site.btaChicago Mayor Proclaims March 3 National Bulgaria Day in Chicago

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson proclaimed March 3, 2024, to be National Bulgaria Day in Chicago, the Bulgarian Consulate General in Chicago said on Facebook.

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the accession of Bulgaria in NATO, 121 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Bulgaria and 146 years of the reestablishment of Bulgaria, Johnson’s statement read.

The Mayor of Chicago also mentioned To Chicago and Back, the travel book of famous Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov, in which the author describes his journey to the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, as being instrumental in encouraging generations of Bulgarians to emigrate to Chicago.

In Johnson’s words, during the 20th century, Illinois became a safe haven for thousands of Bulgarian refugees and political dissidents, fleeing from the devastation and horrors occasioned by regional unrests and the repressive terrors of the authoritarian regimes.

The city of Chicago and the Chicagoland area host the largest Bulgarian Community in the US, he noted.

Johnson conveyed his congratulations and best wishes to the Bulgarian community.

On the occasion of Bulgaria’s National Holiday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sent his regards to Bulgaria’s Consul General in Chicago Svetoslav Stankov.