The Carnival celebration called Kurentovanje at Ptuj is held between Saturday and Tuesday, during which time the Kurenti run the show. For the Carnival, Ptuj is transformed by this Slovenian ethnological event which is inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The display windows are full of Kurenti masks, inviting visitors to buy for example Carnival post stamps, or taste traditional doughnuts. Moreover, the Carnival organisers have set up a special Kurentovanje website where visitors can tour the oldest Slovenian town and meet carnival figures accompanying Kurenti in the virtual world.

Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, Laufarija, a traditional Shrovetide festival in Cerkno, was at first envisaged only as an online event, but can now be held live, thanks to the recent easing of measures.   Laufarija is an ancient pagan custom. Only oral traditions and no other records of its origin have been found. For various reasons, the custom was not practiced in the period between the start of World War I and 1995. At the initiative of Peter Brelih from Cerkno and under Niko Kuret’s professional guidance, the local men revived the tradition, and, following the long break, Laufarija was again organised in 1956. Since then it has been preserved in its original form, with some minor additions.  A Laufarji family  has 25 characters and 26 masks (one character has two different masks), all but one carved from linden wood.

Today, the mayor of Cerkno will hand over his powers to the mayor from Butale. In this carnival week, Cerkno will turn into Butale – a promised land where every day is a holiday and there are no taxes. Witches from nearby Slivnica will light the carnival fire, and the traditional sawing of the witch – actually a log – is also on the programme. Although this custom is typically associated with the third Wednesday following Ash Wednesday or mid-Shrovetide, the sawing of the witch in Cerkno is marked by the carnival theme. In the past, instead of a witch, a log or a doll was used, symbolising Lent. Over time the custom has become characteristic of Shrovetide. The sawing of the witch was first documented in Italy in the 15th century.