Whitireia Dancers" from New Zealand, the legendary group "Pirin" from Bulgaria, the National Ensemble "Matsamo" from Kingdom of Swaziland in South Africa, the amazing group "Leyte Kalipayan Dance Company" from the Philippines and groups from our former country (" Branko Krsmanović "from Belgrade," Ore Nikolov" from Skopje, "Dr. Ivan Ivanćan" from Zagreb, and many more).

In 2012, Folkart was honoured by the patronage of the Slovene National Commission for UNESCO. In 2013, the honour is even greater. In the framework of the 10th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Folkart will be honoured by the patronage of Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO.

The biggest folk festival in Maribor and Slovenia therefore gained recognition for the outstanding performance of the past 25 years.

Friendships, which are created during the time when Maribor is the centre of the folklore world, are priceless. They last forever and enrich us. Therefore, instead of “Goodbye”, we always say:

"When do we meet again?"