From 8th to 10th September, the Festival of Pepper, Tomato, Traditional Foods and Crafts Kurtovo Konare Fest will be held again. During the three-day holiday, a queen of the „ljutenitsa“ /traditional Bulgarian dish made during the autumn from peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants to be consumed in the winter/ will be selected, tomato soup will be prepared and domestic paprika and tomato products will be tried. The holiday starts at 1 p.m. on September 8, with artists’ workshops and another for photographers. At that time also begins the arrangement of the stands with traditional local foods.
Then in the program of the event follows a visit to Krichim palace and workshops for making dolls of maize noise and painting. From 04.30 p.m. starts the movie “Stories as a Cinema” and then will be held a meeting with part of the movie team – Philip Avramov, Desi Bakardzhieva, Teddy Moskov and Jackie Stoev. Then follows photo exhibition and presentation of the young artist – Elitsa Tsareva. The evening continues with a concert featuring Kottarashky live band, Stefan Valdobrev, Taralezhkov, Ognian Videv, Gesh of Novi Krichim and friends.
The arrangement of the fruits, vegetables, traditional food and art items on 9 September begins at 10 a.m. From 1 p.m. in the house of Vassil Kanev you can learn how to make the most delicious ljutenitsa. In the program of the fest follows a discussion about entrepreneurship, and at 12 o’clock a tomato soup will be made on the square. At 12.30 p.m. will be awarded the best master of the traditional winter in the “Queen of the Ljutenitsa” competition.
From 01.30 p.m., everyone will be able to taste the dishes, as well as the tomato soup made in the square. A folklore program is scheduled for 1 p.m. and at 02.30 p.m. start children’s workshops. The best cook chefs and queen of ljutenitsa will receive their prizes at 03.30 p.m. From 4 p.m., the fun continues again with folk music and dancing. The evening continues with concerts of Sofia Högstadius and Rila Music Exchange, with musicians from 21 different countries participating.
On September 10, the festival continues, with the stands re-arranged at 10 a.m. Following are games, competitions and creative activities. At 12.30 will be shown an exhibition of paintings and photos of the participants in the workshops during the event. From 01.30 p.m. there is a folklore program, and the closing of the fest is an hour later. The place for the fest is not accidental, as Kurtovo Konare is famous for its agriculture.
In 1894, the first kilogram of red pepper was milled in the mill of Alexander Dimitrov not only in the village but also in Bulgaria. In 1896, again in Kurtovo Konare, the first early tomatoes in Bulgaria were transported from Constantinople thanks to the same Alexander Dimitrov. Not by chance one of the first refrigerators in the country was built in the village in the first half of the 20th century, and the best Bulgarian pepper variety is called “Kurtovska kapia”. From 2014 local varieties such as Rose tomato – “big, babin” and “Kurtovka” apple are listed in the World Treasure of Flavors.
