Prleški HelloVin

When the witches wake up
and dance across the dark sky,
it is in wine cellar barrels
that the magic begins.

The witches stir and stir the sweet grape must,
until it is magically mixed
- into vintage, noble wine,
a gift of nature and our hills.

Even to Saint Martin,
this seem strange and unusual,
but the result - the nectar of life and virtue,
he blesses with joy.

So let's celebrate this magic,
let's entertain all the near ones or travelers from afar,
for when the witches until St. Martin
in Prlekija - are conjuring wines.

For eleven days, from October 31, when the witches wake up - until Martin's holiday on November the 11th, when the grape must turns into wine - HelloWine will take place in Prlekija. That's when 'the witches in Prlekija wake up on Halloween to conjure wine from the grape must, which they finish on St. Martin's Day'. During this time, local tourist providers of food and accommodation, and especially winemakers, will be invited to arrange special offers or benefits, discounts, etc., which will last during the eleven days of HelloWine in Prlekija. We will mark the beginning and end of these days with a small cultural (and tasting) event. The concept could be extended to the whole of Prlekija, if there will be interest.

The event is inspired by the traditional 'kraška Osmica', when local farmers, inns and wineries pamper many visitors to this region with a special offer of local cuisine. 'Osmica', of course, is inherited from history, when the surrounding farmers were exempted from all taxes, and even today it attracts a huge number of people to Kraško region, and which has a significant economic effect on the entire region. HelloWine from Prlekija will also have a historical background linked to the revitalized cultural heritage of 'witchcraft' and traditional wine and food production. The period between Halloween and St. Martin's Day is precisely the time when Prlekija, the cradle of viticulture, lacks any major tourist event that would mark this viticulture holiday and attract more external visitors. The HelloWine in Prlekija may be an important step and example in this direction in the long term, and last but not least, it also has international potential.

Duration: 31st of October until 11th of November (11 days from Halloween to St. Martin's Day)
Place: Ljutomer with surroundings / Prlekija

We chose eleven days because that's how many days (and nights) separate Halloween from St. Martin's, so we think the choice of dates is crucial. At the same time, this is the time when our wine-growing region becomes somewhat more interesting for tourists, so this kind of event would be more than welcome at this time.

Main events:

• Witch Congress
• Witches for the youngest
• Halloween Entertainment
• The Witch's Market
• Martinovanje

The purpose of HelloWine is to make Prlekija as recognizable as possible with a new tourist attraction based on cultural heritage, and through this to connect with the already existing traditional events of the region. Halloween celebrations already exist in one form or another, not to mention St. Martin's Day. Our plan is to achieve a greater interest in the rest of the tourist and cultural offer of the region with a minimum of additional, well-thought-out events.

We could achieve this by organizing new events at the start of HelloWine and announcing these festive eleven days in Prlekija, which will start counting on October the 31st.

We will mark Halloween with the Congress of Witches, a popular science seminar, where we will present new findings from historical research about this period, and we will also show certain documentaries and feature films on this topic. The purpose of the congress would be to retain the scientific aspect of this otherwise dark period of our history, without falling into the trap of pure entertainment. With this, we will continue to educate the domestic population and foreign visitors about this topic, in all its broad spectrum. The congress can potentially also become international.

During the congress, educational and creative workshops would be held for the youngest, who would learn about this burning topic from our cultural heritage while being creatively engaged. We can also introduce them to certain theater plays or performances, maybe even animated films related to topics from witchcraft. In the evening, a fun event would follow, which should bring together all age generations and the widest possible musical tastes of the visitors. Similar commercial and high-profile events already exist, but in Prlekija they would also have a well-founded historical basis.

During HelloWine, a 'magic market' should also take place (at least one day during the weekend), where local producers would present and sell their products, with an emphasis on herbalism, cuisine and winemaking. Various tourist souvenirs on the theme of Halloween would also be very welcome. We are aware that such an offer will not grow overnight, but we can encourage it and give it exemplary examples.

The HelloWine in Prlekija will end on St. Martin's Day, when in most places in Prlekija, celebrations are traditionally held on the occasion of this wine-producing and the most Prlekian holiday of all. This means that the conclusion of HelloWine will join the already existing St. Martin's events, which we hope will also bring an additional number of visitors.

We should gradually include as many domestic providers as possible in the concept of the event, namely without any obligations, except for participation in our 'magical' concept, with a certain special offer or discount.

HelloWine should appeal to foreign visitors, including those from more urban environments. With various accompanying events, it will also be possible to dedicate it to a wide generational spectrum of tourists and other foreign visitors. At the same time, it will also be aimed at the local population, as it will offer certain discounts or a special 'magical' offer that the locals will not otherwise be able to taste. Since our main product is telling a story from our rich cultural heritage, this time in the form of witches, it is essential that the locals get involved in this story or at least become familiar with it. This is the only way the event and this cultural heritage of ours will come to life.

The time of witches and witch trials undoubtedly belongs to the darkest periods of our history. On frivolous charges arising from a mixture of ignorance, superstition, and plain human malice, scores of people, mostly women, whose only sin was to stand out in one way or another, were executed. The vast majority of witchcraft trials in Slovenia took place in the wine-growing area of the Slovenian countryside.

According to the latest historical findings, the viticulture tradition, which pervades the culture and history of Prlekija, was crucial in the development of witchcraft processes. Viticulture is an agricultural culture that is highly dependent on natural disasters, accidents and unpredictable weather. In ancient times, when superstitions and belief in supernatural forces was still alive, the locals looked for the reasons for their troubles in evil, magical forces. When calamities struck the grape crop on which they depended for their existence, they sincerely believed in some external forces that were said to harm them on purpose.

As much as this is a very dark period of our history, it is our intangible and indigenous cultural heritage, which is also marked by a kind of mystical aura, thanks to which witchcraft has survived to this day. Not only that, it entered popular mass culture, in the form of various products, media content, services and events, which only testifies to the fact that witchcraft, as a historical and mythological phenomenon, is an integral part of man and his culture.

Through local tourist or cultural organizations, we should gather as many local tourist providers as possible, who will be ready to prepare a special magical offer for their visitors or customers during these eleven days. This may include special 'magical' products or services or perhaps just discounts that should be attractive enough to attract foreign visitors.

The task of the providers will be creative, as they will have to make their offer as attractive as possible for potential HelloWine visitors. They will have no other obligations, so it will be easier to attract them to our concept.

Our task, or the task of the organizers will be to collect as many such providers and offers as possible and present them appropriately through various media channels. The number of providers will have a significant cumulative effect, in the sense that the more of them there are, the easier it will be to promote the entire concept in other regions or neighboring countries.

Our basic goal is to increase the tourist offer of Prlekija based on the original cultural heritage of our region, namely in a modern and original way, which will be interesting for all generations. We also want to connect a certain number of local tourism providers with the event, who will adapt part of their offer to our magic concept - which will make them more recognizable, and at the same time, the whole concept will be more market-oriented. The event will enable the further involvement of additional providers and the expansion of the offer. It will also establish the concept of combining different local traditions, which will connect our revived 'magical' tradition with the traditional winemaking tradition in an original way. With this, we hope for cumulative effects for both traditions, which will increase attendance at all related events and increase the visibility of Prlekija.

The organization and coordination of such an event should be taken over by a certain public institution, namely - the event itself is not strictly commercial, although its long-term effects certainly are. Since the purpose of the event is to raise the visibility of Prlekija as a whole region, this is undoubtedly in the public interest of everyone.

Potential organizers and coordinators can be public cultural or tourist institutes in Prlekija or municipalities from the area of LAS Prlekija. Even better, a certain union between them, for which we would need an effective coordinator and bearer of this activity.

Associated participants can be all entities engaged in tourism activity. As many such participants as possible, who will adapt at least part of their offer to our concept, will enrich the tourist offer, making the whole matter that much more recognizable and efficient. Organizations from cultural spheres, which would enrich the helloVino days with accompanying cultural events - not least the whole thing is based on cultural heritage.

Educational institutions from all levels of education should also be invited to participate. Acquaintance with cultural heritage and participation in its celebration and celebration will permanently connect children and youth with local heritage and specialties, which they will be proud of long after they accidentally leave their hometowns. In addition to learning about this cultural heritage, children and young people could also participate with their creativity in the realization of the HelloWine, everything from participating in creative workshops to devising their own 'magical' cultural program.

The event itself should not require excessive financial investments. In any case, more emphasis should be placed on the promotion of the entire event, which is often neglected. A much more important investment seems to be organized networking at all levels - between providers of tourist services, between municipalities and between local tourist and cultural organizations. In addition to all this, the matter must also be well presented to the local population, because only then will it be able to survive and develop further in the long term.