- Event: 13th National Folk Art Festival in Koprivshtitsa.
- Dates: August 8–10, 2025.
- Participants: 6000+ from nearly 800 folk groups.
- Performances across six stages in Voivodenets.
- Official guests include cultural officials and town dignitaries.
- Absolutely no processed folklore allowed.
- Key names: Roshen Zhelyazkov, Maria Toromanova, Marian Bachev, Valya Balkanska, Nelina Orashkova.
- Concludes with a one-hour grand finale on August 10.
Koprivshtitsa reaches peak population density once every five years, right when the National Folk Art Festival erupts. More than 6000 performers, disguised as preservationists, spill onto the meadows of Voivodenets, carrying with them enough local color to repaint the town three times over. No less than 800 groups have RSVP’d for the thirteenth installment, because apparently, folk music refuses to die quietly. The festival, graced by the patronage of Prime Minister Roshen Zhelyazkov himself, marches into town from August 8 through 10, 2025. Somewhere in this whirl, the actual residents of Koprivshtitsa are rumored to exist still.
The cast of official onlookers reads like a who’s who of Bulgaria’s Culture Industrial Complex. There’s the mayor, Maria Toromanova, silently praying for a miracle. Minister of Culture Marian Bachev stands ready to nod approvingly at every performance. Regional governor Silvia Arnautska and Deputy Minister of Culture Ashot Kazaryan complete the picture because one can never have too many people attending events on the public dime.
And for anyone keeping score, here’s the financial scaffold on which this parade of heritage teeters:
- Main organizers: Ministry of Culture, Koprivshtitsa Municipality, Sofia regional administration, and the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- Media partners: Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio
- Cost to participants: Untold stress, lost voices, hours of travel
- Local revenue: Brisk sales of sausages, embroidered shirts, and folk CDs no one will play twice
Six Stages, Three Days, and Zero Polished Acts
The Koprivshtitsa festival stands firm on one principle: if it sounds polished, it’s banned. This shindig features only raw folklore. Expect singers, pipers, dancers, storytellers, and keepers of customs whose primary credential is surviving family gatherings without modern distractions—no space for artists whose repertoire hints at modern arrangement.
Participation isn’t as simple as showing up in a folk vest; the road to the main stage requires two rounds of selection. First come the regional filters with expert panels quietly judging authenticity. Only the purest (read: most traditional) acts move on to the Koprivshtitsa final, where medals await the fearless.
Each group will make its case for cultural significance on one of six stages:
- Main stage: Home to opening and closing ceremonies, a blend of local stars and professional dignitaries.
- Second stage: Features acts from Stara Zagora and Burgas (because every festival needs an inter-regional showdown).
- Third stage: Hosts artists from Montana, Pleven, Vidin, Vratsa, and Shumen—who will surely appreciate the lack of air conditioning in August.
- Fourth stage: The exclusive territory of Dobrich and Silistra.
- Fifth stage: Pitted against each other, the cultural exporters of Pazardzhik and Blagoevgrad.
- Sixth stage: Varna, Razgrad, and Ruse pour their hearts out in direct sunlight for maximum drama.
For those who like to plan their people-watching meticulously, Saturday kicks off with the official opening on the main stage. Nelina Orashkova will attempt to sing over the crowd, while Valya Balkanska (yes, the voice on the Voyager Golden Record) provides that hint of cosmic perspective. Groups from Yambol and Satocha present ritual carols and UNESCO-anointed singing at volumes guaranteed to wake any dormant nationalist instinct.
Authenticity reaches a fever pitch with wedding customs from Zdravets and a dance troupe from Sofronievo. Think of it as reality TV, before anyone knew reality TV meant staged drama and questionable editing.
By Sunday, only the hardened remain. The final acts get one hour to dazzle or panic before the festival closes, sending everyone back to their corners of Bulgaria until tradition calls again.
If a tourist wishes to experience what happens when an entire country pours its grandparents, customs, and karaoke machines into one small town, Koprivshtitsa in August 2025 is not to be missed. Earplugs are recommended; a sense of irony is required.
