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Advent Novo mesto
A December festive event that transforms the city centre for an entire month into a fairy-tale setting, featuring a city ice rink, a diverse food and drink offer, and a highly attractive music programme focused on Slovenian original music. In addition to major concerts, the event also includes children’s performances, gift-giving events, and performances by cultural associations. In recent years, performers at the event have included Magnifico, Nina Pušlar, Big Foot Mama, Joker Out, Perpetuum Jazzile, Mrfy, Fehtarji, Modrijani, Dan D, and many others, attracting more than 65,000 visitors to the main venue over the course of a single month.
Programme of Advent Novo mesto 2025
With the switching on of the festive lights, the arrival of St Nicholas and the opening of the ice rink, this year’s Advent Novo mesto will begin on 5 December in Glavni trg (Main Square). Throughout December, the main venue alone will host more than 60 events. The highlight of the festival, organised for the fifth consecutive year by the Novo mesto Institute in cooperation with the Municipality of Novo mesto, will take place between 25 and 31 December, when concerts by well-known Slovenian musicians will be held on the main stage.
Between 5 and 23 December, a variety of events will take place every evening on the main stage in Glavni trg – ranging from children’s performances and kindergarten presentations to concerts, dance performances and choral singing. Special attention will be given to children’s gift-giving, which will take place between 19 and 21 December in cooperation with the Mojca Association of Friends of Youth. In the final week of December, the festival will offer outstanding musical evenings that will attract numerous visitors to Glavni trg. Performers will include Žan Serčič, Mrfy, Siddharta, Ansambel Aufbiks, Vlado Kreslin and Mali bogovi, and Jan Plestenjak. We will welcome the New Year together with our fellow townspeople and members of a local rock band, who will ensure an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration – Dan D. We will then jump energetically into the New Year with lively dance rhythms performed by the band Plutz.
The lower part of Glavni trg will host the Advent Market, where, alongside local vendors, final-year students from Novo mesto secondary schools will also present their products, collecting voluntary contributions for their graduation ball. The festive ice rink will be open daily and intended for all generations. Mornings will be reserved for ice skating by children from kindergartens as well as primary and secondary schools. In the afternoons, at weekends and during school holidays, the rink will be open to all visitors. The ice rink, covering more than 300 square metres, will remain open until 18 January.
