This year too, our Association participated in the traditional gathering of Slovenian emigrants from all over the world, which has been organized in the Republic of Slovenia since 1988, and which in recent years has been known as "Welcome Home".
The central gathering event organized by the Slovenian Emigrant Association was held in the city of Celje on June 29, Saturday, when a colorful cultural program was organized for numerous groups and individuals from around the world. Book promotions and exhibitions were organized in the famous Celje House, and choirs, music and folklore groups from all over the world, mostly from the former Yugoslavia, performed on the Krek’s Square.
Our children's folklore group also performed in the central program, with the choreography of a Combination of Carinthian Dances, authored by Tomaž Simetinger, PhD, who was also one of the hosts of this year's event. Our folklorists were ninth in order of performance and, as one of the youngest groups at the event, with their successful performance, they received a lot of sympathy and applause from the audience, who cheerfully accompanied the program on a demanding 30+ degrees on hot Saturday afternoon. The two-and-a-half-hour cultural program ended with a joint performance of the song Summer Night by all the performers, with the support of the audience.
In the accompanying program for the promotion of the book "Stories of Slovenian emigrants in pictures and words", our choir "Davorin Jenko" performed two Slovenian songs at the event hosted by SIM president Boris Jesih, PhD and the author Janez Rogelj himself, a confirmed friend of our Association.
We started the trip on Friday, June 28. The first stop on our trip was in the beautiful Rogaška Slatina, which we got to know through the expert guidance of a tourist guide from the local Tourist Information Center, we walked along the spa promenades, and we also had the opportunity to briefly visit the famous Crystal Hall, at the moment when the young musicians had their rehearsal, which made the tour even bigger for us.
After a long walk on a warm day, we refreshed ourselves with delicious meat specialties and local beer in Pivnica Lipnik, in Šmarje pri Jelšah, which was our next stop. According to the travel program, we visited one of the most beautiful churches in Slovenia, the church of St. Rok, which is located on top of a hill that rises above Šmarje. A smaller part of our group walked the way to the church with a local tourist guide, climbing the famous Calvary, and visited 14 stone chapels on the Path of the Cross. After the gathering of the group, the expert guide for visits to the church introduced us to the interesting history of the church and the place, and those present could not hide their enthusiasm for the interior appearance and painting of the church, which was built in 1646. The surprise is even greater because behind the imposing building of a simple style, with Gothic elements, there is a beautifully painted interior, the work of the greatest Baroque artists of that era. The tour of Šmarje ended in Skaz's house, which represents an example of extremely beautiful and sophisticated Trieste architecture from the second half of the 19th century, which was used as a post office for a long time, and today is arranged as a multifunctional building, intended for museum, tourist and other public purposes.
We used Saturday morning to visit the Regional Museum in Celje and with the expert guidance of the museum's curators, we divided into two groups and visited only the most important museum exhibits in the Duke's Palace and the Old County House. The archaeological site "Celeia - a place under a place" in the basement of the Duke's Palace, took us to the distant past of the city, where we had the opportunity to see the authentic remains of the Roman settlement of Celeia "in situ" and to walk along the Roman roads. In Old County House, we heard the inspiring story of the "Celje ceiling", which is so interesting and somewhat mystical that we experienced an incredible journey through history, worthy of a film adaptation.
After a successful Saturday performance and a short rest, on Sunday new sights, places and people awaited us to get to know them. At the beginning, we visited the Celje Fortress and there, in the shadow of the ancient walls, we got to know not only the history of the fortress and the family of the Counts of Celje, but also the historical circumstances and social relations that prevailed in the Middle Ages. After the history lesson, we were able to enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the town of Celje and the surrounding areas.
We had a short refreshment at the buffet in the town of Celje, and then headed for lunch, and on the way to the restaurant, which is about 15 km away, the driving skills of our driver were thoroughly tested. However, all the apprehension and sighs from the short hike subsided when we were warmly welcomed at the entrance to the restaurant by the host Roman. From the terrace of the restaurant there is a view of the fairy-tale village of Svetina and the surrounding hills, which looked like a storm-tossed sea of green forests and glades. And in the restaurant, nothing but delight awaited us with the serving of various delicacies that had the taste of local cuisine and local ingredients. It was hard for us to part with the ambiance and pleasure for the palate and soul, but the hourly rate was relentless.
Our next and last stop on this trip in Slovenia was Šentjur. A small Styrian place with a soul, which our association members had the opportunity to visit ten years ago, hosted us again. This time it was at the "Summer Folklore Evening" organized by the Folklore association from Šentjur and our warm hostess Dragica Gobec. The hosts made sure that we got to know the most famous family from Šentjur, i.e. the Ipavec family, who through several generations of successful doctors and talented musicians managed to leave a deep mark not only in their region but also in the Slovenian people in the then Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which is why is their family house turned into a local museum and tourist reference point. And on the terrace in the courtyard of the Ipavec house, with a grand stand for spectators, a concert was held, at which our choir performed twice, performing its repertoire of Slovenian folk songs and songs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the choir, our and local folklore groups performed, and at the end everything ended with a joint dance to the rhythm of polka and waltz.
After the concert, there was a joint gathering in the courtyard of the Kozjansko Development Agency building, where the hosts treated us to food and drinks, but what meant the most to us were smiles and warm cordiality, which in the end resulted in a joint circle and a discussion about plans for continued cooperation in the future.
We owe a great deal of gratitude for the successful stay of our group in Slovenia to the former Slovenian teacher in Banja Luka, Nina Gradič Planko, who, in addition to helping with the organization, found time to visit us with her cheerful three-year-old boy, Miha, and hang out with us in Šmarje and to her native Šentjur, and in some way confirm and renew the friendship that has been going on for a decade.
Full of positive impressions, but also tired from the many kilometers travelled in three days, we returned to Banja Luka in the early hours of the morning in a good mood and happy journey. Otherwise, the safe journey of our group of 48 members was taken care of by the driver Milan from the company "Golubić", and we were accommodated in the Student Dormitory in Celje. The entire trip was realized with the financial support of the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Slovenians abroad, the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Srpska, the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of BiH and the City of Banja Luka.
Mladen Lunić
