The festival will start with an ethnological parade and the passing of the ceremonial baton to the new Carnival Prince. It will end on Fat Tuesday, which takes place on February 13 this year.

The eleven-day international Shrovetide festival will transform Ptuj into Slovenia's ethnological capital. Ahead of the festivities, Monika Klinc, the acting head of the Ptuj Tourism Association, announced that more than 70 events will take place as part of the festival – 100 if events near Ptuj are included. At the main parades, around 6000 masked characters will make an appearance. Authorities in Ptuj expect some 100,000 visitors throughout the festivities.

Not nearly enough municipal funds
"With its Kurent Festival, Ptuj has become one of Slovenia's tourism icons, according to the Slovenian Tourism Association. This is an incredible achievement for Ptuj's tourism industry," added Klinc and mentioned a new location of the main carnival arena, a change that will alter the routes of the two main parades.

The Municipality of Ptuj has set aside 46,000 euros for the public part of the event. This is about a fourth of the funds needed. Everything else must be obtained on the market – as income from rents, marketing, or sponsors.

Now on UNESCO's World Heritage List
The head of the Kurent Festival Branko Brumen added that the Kurent parades were added to UNESCO's Intangible World Heritage List in December. The opening ethnographic parade will highlight this recognition on Saturday.

"The preservation, the development, and the presentation of Ptuj's incredibly rich ethnographic heritage, with Kurents at the forefront, as well as the transfer of that heritage to the younger generations, represents our long-term strategic goal. When we were added to the UNESCO list, we obtained the highest possible recognition. Now we must prove that we are worthy of it," said Brumen.

He added that the central parade, which will take place on Sunday, as well as the town and the surrounding villages will be filled with Kurents of various designs, both ethnological and original, from eleven foreign countries.

Ptuj will also see various parades, displays of ethnological characters, concerts, artistic and charity events, as well as masked dances. More than 100,000 visitors will eat half a million Ptuj jelly doughnuts, while high-quality wine and local gastronomy will round out the festivities in Ptuj and its surroundings.