Minister Angelkova takes part in the opening of the Festival of Folklore Costume in Zheravna

The Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova took part in the official opening of the ninth edition of the Festival of Folklore Costume in Zheravna. Other official guests of the event included the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Desislava Taneva, the chairman of GERB’s parliamentary group, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, the mayors of Zheravna village, Galya Nedeva, and of town of Kotel, Kosta Karanashev, MP’s, local government representatives, many well-known artists, performers, etc. The three-day forum was organized with the assistance of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture.

Minister Angelkova emphasized that the festival has a very important role to play in tourism’s sustainable development in the region. In the course of the last eight editions performers and guests at the festival have increased nearly 20-fold. This year a total of 700 groups, orchestras, and individual artists present themselves. According to local museum experts, some 50-60% of those gathering for the event have already attended it before. Last year the sites of the Kotel Historical Museum registered nearly 45 000 visitors and some BGN 80 000 in revenues. The data pertaining to H1 of 2016 suggest even better results this year.

Minister Angelkova offered a reminder that in the online Registry of Tourist Attractions Kotel Municipality features with 25 sites and attractions, which also enjoy great interest. In the local museums one can see personal belongings and works of many notable Bulgarians, who were born here – Sofronii Vratchanski, Neofit Bozveli, Dr. Petar Beron, Georgi Mamarchev, Georgi Rakovski, Sava Filaretov, Raino Popovich, Todor Ikonomov, Vasil Stoyanov. Kotel and Zheravna are an important part of the eight cultural-historical destinations set up by the Ministry – Bulgarian Architecture and Craftsmanship.

The international Festival of Folklore Costume is held during August 19 - 21 in the Dobromeritsa locality in Zheravna. It was set up in 2008 at the idea of Hristo Dimitrov – a producers, choreographer, and director of the Bulgare National Folklore Ensemble.