Bulgarian performers open European Heritage Festival in Peterborough

A strong Bulgarian presence marked the second European Heritage Festival in Peterborough, which opened with a colourful procession of performers from Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine and Italy, BG BEN reported. The event was organised by the Little Bulgaria charity and the ZI Foundation.

Nineteen groups and individual performers from the seven participating countries took part in the festival. Dressed in traditional costumes and carrying their national flags, they gathered in Cathedral Square before the start of the celebrations. Bulgaria was represented by the Bulgaria Midlands folk ensemble, Rossi Vocal Studio and 12-year-old kaba bagpipe player Stanislav Dimov. Bulgaria's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tihomir Stoychev, and his wife Lyubka Stoycheva attended the event in Stanley Park and greeted the Bulgarian participants.

Among the official guests were Cambridgeshire Lord-Lieutenant Julie Spence, the King's personal representative in the county, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow, Peterborough Deputy Mayor Andrew Bond and Peterborough City Council chair Dr Shabina Qayyum. Pep Cipriano, chief executive of the Peterborough Positive business initiative, was also invited onto the festival stage.

The festival featured more than six hours of performances and activities centred on folk traditions, music, dance, cuisine and crafts. Twenty-three ensembles presented a total of 69 performances of traditional dances, with the Bulgarian participants opening the stage programme. Ambassador Stoychev and his wife joined members of the Bulgarian community in a traditional horo dance, together with Mihail Stoyanov of Little Bulgaria UK.

The festival market featured charitable initiatives alongside artisans and craftspeople from several countries, offering handmade costumes, embroidery, jewellery, souvenirs and traditional foods and sweets. BG BEN was a media partner of the event.

Editing by Miglena Ivanova