News

The national anthems of Bulgaria, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Slovenia and North Macedonia will be played on the renovated "Zheravitsa" square at 7:30 p.m. on June 4th. After a welcome speech of the mayor Zlatko Zhivkov, the foreign groups will present their program in alphabetical order.

The audience in Montana will see for the first time folk dances from Iceland and Kazakhstan. Dance Group "Sporid" from Borgarfjörður and Folk Dance and Music Group "Onor-Kenchi", "Agama", "Aim-Ene" from Bishkek are eagerly awaiting their appearance on the festival stage here. Unfortunately, a large part of the invited Iranian group "Chiksai" did not receive visas and they wil not be able to participate in this year's edition of the festival. For the sixth time in Montana, will be the Folklore Ensemble of the Cultural Society "Taše Miloševski" from the town of Resen - North Macedonia. Folk dance group "Club of Optimistic Folklorists" from Ljubljana will perform its program with choreographies from all seven regions of Slovenia, presented in their typical folk costumes. The beauty and richness of Bulgarian folklore will be revealed by musicians, singers and dancers from Montana on the festive Monday - June 5th. Their 90-minute concert will start at 6:00 p.m. The participants will be: the representative dance ensemble "Mladost" and the singing group "Pastrenets Jr." from the Municipal Youth Center, the Representative Dance Ensemble "Pastrina" and the Folk Choir "Pastrenets" from the National Youth Center "Razum 1883", Dance Ensemble "Severnyatsi" at Children Complex "We, Sparrows", Folkloric Dance Group "Sitnitsa", Dance Group "Joy", Roma Dance Group "Ogosta" at Community Center "Zvezda 2007".

Famous folk singer Rositsa Peycheva, the bagpipe ensemble "Voivodite" and the dance group "Balkanjiite" will perform on the stage at 7:30 p.m. They will enrich the program with songs mostly from the Rhodope region, but also from the Thracian and Strandzhan folklore regions.

In the next 3 days, the festival program will start at 7:30 p.m. on the open stage at "Zheravitsa" Square, and in case of rainy weather - at the Drama Theater - Montana.

The international folklore festival, dedicated to the Day of Montana - Holy Spirit, has been held since 2006. More than 70 groups from 35 different countries from Europe, Asia and Africa have participated in it till now. Dance ensembles from Central and Eastern Europe show great interest in the event. Fans of more unfamiliar and exotic cultures remember the groups from England, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland, France, South Korea, Yakutia. Most of the groups approved for participation accepted on a reciprocal basis the dance ensembles from Montana at the festivals organized by them. Thanks to this, our groups have the opportunity to present Bulgarian folklore abroad. Over the past decade, the festival in the district center Montana has built a partnership with the Colorful Necklace Festival in spa resort Varshets. So the audience for the groups participating in Montana is expanded.