Cleveland Kurentovanje Parade & Festival

From Cleveland Kurentovanje Parade & Festival Website:

Kurentovanje (koo-rahn-toh-VAHN-yay) is the most popular carnival event in Slovenia and the central figure of the carnival, the Kurent, is believed to chase away winter and usher in spring.

In 2013, a group of local Slovenian-Americans, with support from the St. Clair-Superior Development Corporation, organized the first Cleveland Kurentovanje as a way to celebrate our heritage and the Mardi Gras season. That first year, the planning group pulled together the event in approximately six weeks, and were astounded to see 2000+ attendees at the first Cleveland Kurentovanje.

Cleveland Kurentovanje is filled with costumes, a parade, ethnic food and drink, free musical and cultural performances, and authentic Kurents. The goals of Cleveland Kurentovanje are to:

Promote and celebrate our Slovenian heritage
Create a fun and lively experience for all festival-goers
Use the energy from our event to contribute to the momentum in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood, which historically, was home for generations of Slovenian immigrants.
Since its' inception, Cleveland Kurentovanje has been proud to host crowds of approximately 2,000-7,000 attendees annually. Entrance to the event has always, and will continue to be free of charge. Cleveland Kurentovanje is lead by a group of volunteer organizers who donate their time and talents to foster the success of the event. We are extremely grateful for our past and present sponsors and volunteers who have provided gifts of their time, talents, monetary and in-kind donations to help offset the costs of the event.