The traditional opening act of chasing away the winter actually already began at the beginning of February with a ritual involving the distinctive "kurenti" figures dancing by the fire.

The festivities will peak at the weekend before Shrove Tuesday, when a big promenade with guests from Croatian and Belgian carnivals will unfold in the streets of this medieval town near the city of Maribor, the head organiser Branko Brumen said as the city presented the festivities.

Besides the promenade, the EtnoRockFest music festival will offer free concerts of young bands every day alongside the carnival market, which is a novelty in the programme this year and will provide food stands and daily presentations of traditional masks.

Traditionally, the "Ex tempore Karneval" art event will also take place, as well as a symposium on the subject of the significance of cultural heritage in the development of towns.

The organisers, who expect some 10,000 participants, wish to make the Kurentovanje the main European carnival and aim to put it on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2015.