Fabrika Fest 2026: Between the Sparks of the Past and the Ideas of the Future

As part of the NONA New Governance for New Spaces project Interreg Danube Region Programme 2021-2027, project partners Zavod Iskriva and the Municipality of Ravne na Koroškem in Slovenia are co-organising Fabrika Fest 2026, a capacity-building event bringing together industrial heritage, culture, art, science and creativity.

The first Fabrika Fest, themed Between the Sparks of the Past and the Ideas of the Future, takes place from 21 to 23 June 2026 in Ravne na Koroškem. The festival charts a journey between past and future across the town's most iconic landmarks: Mount Uršlja, the Old Ironworks, Ravne Castle and Javornik Manor.

The programme opens at sunrise on Mount Uršlja (1,700 m), where the renowned Carinthian ensemble JAZOO performs at the summer solstice, a symbolic union of music, nature and local heritage. Over three days, the festival offers a rich and intergenerational programme spanning live music, contemporary dance and virtual reality, robotics and AI workshops, space technology demonstrations, children's creative activities, and professional roundtables on culture and community development. The festival also places particular emphasis on Ravne's 400-year ironworking tradition, with guided tours, a blacksmithing experience, and an exhibition of works by ironworks employees.

The full festival programme is available here.

Zavod Iskriva contributes a dedicated roundtable, Management in Culture (Monday, 22 June), exploring how culture, creativity and intersectoral collaboration can drive local development and build lasting community impact.

Fabrika Fest is part of the Danube Festival Caravan, organised within the CAST – Culture trAnSforming communiTies and economies project, supported by the Interreg Danube Region Programme and co-funded by the European Union.