The fourth edition of the International Children's Folklore Festival kicked off in Sofia on April 23. The citizens and the guests of Bulgaria's capital can enjoy the performance of Bulgarian and foreign folklore ensembles on four stages located in different corners of the city. Julia Popcheva who is a member of the festival's organizing committee told Radio Bulgaria how the idea about this folklore event emerged.

“A group of enthusiasts who wanted to surprise the citizens of Sofia with a folklore festival gave the start of the event. There are a series of cultural happenings in our city, but few of them are dedicated to folklore. Thus, we came up with the idea to invite foreign groups and acquaint the Bulgarian children with the foreign folklore. The dances at this festival must be thematic and present the culture of a given nation. We organize the event in April, because spring has been always coming in this month over the past years. Our show is always free of charge, so people can enjoy the performance of our children."

This year Bulgaria welcomes guests from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Romania and Serbia. In Mrs Popcheva's view, their number will exceed 1,000.

“We are to enjoy a total of five performances on four stages in Sofia, Julia Popcheva specifies. We start with the traditional opening show in front of the municipality building in Mladost 3 housing district. Then, we move to the village of Busmantsi on the next day. On April 25 we are to make 2 concerts in the Boris Garden in Sofia and later in the evening the show will be held in the village of Bistritsa. We will make a tour in the last day of the event. It will start from the National Palace of Culture. Later we will cross the central streets downtown Sofia and finally we are to close the festival again in the Boris Garden”, Julia Popcheva went on to say.

According to the rules of the festival, all participants must be aged between 8 and 14. Only children with special needs can make exception to the rule. They can present their own repertoire. It is important for us to let people appear on the stage, regardless of their physical problems, Julia Popcheva says and adds: “All children are equal and it is our duty to allow them to demonstrate their skills and show us how their perceive life.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

The audio file contains the following pieces:

1  Shopsko Chain Dance

2  Bayno mi sa pozakani to the rendition of Shtastlivtsi Children's Vocal Group

3  Horo I Pilence to the rendition of Rukatka Duo