Velenje is located in the eastern part of the Šaleška Valley, along the Paka river basin, at an altitude of 396 m above sea level. It is surrounded by the rolling hills of the Šaleška Valley, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps to the west and the Pohorje to the east. The central part of the city is the valley part along the Paka River. It is the fifth largest city in Slovenia in terms of population, and in its development over the past 50 years, it has expanded between the former settlements and hamlets of Škale, Stara vas, Stara Velenje, Šalek and Šmartno. The center of the municipality is the city of Velenje, which is a prominent industrial center and is growing into a regional center of Savinja-Šalek with a developed trade and other administrative, educational and other activities.
Municipality of VELENJE
Velenje is a city with vision and youthful energy. It is one of the sunniest and greenest in Slovenia, situated by lakes, and it is developing into a centre for social and sports activities. Families with small and big children will feel great in Šaleška Valley while exploring the modern architecture of Velenje or Šaleška Valley countryside.
The city of intercultural harmony, solidarity and fellowship has more than 1,500 events per year. It is a home of largest children’s festival in the area – Pippi’s festival. The creative workshops, exploration workshops, motoric and sensor polygons and interactive spots are excellent choices for family meetings, as well as organised visits by kindergarten and school groups.
Velenje Beach is the best starting point for strolls, cycling, and horse riding around the lakes, the waterpark for swimming, stand up paddle boarding, sailing and kids playing, pleasant bars for relaxation and sunken villages for surprising discoveries. You can also climb to an attractive viewing platform for panoramic views of Lake Velenje or attend one of the many events held at the lake’s mouth.
PIPPI’S FESTIVAL (PIKIN FESTIVAL)
Pippi`s festival is the largest event for children and families in Slovenia and one of the most recognizable brand in the area of children`s activities. The principles of the festival are culture, education, exchange of artistic practices, liaising with other organizers of similar cultural practices and fun for all generations. Activities beyond the brand of festival are proceeding throughout the year, but the peak is reached in the week of the festival in the end of September (7 all-day long activities), when over 100.000 people visit the central area.
Pippi’s Festival is an event that offers cultural education and entertainment for all generations. The Festival is basically dedicated to cultural education for the school group segment, and is increasingly becoming a family festival. Families visit the venue mainly in the afternoon, and the family structure is widespread, as grandparents, aunts and uncles are also enthusiastic visitors of the festival. The opening and closing days (or weekend days) are traditionally the most visited (together they represent almost half of the total visit).
Each year, organizers determine a central festival theme, which is the starting point for various activities. Themes from previous years are Four Seasons, Professions, Animal Kingdom, On the farm, Languages …). The heart of the festival are most definetely app. 80 to 100 creative workshops of various types (motor, sensory, creative, research, technical). Most of them allow children to make a product with the help of an animator, which the child can then take home. The workshops are located indoors and are conducted regardless of weather conditions. There are also many outdoor activities: stages under the sky, street theatre, interactive workshops and exhibitions. The festival venues are divided into a main venue in the centre of Velenje, where all-day activities take place all day throughout the week, and a number of festival venues around the city, which include exhibitions, themed events and two venues with theatre and dance performances.
IMPLEMENTED PILOT ACTIVITIES
In Velenje, they focused on public areas, specifically on children’s playgrounds. As part of the pilot action, a children’s playground near Lake Velenje was restored. They restored the existing sandpit, urban equipment and paths. They also installed new play units: a big cableway, swings for different age groups, a group swing, large compound unit for climbing with slides, and hammocks for resting. Before that, as part of the project activities, they made an analysis of the state of children’s playgrounds in Velenje and prepared recommendations for their further management. They also organized an expert consultation, where experts presented their experience in the field of planning and maintaining public children’s playgrounds, the connection between play space and psychophysical development, and the role of public children’s playgrounds in the tourist offer.
Child friendly offer:
FAMILY – VISIT ŠALEŠKA
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Pozoj children’s playground renovated in Velenje
March 30th 2022. opening of the pilot action of the Wonder project took place in Velenje. As part of a pilot campaign, Velenje renovated the Pozoj children’s playground and a press conference was held at the opening of the playground. Pippi Longstocking and Pirate enternained the children at the opening. With the first jump over…
