For the first time in Sofia, there will be held a festival of fire and fire dancing. The start of the show is from 5 p.m. on May 20, the day before the feast of St. St. Constantine and Elena. The place is the Knyajevska Garden, in front of the Soviet Army monument. It is on the day of the saints that the fire-dancers are forces to enter the with icons and to perform their mystical dance. In the villages of Strandja, such as Bulgari, Kosti and Brodilovo, the tradition is still respected by authentic fire-dancers. But there you can enjoy the authentic custom on June 3rd when the feast of the saints is celebrated in old style.

Visitors and residents of Sofia will be able to enjoy the fire show on four fires at the same time. Each of them will have a diameter of 5 meters. There will be 16 authentic fire-dancers dancing in the embers under the sound of a special musical accompaniment. There is also a rich folklore program with the participation of famous ensembles and performers such as Yanka Rupkina, Kalinka Zgurova, Ventsislav Penev, Gina Ivanova, Zlatka Stavreva, Folklore Ensembles “Biserche”, “Zdravetz” and “Svetlina”.

The program of the festival includes the largest horo /traditional Bulgarian dance/, farm market, bagpipe, and drums show. The fire – dancing will start after 09:00 p.m. The Bulgarian tradition of dancing on fire is included in the UNESCO World Non-Cultural Heritage List.

The feast will continue on May 21 with a children’s concert and the traditional Sofia Sunday Horo, which can include all lovers of Bulgarian folklore.

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