Accordion music resounds across Lake Bled
Visitors to Lake Bled were treated to an impressive sight as well as sound on 5 May as more than 450 accordion players got together to play some of the most memorable tunes in unison.
The annual event dedicated to the quintessential Slovenian instrument attracted some 5,000 visitors to what is the country's top beauty spot, according to the local tourism board.
The highlight of the day was when the accordionists gathered on the lakeside promenade to play two of the songs by the iconic Avsenik Brothers Ensemble and one by the Lojze Slak Ensemble, another celebrated Alpine folk music band.
They all joined in together for the 1968 song dedicated to the Bled Island called Otoček sredi jezera (Little Island in the Middle of the Lake) and the hugely popular 1955 polka instrumental Na Golici, also known as Trompetenecho, plus the Lojze Slak Ensemble's 1995 waltz The Beekeeper.
This was followed by a procession of accordions, and concerts by Primorski Fantje (the Primorska Boys) and Okrogli Muzikanti (the Round Musicians).
The 8th edition of Accordions at Lake Bled brought together accordionists old and young; the oldest were 89 years old and the youngest was only four, Tourism Bled said.
Apart from many solo players, the event featured 11 accordion groups from all over the country.
The performers took part in a raffle to compete for the main prize, a Poličar accordion made of maple and chrome.
Music aside, the visitors also had a chance to sample local culinary delights and crafts.
The event is held every year to mark World Accordion Day, observed on 6 May, the day in 1829 when Cyrill Demian, an organ and piano maker of Armenian origin, filed a patent in Vienna for the first accordion.