Tickets will be available at the venue an hour before the start of the event.
38. CIOFF INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
30. 6.–4. 7. 2026
The international CIOFF Folklore festival FOLKART in Maribor, a member of the world NGO CIOFF from the very beginning, is the largest Folklore festival in Slovenia. It is one of the best and most prominent in Europe and in the folklore world. The first festival of its kind in the world, which was honored with the patronage of UNESCO .
FOLKART, OUR WINDOW TO THE WORLD
For the last 37 years, Maribor Folkart has brought to our city and to Slovenia the most prominent folklore groups in the world, which every year impressed us again, moved us with their stories to many different continents and took us far beyond the usual horizons. This year we have learned about culture and traditions from 83 different countries around the world. The world's exceptional Intangible Cultural Heritage tells us about people from near and farthest continents, their way of life, work, behaviour, beliefs and their commitment to values that are vital for all generations. Culture is a value, it is Belonging and respect; above all, it is the basic foundation of the existence of every nation in the world. That is why Folkart is our window to the world-it is a real holiday of the world's Intangible Cultural Heritage, life and hope. And let's really hope that it will be so in the future.
Messengers of culture and tradition will come to Maribor this year from all over the world for the 38th time. in a row. We will have the opportunity to experience the culture of as many as four countries that have never performed at Folkart. On 38. Folkart come from groups from Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean (North America). With their unique stories, they will envelop our city in colorful colors and moments of joy. From the south of Africa, from Botswana , the capital of Gaborone, comes a group that lives for singing, dancing and rhythms. "We want to show the world everything from the deep rhythms of Tsutsube in the Kalahari to the wild stomping of paties in the South. This is our celebration of life. With heart, with joy."From Bolivia, a picturesque continental country in South America with the highest administrative capital in the world, La Paz, a team of professionals will bring us a piece of their unique culture, a rich mix of influences from Andean natives and Spanish colonialists. Poland, a seaside country in Central Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, sends one of the best groups in the country to us; students from Krakow will attract us with youthful energy and complete dedication to the rich traditions of their land. Again, from the other end of the world, from the tropical island of Puerto Rico in the eastern Caribbean, comes a group of enthusiasts who have salsa in their blood; they are focused on their culture, dance and music. They are passionate people full of life. North Macedonia, The Land of the sun and smiling people, which is also called the Pearl of the Balkans, sends us a rejuvenated group of good acquaintances who will rekindle our hearts and show us that Macedonian culture is one of the richest, deeply rooted cultures in the heritage of its land. From the heart of Asia, from Uzbekistan , which is surrounded by the most important rivers of Central Asia, the Amu Darya (O 6thus – the mother of all rivers) and the Sir Darya (Ja 6thartes), professionals come to us, a state ensemble from Tashkent. From where thousands of years of Islamic tradition, mystical beauty and extraordinary hospitality of people are intertwined. This colorful read of World Culture will be rounded off, of course, by anyone other than our Kudovans, exceptional locals, members of the Student Academic folklore group, who will proudly represent Slovenia .
Out of 30. June to 4. in July Maribor will again be full of dance, music and songs, colorful national costumes, happy faces, optimism and playful atmosphere. Which is more than important in these crazy times.
During the festival, we will meet folklorists around the city center, in Lent and also in the city park. Opening and closing 38. FOLKART will perform on the main stage of the Lent festival in Leon Stuklj Square.
UZBEKISTAN
Ensemble of dances and songs "BUKHORCHA", Bukhara
Millennial Islamic tradition, mystical beauty. Exceptional hospitality of the people. The once mighty Aral Lake. A landscape from the Legends of the Silk Road, full of stories of merchants, poets and conquerors. Mosques, minarets and turquoise tones of dazzling mosaics of the Asian Orient. Registan Square in Samarkand.
Uzbekistan is a mainland country in the heart of Asia, bordering Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. It is surrounded by the most important rivers of Central Asia, the Amu Darya (O 6thus – mother of all rivers) and the Sir Darya (Ja 6thartes). Deserts cover vast areas of the land. A living proof of human greed is the once mighty Aral Lake, the fourth largest in area in the world, which has been reduced to a tenth of its previous size by reckless drying up. Uzbekistan, with its endless sand dunes, extraordinary architecture and rich history, is known as the Pearl of the Silk Road. The majority of the population is made up of Uzbeks, known as descendants of nomadic Turkic tribes. They are calm, good-natured and extremely hospitable. Most of them live in the far eastern half of the country, mainly in the fertile Fergana Valley, the "green soul" of Uzbekistan, which is considered the cultural center of Central Asia. From Bukhara, one of the oldest cities of Uzbekistan, founded in 1. millennium BC, comes to us the National ensemble of songs and dances of Bukhorcha . Their mission is to study traditional art. The repertoire of the ensemble alongside the bukharas also includes dance samples representing Khorezm, Fergana and the Muslim Orient. Complex dance movements form a single composition of ancient Bukharan folklore art. All performances are accompanied by musicians on traditional instruments such as doira, tanbur, naj, gijjak, saz and Kashkar rubab. We will also welcome Uzbekistan at Folkart for the first time.
Vstopnice bodo na voljo na prizorišču uro pred začetkom dogodka.
38. MEDNARODNI CIOFF® FOLKLORNI FESTIVAL
30. 6.–4. 7. 2026
Mednarodni CIOFF folklorni festival FOLKART v Mariboru, že od samega začetka član svetovne nevladne organizacije CIOFF, je največji folklorni festival v Sloveniji. Je eden najboljših in najvidnejših v Evropi ter v folklornem svetu. Prvi tovrstni festival na svetu, ki je bil počaščen s pokroviteljstvom UNESCO .
FOLKART, NAŠE OKNO V SVET
Zadnjih 37 let je mariborski Folkart v naše mesto in v Slovenijo pripeljal najvidnejše svetovne folklorne skupine, ki so nas vsako leto znova navdušile, nas s svojimi zgodbami preselile na mnoge različne kontinente in popeljale daleč preko običajnih obzorij. Do letos smo tako spoznali kulturo in tradicijo iz kar 83 različnih držav sveta. Izjemna svetovna nesnovna kulturna dediščina nam govori o ljudeh z bližnjih in najbolj oddaljenih kontinentov, o njihovem načinu življenja, dela, vedenja, verovanja ter o predanosti vrednotam, ki so ključnega pomena za vse generacije. Kultura je vrednota, je pripadnost in spoštovanje; predvsem pa je osnovni temelj obstoja slehernega naroda na svetu. Ravno zato je Folkart naše OKNO V SVET – je pravi praznik svetovne nesnovne kulturne dediščine, življenja in upanja. In res upajmo, da bo tako tudi v prihodnje.
Glasniki kulture in tradicije bodo letos v Maribor prišli z vsega sveta že 38. zapored. Imeli bomo priložnost doživeti kulturo kar štirih držav, ki še nikoli niso nastopile na Folkartu. Na 38. Folkart prihajajo skupine iz Evrope, Afrike, Azije, Južne Amerike in Karibov (Severne Amerike). S svojimi edinstvenimi zgodbami bodo naše mesto ogrnile v pisane barve in trenutke veselja. Z juga Afrike, iz Bocvane , glavnega mesta Gaborone, prihaja skupina, ki živi za petje, ples in ritme. »Svetu želimo prikazati vse, od globokih ritmov Tsutsubeja v Kalahariju do divjega topotanja Patiesa na jugu. To je naše praznovanje življenja. S srcem, z veseljem.« Iz Bolivije , slikovite celinske države v Južni Ameriki z najvišje ležečo administrativno prestolnico na svetu La Paz, nam bo skupina profesionalcev prinesla delček njihove edinstvene kulture, bogate mešanice vplivov andskih domorodcev in španskih kolonialistov. Poljska , obmorska država v Srednji Evropi, ki meji na Baltsko morje, k nam pošilja eno najboljših skupin v državi; študenti iz Krakova nas bodo pritegnili z mladostno energijo in popolno predanostjo bogati tradiciji svoje dežele. Spet z drugega konca sveta, s tropskega otoka Portorika v vzhodnih Karibih, prihaja skupina zanesenjakov, ki jim je salsa v krvi; osredotočeni so na svojo kulturo, ples in glasbo. So strastni ljudje, polni življenja. Severna Makedonija , dežela sonca in nasmejanih ljudi, ki ji pravijo tudi biser Balkana, k nam pošilja pomlajeno skupino dobrih znancev, ki nam bodo ponovno razgreli srca in nam pokazali, da je makedonska kultura ena najbogatejših, globoko zakoreninjenih kultur v dediščini svoje dežele. Iz osrčja Azije, iz Uzbekistana , ki ga obkrožata najpomembnejši reki Srednje Azije Amu Darja (Oxus – Mati vseh rek) in Sir Darja (Jaxartes), prihajajo k nam profesionalci, državni ansambel iz Taškenta. Od tam, kjer se prepletajo tisočletna islamska tradicija, mistična lepota in izjemna gostoljubnost ljudi. To pisano bero svetovne kulture pa bodo zaokrožili, seveda, kdo drug kot naši Kudovci, izjemni domačini, člani Akademske folklorne skupine Študent, ki bodo ponosno predstavljali Slovenijo .
Od 30. junija do 4. julija bo Maribor ponovno poln plesa, glasbe in pesmi, barvitih narodnih noš, veselih obrazov, optimizma ter razigranega vzdušja. Kar je več kot pomembno v teh norih časih.
V času festivala bomo folkloriste srečevali po centru mesta, na Lentu in tudi v Mestnem parku. Ob otvoritvi in zaključku 38. Folkarta pa bodo nastopili na Glavnem odru Festivala Lent na Trgu Leona Štuklja.
UZBEKISTAN
Ansambel plesov in pesmi »BUKHORCHA«, Buhara
Tisočletna islamska tradicija, mistična lepota. Izjemna gostoljubnost ljudi. Nekoč mogočno Aralsko jezero. Pokrajina iz legend Svilne ceste, polna zgodb trgovcev, pesnikov in osvajalcev. Mošeje, minareti in turkizni toni bleščečih mozaikov azijskega Orienta. Trg Registan v Samarkandu.
Uzbekistan je celinska država v osrčju Azije, ki meji na Afganistan, Kazahstan, Kirgizistan, Tadžikistan in Turkmenistan. Obkrožata ga najpomembnejši reki Srednje Azije, Amu Darja (Oxus – Mati vseh rek) in Sir Darja (Jaxartes). Puščave prekrivajo ogromna področja dežele. Živ dokaz človeškega pohlepa je nekoč mogočno Aralsko jezero, po površini četrto največje na svetu, ki so ga z nespametnim izsuševanjem skrčili zgolj na desetino prejšnje velikosti. Uzbekistan je s svojimi neskončnimi peščenimi sipinami, izjemno arhitekturo in bogato zgodovino znan kot biser Svilne poti. Večino prebivalstva tvorijo Uzbeki, znani kot potomci nomadskih turških plemen. So umirjeni, dobrosrčni in izjemno gostoljubni. Večina živi v skrajni vzhodni polovici države, predvsem v rodovitni Ferganski dolini, »zeleni duši« Uzbekistana, ki velja za kulturno središče Srednje Azije. Iz Buhare, enega najstarejših mest Uzbekistana, ustanovljenega v 1. tisočletju pred našim štetjem, prihaja k nam državni ansambel pesmi in plesov Bukhorcha . Njihovo poslanstvo je preučevanje tradicionalne umetnosti. Repertoar ansambla ob buharskih vključuje tudi plesne vzorce, ki predstavljajo Horezm, Fergano in muslimanski Orient. Zapleteni plesni gibi tvorijo enotno kompozicijo starodavne buharske folklorne umetnosti. Vse nastope spremljajo glasbeniki na tradicionalnih instrumentih, kot so doira, tanbur, naj, gidžjak, saz in kaškarski rubab. Tudi Uzbekistan bomo na Folkartu pozdravili prvič.