Impatiently, as teenagers, we were waiting for June 28, 2024, when the departure for Slovenia was planned.
Preparations were extensive and carefully planned. We have been working diligently since the beginning of the year with our conductor Vanja, in order to create the best repertoire that we will present as part of the event "Welcome home" in Celje, as well as for the performance in Šentjur at the festival at the "Šentjur" Folklore Association.
On the way to Celje, we visited Rogaška Slatina and the interesting town of Šmarje pri Jelšah, where we visited the church of St. Rok. In the beautiful baroque church on top of the hill, we felt its acoustics and sang a song as a rehearsal for the performance.
On Saturday, June 29, 2024, our choir performed in the large hall of Celje house at the promotion of Janez Rogelj's book "Stories of Slovenian emigrants in pictures and words". After the successful performance, we continued to follow the central event in front of Celje house and enjoyed the performances of other Slovenian choirs and folklore groups from various countries (BiH, Germany, Croatia, Argentina...). We supported our young folklorists who won the hearts of the audience with their performance on the Krek’s Square, because who could resist Nastja and Srećko's smile along with the dance steps of the waltz.
Celje delighted us, especially the old town center. We visited the Regional Museum and the castle of Celje. Excellent guides introduced us to the history of the city and its surroundings. We were also at the opening of two very beautiful art exhibitions.
On Sunday, June 30, 2024, we headed to Šentjur. We were welcomed by representatives of the Association and given a short tourist postcard of Šentjur. They proudly showed us the birthplace of the Ipavec family, who were doctors and composers. Along the way, they showed us where we would perform. The folklore group of the hosts, our folklore group and our choir performed. The choir finished the performance with the song "Slovenija zelena", which was also accepted by the audience. And at the end we all danced to the host's orchestra playing a waltz. After the performance, there was a very lively and cheerful gathering with dinner, dancing and singing.
It was a wonderful trip, good company, with a lot of positive energy and the desire to hang out like this in the future and as often as possible.
Ljiljana Memon
