site.bta5th International Festival of Traditional Foods to Be Held in Varna on August 30, 31

The 5th International Festival of Traditional Foods will be held on August 30 and 31 in Varna, Alfiya Dimitrova, chair of the Volga Bulgarians Association, said on Wednesday.

The festival will give different people the opportunity to present their culture and traditions, she pointed out, adding that this will be the first edition of the forum, which will not be held in Sofia. The event will bring together participants from different ethnicities and will present a rich palette of national cuisines, including Italian, Spanish, Turkish, as well as ancient recipes of the Volga Bulgarians, preserved over the centuries.

The festival will be accompanied by concerts, with performers from Germany and Italy also taking to the stage. Visitors will be able to experience traditional crafts such as pottery and weaving, as well as archery, horse riding and the training of hunting birds of prey.

The festival will also honor the fertility holiday Sabantuy, which the residents of Tatarstan and the Volga Bulgarians have celebrated for centuries, Dimitrova emphasized. The fertility festival is not religious or ethnic, it is gratitude to nature for the gifts it gives us, Dimitrova also pointed out, adding that Sabantuy helps people get to know each other and accept each other as they are.