Ptuj carnival trip from Rangsit: Jom meets the shaggy kurent creatures of Slovenia's oldest town

Jom is eight and lives with his parents in a townhouse in Rangsit, where his family runs a small bakery famous for its pandan cakes. His mother has a pen friend in Slovenia whom she met at a cooking course years ago. Every February, the friend sends photos of a strange festival, and last year she finally invited all four of them to come and see it in person.

So in the middle of a cold winter, Jom found himself standing in the streets of Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia, wrapped in a borrowed coat and staring at hundreds of shaggy creatures. They were called kurenti. Each wore a huge coat of sheepskin, a tall mask with horns or colourful feathers, a long red tongue and a belt hung with enormous cowbells that clanged with every jump.

His mother's friend explained that the festival, called Kurentovanje, is about chasing away winter and welcoming spring. Traditionally, young men dressed as kurenti went from house to house, making noise to scare off the cold season and bring good luck. Families would give them food and drinks in return. Today the parade attracts visitors from all over Europe.

Jom was a little frightened at first, but a kurent bent down, waggled its red tongue and gave him a gentle pat on the head. After that he loved them. He watched them hop and sway in bouncing rhythms, the bells creating a wild, pounding music. Some groups moved in perfect unison, so their bells rang together like a giant drum.

Between parades, the family explored the town. They climbed to Ptuj Castle, which holds a museum of musical instruments and carnival masks. Jom pressed his nose against the glass to see old flutes, violins and a tiny harpsichord. They also strolled beside the Drava River and ate warm doughnuts called krofi, dusted with sugar.

In the castle museum, a guide noticed Jom miming piano playing in front of the harpsichord case. Jom's mother explained that he had recently started piano lessons. The guide smiled and said that the kurenti have a lot to teach young musicians, because every dance has a shape and a direction, and good musicians feel that shape before they move.

Shaggy monsters that chase away winter

The idea stuck. When they got back to their guesthouse, Jom tried it on a small keyboard his parents had packed. Jom points his finger forward like the long horn on a kurent mask and traces the opening melody through the air in big bouncing loops, the way the creatures hop down the street, before he lets his hands play. Then he laughs, because it feels like a dance.

His mother noticed that his playing became more lively. Instead of plodding note by note, Jom bounced through simple tunes with energy. He even started making the melodies louder where his loops went higher and softer where they swooped down, without anyone telling him to.

Back in Rangsit, Jom continued lessons with a cheerful teacher at a community music room near the bakery. She adores the kurent story and asked Jom to bring photos, which now hang on her wall. She sometimes asks every pupil to trace a melody with their fingers before playing, and the younger children giggle and call it the kurent dance.

Jom's parents also introduced TiGA AI at home. They rarely have time to supervise practice because the bakery opens before dawn, so an AI piano teacher that listens and corrects mistakes is a big help. Jom works through the piano course in short, fun steps. His parents trust online piano learning to keep him motivated even on busy weekends.

His dad admits he never imagined music lessons could be connected to sheepskin monsters, but he is glad. He wants Jom to learn piano because it builds patience and joy. Jom wants to play piano at the bakery's anniversary party and play music loud enough to scare away the rainy season.

He has even composed a tiny tune named Kurent Hop, with a thumping left hand and a jingling right hand that imitates cowbells. His teacher wrote it down for him, and his mother sent a recording to her friend in Ptuj, who replied with a video of a kurent dancing to it.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is Kurentovanje? A: Kurentovanje is the largest carnival in Slovenia, held each February in Ptuj, where costumed figures called kurenti parade through the streets to drive away winter.

Q: What does a kurent look like? A: A kurent wears a huge sheepskin coat, a mask with horns or feathers, a long red tongue and heavy cowbells on a belt, which clang loudly as he jumps.

Q: Why trace a melody with big movements? A: Large gestures help younger children feel the energy and bounce of a tune, which they can then shrink into controlled finger movements at the keyboard.

When Jom plays it now, the horn finger leads the way, bouncing through the air in loops before the bells start ringing on the keys.

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