site.btaNational Narrow Gauge Train Folklore Festival Takes Place at Avramovo Station

The 5th anniversary edition of the National Narrow Gouge Train Folklore Festival takes place at the highest train station in the Balkans, Avramovo (1,267 m above sea level), on Saturday, August 12. The festivities will begin at 11 am. The motto of the festival is: "With people and songs by the narrow rails". Participation is free of charge. 

A total of 18 groups and individual performers will take the stage, in the picturesque location  between the Rhodopes and Rila mountains, to present their folk songs and dances, the website of the Rhodope Narrow Gauge Railway says. 

This year, in addition to representatives from Smolyan, Burgas, Razgrad and other parts of the country, international performers will also participate in the fair, including a choir from the national music conservatory in Israel. 

Nearly 200 performers will sing, perform and dance on stage between 11am and 5 pm, and guest performers Denis Mahurov and Georgi Vardev will invite everyone to partake in traditional Bulgarian folklore dancing [horo].

The fair will also feature food, arts and crafts and other products by local producers. 

Guests are encouraged to bring blankets and mats and enjoy a nice picnic on the meadows. 

The Rhodope narrow-gauge railway is the only functioning such railway line in Bulgaria with a gauge of 760 mm, and runs between the stations of Septemvri and Dobrinishte.

This year marked 97 years since the departure of the first narrow-gauge train from Saranbey station [Septemvri station today]. On August 2, 1926, at exactly 11 o'clock, the first train in the history of the Bulgarian narrow gauge railway set off. Its  journey was 3 hours and 22 minutes.

The Rhodopes narrow gauge train is an attraction all on its own. The route has a total length of 124.7 km. It winds between the Rhodope, Rila and Pirin mountains and offers picturesque views. On the way are the SPA town of Velingrad, the highest railway station on the Balkan Peninsula, Avramovo (1,267 m above sea level), the Chepinska and Mesta rivers, etc.

Kristian Vaklinov, head of of the Rhodope Narrow Gauge Railway Association, who has worked tirelessly in recent years to bring back interest in the line, noted in a BNR interview that that, in addition to the three beautiful mountains, Rhodope, Rila and Pirin, the narrow-gouge railway connects three ethno-cultural regions - Thrace, the Rhodope folklore region - Western Rhodopes, the Bulgarian Muslims, Pirin Macedonia region, Ralog, the valley of Mesta and Struma.
Vaklinov told BNR that that the National Narrow Gouge Train Folklore Fair is one of his "crazy" dreams that came true, the creation of which 6 years ago was aimed at popularizing the narrow gauge railway.

Rhodope Narrow Gauge Railway Association expressed its gratitude to the Municipality of Velingrad, which covered the sound equipment expenses for the festival.