Located in the foothills of the Central Balkan Range (also known in Bulgaria as Stara Planina Mountain Range), below the majestic peaks of Botev and Maragidik, the town of Apriltsi brought together singers, musicians and ensembles for an exciting artistic forum. They presented their art on June 25, on the stage of "Badeshte 1984" Cultural Community Centre in the neighbourhood of Ostrets. Thus, after a two-year break, the forum passed under the sign of happy friendly meetings and competitive thrills in the genres of popular and folk music and dances of amateur performers from Sevlievo, Pleven, Svishtov, Troyan, Sofia and others. The proud Balkan Mountain once again united its talented musicians in a celebration dedicated to the 20^th anniversary of the fair, but also set the start of the 2022 tourist summer season.

For the secretary of the “Badeshte 1894” Cultural Community Centre Mrs. Veliana Angelova, the preparation and reception of the numerous participants at the Balkan Fair was an exciting event. She explained that the forum’s 20^th anniversary should have been celebrated in 2020, but the important thing is that the holiday has traditionally managed to gather performers and fans of folklore from all over the country. More from Mrs. Angelova:

"People who love Bulgarian songs and dances are always ready to visit us and rejoice with us. In my opinion and that of our guests, the fair passed at a high level, despite the two-year break. We had participants from almost all over Bulgaria - people who preserve Bulgarian traditions. Many children also participated with their songs and dances. This year the prize went to "Yovko Yovkov" Children's Development Centre in Sevlievo, for their extremely talented children.

Unfortunately, this year we lost one of the members of the jury - the music pedagogue Tsvetan Tsonev, whose graduates performed excellently in both folk and popular music. They received the grand prize of the festival. Our idea, 22 years ago, when we created the fair, was to give the opportunity to all Bulgarians, regardless of genre - folklore, pop, old urban music, to express themselves with their Bulgarian performances. This year the youngest participant was 6 years old, and the oldest - 96 years old. The message of the Balkan Fair is: Love and preserve Bulgarian traditions and culture! This is our treasure - the music, the dances that we keep, from the heart of Bulgaria - the town of Apriltsi”, said Mrs. Veliana Angelova, secretary of the cultural community centre in the Balkan town. 

English translation Rositsa Petkova

Photos: personal archive