In Bled, for one Saturday every year the lake becomes a floating light show. At night, 10,000 candles are released onto the lake, lighting up the horizon. Every single candle is handmade and placed in real eggshell. All of the candles are made by one man and his name is Andrej Vidic, as you might expect, a local man. The candles are made over a few months and the egg shells are supplied by the local ‘Kremsnita’ cake shop. They illuminate the whole lake and surrounds.
Famous for its cakes, Bled has been making a particularly delicious cream cake for residents and visitors since 1953 and it was the Head Chef of the Hotel Park who cracked the first egg and mixed the flour, cream, sugar, butter and egg into a vanilla custard, pastry and whipped cream delicacy. As this blog may indicate, pastry chefs in Bled pay a lot of attention as to how they crack their eggs!
The Festival of Lights marks the end of the ‘Bled Days Festival’ which is a mix of craft stalls, live music and food. It takes place at the edge of the lake on the promenade and has been a tradition for many years. This year over 15,000 visitors were expected to attend.
The programme starts on Friday July 22nd from 10am with the Arts and Crafts fair and you will find many stalls also with special culinary delights cooked by local restaurants. In the afternoon there is a display of vintage cycles on Bled Promenade. In the evening there is music and the evening ends with a laser show projected onto Bled Castle.
On Saturday, there is a Gala concert by prize winners of the Bled Golden Microphone International Singles Contest at 9pm. And then at 10pm, the Festival of Lights begins as the candles are released onto the lake. This all culminates in fireworks at 11pm.
On Sunday July 24th, the Bled Festival continues with more Arts and Crafts and food then in the afternoon there is a concert of folk music with accordion players and a parade.
If you are fortunate enough to be staying in Bled with Inghams this weekend, this is an occasion that you won’t want to miss!
Blog by Yvonne MacFarlane, Inghams resort representative in Lake Bled.