Over 3000 artists sang, danced and played music in the fourth international folklore festival “Maleshevo sings and dances”, held from 12 to 14 October in the village of Mikrevo, municipality of Strumyani. This year’s festival was under the patronage of the Bulgarian Prime-Minister Sergei Stanishev, Strumyani Municipality and “Old Bulgaria” Foundation announced.

Besides the Bulgarian performance, during the three festival days, the open stage in the village of Mirkovo showed ensembles and artists from Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Belarus and Kosovo.

The first international “Maleshevo sings and dances” festival gathered participants from Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Serbia in October 2004. Since then it has attracted more and more performers from Bulgaria and abroad and its target remains the preservation, acknowledgement and distribution of the folklore of different European countries.

On the first day of the festival, 12 October, the competition programme was presented. In the evening an ethnographical exhibition “A visit to the region of Maleshevo” opened and then the official opening started. There was a recital of guest stars from abroad and the ensemble for folklore dances and songs “Pirin”.

The following days, along with the participants in the programme, Nikolina Chakardakova and National folklore ensemble “Balgare” amused the audience. The artists were awarded during the last evening of the festival at 8:30 PM when a concert called “Dance with no limits”, presented by juvenile ensembles from Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Bulgaria, was held.

Official web site of Strumyani Municipality: www.strumjani.org
Strumyani, BTA