A six-day handicrafts festival in Veliko Tarnovo kicks off the celebrations of Bulgaria's 116th anniversary of independence, reports BNR correspondent Zdravka Maslyankova. 

More than 80 craftsmen from all over the country will take part in the event, called the Night of Samovodska Charshia. The festival runs from 18 to 23 September and features traditional and innovative techniques in various areas of everyday life, concerts, stilt walkers and fire shows. 

There will be workshops on mosaic making, glass blowing, textiles, dough and soap making. The graduates of the Dr Vasil Beron Vocational School of Tourism will present their original cocktails in the hall of the Wine Tasting Centre.

The event will take place in the architectural and ethnographic complex "Samovodska Charshia".