National Festival of the Bulgarian Folklore - Koprivshtitsa

The National Festival of the Bulgarian Folklore – Koprivshtitsa – has been held since 1965. The festival promotes the Bulgarian folklore in an incredible way, assembling singing and dancing ensembles from all over the country. At the first folklore meeting between 12th and 15th of August almost 4,000 folklore singers, dancers, musical instrument players, etc. gathered near Koprivshtitsa.

The festival is held every five years. Its 10th, anniversary edition was held in 2010. Traditionally, the festival is held in Voyvodenets area. The festival is a competitive event. All participants must provide programs, based on the folklore of the area, where they come from. Over 18,000 musicians participated in the anniversary of the festival. Before the festival in Koprivshtitsa, local fests were held all over the country, and the best participants were then sent to the national fest.

Not only musicians take part in the event – folklore story tellers, folk custom groups, etc. participate too. An interesting fact is that participation in the fest is open to foreign groups, illustrating Bulgarian folklore dances and traditions.

An admission is paid for participation at the festival, which in 2010 was 1 BGN. Taking photos is also not free of charge.

Organizers of the National festival are the Ministry of Culture and Koprivshtitsa Municipality.