Preparing the Culinary Trail Final Festival: A Celebration of Flavours, Stories and Connections

Novo mesto, Slovenia | 30 May 2026

The final festival will mark the conclusion of months of collaboration, research, pilot activities, and exchanges between partners, minority communities, local producers, and cultural stakeholders. It will be a moment to reflect on what we have built together and to experience it first-hand.

Throughout the project, Culinary Trail has explored how ethnic and local culinary heritage can strengthen regional identity, promote sustainable tourism, and create meaningful cross-border connections. The festival will bring these ideas to life in an open and welcoming setting in Novo mesto.

Participants will have the opportunity to discover:

• Culinary Trail brand kick-off and presentations of selected minority communities and their rich culinary traditions,
• key results and achievements of the Culinary Trail project in including the competition award,
• the innovative VR riverboat experience, offering an immersive journey along the Culinary Trail,
• local food and beverage providers representing authentic tastes of the Danube region,
• a vibrant cultural programme.

The festival is designed as a space for encounter — between tradition and innovation, between communities and visitors, between stories and flavours. It reflects the project's core mission: building bridges through gastronomy and heritage, through history and technology.

We warmly invite partners, stakeholders, and the wider public to join us for the Culinary Trail Final Festival on 30 May 2026 in Novo mesto, Slovenia.

More detailed programme information will be shared soon.

CT Team