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Check out The Slovak Spectator's choice of cultural events in Slovakia for this week.

IT IS probably not intentional that after you enter the Slovak National Museum (SNM) to head for the new exhibition of traditional Japanese arts and crafts you must first pass by a large Slovak country wagon and several rooms recalling the atmosphere of a typical Slovak village. Nevertheless, the contrast between the robust, rough style of Slovak folk art and the tiny, fine Japanese artefacts and the filigree of that country’s traditional crafts is quite marked.
The exhibition, entitled Handcrafted Form – Traditions and Techniques, was prepared by the Japan Foundation and has been touring Europe. It arrived in Slovakia from Belarus and after a month in Bratislava it will travel to other parts of Europe.

Enjoy your time in Bratislava with our weekly event guide! Guided tours, city festivals, sports, concerts, museums, galleries and much more..

The city has a full calendar of festivals events, and regularly attracts large meetings and conventions. Check out our events calendar 2012.

THE PETRŽALKA Catholic Church of Our Lady of Sorrows (the patron saint of Slovakia) was due to receive a special arrival from Brazil on January 20, just after this issue of The Slovak Spectator went to print. At a special mass held in this modern church a sculpture of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil, is being enthroned after having travelled all the way from Brazil.

ABOUT 650 animals are being bred at Bratislava Zoo and last year the zoo recorded a baby boom. “The most recent newborn is a giraffe named Miss Salome, who will surely be popular with visitors,” Katarína Matejovičová of the zoo’s marketing department told the TASR newswire. Salome was born on December 4, 2011, to her parents Tejla, age 13, and Batar, age 14.

AFTER spending more than two years in a ‘borrowed’ venue – the historical building of the Slovak National Theatre – the Slovak Philharmonic (SF) Orchestra and Choir will soon return home. The old “Reduta” building just opposite the national theatre, where the SF has been resident since 1949, has been undergoing a complete renovation and is almost ready to welcome the ensemble back.

Do you want to visit a 1st Winter MTB Marathon & Running Trophy, programme of most successful dances, songs and music of Folklore ensemble SĽUK or exhibition of Mikuláč Klimčík - Selection of Works? Read about these and other cultural events happening in Slovakia this week.

THE FINAL athletic event for 2011 was a mass run across all of Bratislava's bridges on New Year’s Eve, typically called Silvester in Slovakia because December 31 is the name day of Silvester. Nearly 1,000 runners took part in this symbolic farewell to the old year that has now been organised for 23 years.

Are you looking for some cultural events this week? To get some ideas, check our Countrywide Events column.