“The EĽRO Festival is literally a celebration for us. There are more than enough events focused on the sale of folk art products in Slovakia and neighboring countries. However, EĽRO is a true festival, a genuine celebration of folk craft. For us, it is the only event we attend as makers, and it is a truly great honor to present Slovak folk musical instruments, demonstrate their production, play on the streets all day long, and meet people… We are probably among the few who have been performing there continuously for about 25 years, and it is always a real privilege. This year, we feel as if a part of our very ‚selves‘ is missing. After all, how can summer begin without EĽRO? Well, it is what it is. This year will be a forced break, but in our spirits, Paľko and I will be there in the Kežmarok square, playing music, chatting, drilling whistles, and looking forward to meeting again in a year.
(Michal Smetanka a Pavol Urda, kings of 2008 from Spišský Hrhov)
2002 – Helena Pavlovičová, medovnikárka
2003 – Zita Mariášová, Stanislav Mariáš, drotári, výroba kraslíc
2004 – Helena Pavlovičová, medovnikárka
2005 – Helena Pavlovičová, medovnikárka
2006 – Viera Vrtichová, košikárka
2007 – Peter Fiala, sklár
2008 – Michal Smetanka, Pavol Urda, píšťalkári
2009 – Stanislav Otruba, zvonkár
2010 – Marek Guzy, podkúvač koní
2011 – Peter Kormoš, šindliar
2012 – Michal Fiľo, výrobca fujár
2013 – Ján Svatík, povrazník
2014 – Cyril Kocúrek, rezbár
2015 – Vladimír Eperješi, umelecký kováč
2016 – Mária Bukovinová, Margita Kormošová, spracovateľky ľanu
2017 – Mária Tomisová, tkáčka
2018 – Ľubomír Medveď, brašnár, remenár
2019 – Andrej Kendrala, cínolejár
2022 – Vladimír Makara, obuvník
2023 – Juraj Šerík, drotár
2024 – Jakub Vorobeľ, zvonolejár
2025 – Michael Pelikán, hrnčiar