site.btaRhodope Bagpipes Launch Rozhen National Folklore Festival

Rhodope Bagpipes Launch Rozhen National Folklore Festival

Smolyan, Southern Bulgaria, July 15 (BTA) - A three-day Rozhen National Festival of Folklore and Livestock Breeding 2016 opened on the meadows near the Rozhen Pass in the Western Rhodope Mountains under the sound of hundreds of bagpipes. The fest features a folklore competition, demonstration of traditional crafts, ethnographic and museum exhibitions, shows of sheep, goats, horses, dogs, cows and buffaloes, dairy and meat products from the farm, exhibitions of organic food and drinks, folk games and wrestling, culinary shows and barbecue, horse attractions and folk festivities.

Among the guests are National Assembly Chair Tsetska Tsacheva, Agriculture and Food Minister Desislava Taneva, MPs and local mayors.

The event opened with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack in Nice.

The festive programme began with performances of participants in the Rozhen 2016 folk competition. The stages are built against the backdrop of a 7,800 sq m Bulgarian flag.