A Kurent is usually heard before it’s seen — and that’s probably a good thing. Part wearable taxidermy, part child’s nightmare, Kurenti are mythical monsters from Slovenian folklore, tasked with scaring away winter and general evil. Clutching wooden clubs topped with hedgehog spines, the costumed creatures are the fearsome stars of Cleveland Kurentovanje (pronounced “koo-rehn-toh-VAHN-yeh”), a kind of Slovenian-flavored Mardi Gras held over the week before Lent in the Ohio city’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood. Read more.