On 17th and 18th May, BTC Cities in Ljubljana, Murska Sobota, and Novo mesto hosted the 31st Festival of Shopping and Fun, which offered more than 170,000 fans of shopping and fun from Slovenia and abroad big discounts and children’s, cultural, and fun experiences for all generations. The organisers also did not forget to treat all culinary fans to delicious dishes.

Twice a year, the Festival of Shopping and Fun brings big discounts and experiences, provided by BTC City vendors, to all fashion and entertainment fans, as well as lovers of delicious cuisine. “With a rich programme, full of shopping, exploring, and tasting, in the scope of the Festival of Shopping and Fun, we wish to offer all BTC City visitors a visit full of adventures. Besides shopping discounts, this year’s accompanying programme focused mainly on our youngest, who could choose among different interesting and educational experiences on both festival days. Attesting to our events being organised thoughtfully time and time again are satisfied visitors and our business partners,” pointed out Miha Rakar, Director of BTC City.

Fun festival atmosphere in BTC City Ljubljana

Despite bad weather, the enjoyment and fun was felt across all shops, as well as across all event areas. The children’s programme, which attracted children with various interests, was exceptionally praised. At the main event area between Shopping Arena A and Open Market BTC City, the youngest in great detail experienced different occupations and trades through workshops and animations organised in the world of “young craftsmen”. Among other trades, children acquainted themselves with installing ceramic tiles and making mosaics; helping them out was rapper 6pack Čukur. They showed their creativity in the Makedo workshop, where they made products from waste materials. Children learned Chinese with language school Lingula and acquired new knowledge on the educational path, at the end of which they received practical gifts from the wheel of fortune.

Baby Center organised various animation events for the youngest, where children took on the wheelbarrow course on the playground Štorkovo igrišče, played with plasticine, explored the sandpit, planted flowers as young gardeners, or played XXL 4 in a row.

There was also a lot of buzz in Minicity, where at the event “Let’s Fly Higher Together” (“Skupaj poletimo višje”), organised in the scope of the project “Help the City Bee: Flower Up the City” children learned about bees and their importance in a fun and educational way. 4,000 children enjoyed the fun musical programme, as they sang and danced along the performances by Čuki, Ribič Pepe with RTV Slovenija, and Rok Ferengja with Rok’n’Band.

A true musical atmosphere was conjured up in front of Shopping Arena A, as the Croatian National Tourist Board presented itself, accompanied by a musical performance by “klapa” singers from Dalmatia. There was a wide array of local dishes, prepared by chef Dragan Visković, as visitors got to know the hidden gems of Croatia better.

At the square Trg mladih, visitors of the optics centre Optika Clarus had the opportunity of taking a free eyesight test. Later on, they danced in the rhythm of the music, played by a DJ. All soccer fans enjoyed the presentation of all the attractions of the Nogometna hiša zabave (Football House of Fun), while all motorbike fans were thrilled by the programme in front of Yogi moto centre along Shopping Arena 6. They were able to test Piaggio, Aprilia, and Moto Guzzi bikes, Nolan and X-lite helmets and acquaint themselves better with Moto Guzzi V85TT Enduro Premium bike.

The visitors took full advantage of the favourable offers of swimming pools and saunas in Atlantis Water Park to relax between shopping and having fun. The sports centre ŠC Millenium hosted a tennis tournament for the youngest – Let’s play tennis! (“Igrajmo tenis!”). Along with it, on Sunday, there was also the Tennis Olympics, while visitors also enjoyed in a varied accompanying programme of our sponsors and partners of the Slovenian Tennis Association.

All fans of gourmet delights found their favourite spot in the Open Air Food Court BTC City on the southern part of the Open Market BTC City, where the food & drink vendors prepared Spanish and Asian dishes, delicious burgers and other meat dishes, fit menus and vegetarian treats. Fans of grilled meat and dishes also had something to rave about. The grill masters from Napoleon showed them how to use the grill properly and provided a tasting of already prepared dishes.

A rich programme also in BTC City Murska Sobota and BTC City Novo mesto

On Friday and Saturday, the BTC City Murska Sobota and BTC City Novo mesto also offered rich discounts and diverse experiences. The children’s programme in Murska Sobota included a visit by Peppa Pig and musical performances by Nika Zorjan, as well as Manca Špik and Isaac Palma. Even in BTC City Novo mesto, visitors were not deprived of music, since they were warmed up by the band Ansambel Frančič, while the youngest enjoyed pancakes and a children’s show.