Museums vibrant with activity long into the night

The annual Museums on a Summer Night is the biggest promotional event of Slovenian museums and galleries, attracting some 40,000 visitors in a day.

As many as 71 institutions in 59 towns across the country are taking part this year. They are holding some 400 events, including 170 in Ljubljana.

These include guided tours of collections and exhibitions, exhibition openings, workshops for children and adults, fashion shows, concerts, film screenings, talks, tastings and various demonstrations.

"We'll show once again that our institutions are places of inspiring learning, time out and fun," Aleksandra Berberih Slana, the head of the Slovenian Museum Association, told reporters earlier this week.

Apart from museums and galleries, other institutions concerned with cultural heritage are taking part, including the Lipica Stud Farm, the Škocjan Caves, brewery Union, the National Assembly and the Botanical Gardens of the University of Maribor.

"The audiences' interest in Museums on a Summer Night is huge. The turnout in recent years has been at around 40,000 and some institutions get several thousand visitors," Berberih Slana said.

Many of the visitors had never been to a gallery or museum before, but they like to come back later. "Visiting in the evening is always charming and an opportunity to meet people," Berberih Slana added.

Museums on a Summer Night is being held for the 16th consecutive year. Modelled on similar events abroad, it aims to introduce exhibition venues to the public in an attractive way.

The programme of events is available at www.museums.si.