National Folklore Festival of Rozhen

Bulgarians from all over the country gather together near Rozhen peak.

The fair in Rozhen is held every four years and musicians present their incredible skills.

For the first time, the festival took place in 1898. Angel Indzhov – a priest in the village of Sokolovtsi – came up with the riveting idea of the festival. At that time, the frontier between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire crossed the peak of Rozhen. Nowadays, the fair is still a guardian of the tradition.

The symbol of the festival is the orchestra “100 Kaba Gajdi” which literally means “100 Bagpipes”.

Namely here Valya Balkanska sang her unforgettable song ‘Izlel e Delyo Haydutin’which was later put on the board of the space station Voyager along with the music of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

What takes place this year?

• 400 bagpipers would perform on the first day
• The festival of Bulgarian folk art and stock-breeding starts on the 17th July
• there would be a Bulgarian flag of approximately 24.000 m2
• demonstration of traditional Bulgarian crafts
• ethnographic exhibitions
• presentation of traditional drinks and dishes, bio products and dairy products
• fire-dancing

The fest lasts two days.

The anthem of the Rhodope is its opening song – ‘Bela Sam, Bela, Yunache’ (I am White, White, and My Hero) under the accompaniment of One Hundred Bagpipes. The culmination of the competition is the gala show Zvezden Rozhen (Star Rhozen) in the evening of the first day.

If you are interested in the music produced by the orchestra ‘100 Kaba Gajdi’, here is a short video:

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