Gregorčki on the Gradaščica: Closing the LUV Fest and Welcoming Spring
6 Mar 2025
The LUV Fest, a festival of love, art, and wandering, will once again conclude symbolically with the 30th traditional free event The Welcoming of Spring. On the eve of St. Gregory’s Day, March 11, children will have the opportunity to launch their handmade boats with candles down the Gradaščica River, participate in environmentally themed workshops, and enjoy a diverse cultural and educational program featuring acrobatic theater performances, lively musical acts, and culinary delights. The event is organized by the Staroljubljanski zavod za kulturo with the support of Ljubljana Tourism.
The Welcomin of Spring event revives an old folk tradition where craftsmen would symbolically bid farewell to winter by floating wooden clogs with burning candles down the streams, celebrating the fact that with the arrival of spring, they no longer needed artificial light for work. According to the old Julian calendar, spring begins on St. Gregory’s Day, March 12. Therefore, on March 11, from 1 PM to 8 PM, visitors at Eipprova Street in Trnovo will be able to release their boats of St. Gregory, or Gregorčki - handmade candlelit boats - down the Gradaščica River.
Cultural and Educational Program
From 3 PM to 6 PM, children can take part in an interactive session on environmental protection, learning proper recycling techniques and discovering how paper can be made from Japanese knotweed. In a creative workshop, they can craft their own Gregorček, while other sound and visual art workshops will introduce them to Slovenian bird species. The program will also feature acrobatic theater performances.
At 3:30 PM, students from the Music School of the Conservatory for Music and Ballet will perform, followed by a concert by Trkaj at 4:30 PM. The evening boat launching will take place from 6 PM to 8 PM, and throughout the day, a culinary corner will be available on Eipprova Street.
In case of rain, the event will be held at the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum. The full event program is available on the Tourism Ljubljana website.
LUV Fest Continues Until St. Gregory’s Day
Since its start on February 8, LUV Fest has been offering numerous concerts, performances, creative workshops, themed city tours, and exhibitions. Until March 12, visitors can enjoy special culinary offerings in Ljubljana’s restaurants and pastry shops, take advantage of festival discounts at select retailers, indulge in pampering packages at Ljubljana’s hotels, and admire artistic installations and unique street decorations throughout the city. The full LUV Fest program is available on the Tourism Ljubljana website.