Култура

In the distant 1972. by decision of the Executive Committee of the City People's Council for the first time are held the Velingrad holidays of culture. The goal - to ensure the conduction of cultural events for the guests of our city, so that to its glory as a balneological and resort center on a national scale the glory of a spiritual center is added. This year, for the 30th consecutive time, Velingradians will welcome guests from all over the country and abroad within the framework of the Velingrad Cultural Holidays. And since the Holidays are jubilee, we have gathered the opinion of people who over the years have not spared the strength to have these Holidays, regardless of the vicissitudes of the times:

Iliana Maslarova: The Velingrad holidays of culture for me were the most exciting and interesting years in my working career. When I say this, I mean the development of spiritual life in the Municipality as a whole and the Holidays as part of it. As chairman of the Municipal Council for Culture, then the Municipal Council for Spiritual Development, in the 1980s my aspiration was to organize the holidays so as to meet the goals: diversifying, bringing more entertainment and colorful moments during the tourist and resort season for Velingrad. The goal was to attract people from Velingrad and holidaymakers with interesting cultural events to make sense of and saturate their free time. To learn more, to see and feel what is being created by the dozens of amateur collectives to the community centers in the Municipality in the field of song and dance art. The holidays enriched people, enriching ourselves - their organizers. For me it will remain as a period in which I have had contacts with many interesting artists and cultural figures - composers (Alexander Raychev wrote especially for our Youth Brass Orchestra the composition "Ustrem", which the orchestra still plays), artists, artists, film makers, sculptors, poets, writers, singers, who with different forms participated willingly in the Holidays. They contributed to a level, genre diversity and aesthetics. As someone deeply emotionally connected to the Holidays, I'm glad they've stood the test of time and are now 30 years old. I wish success to their jubilee edition of 2002 and increasingly become a beautiful business card of our beautiful Velingrad! Branko Manushev, artist: One of the few good things in our modern society, living in the world of globalization, a world in which the spiritual values in man are put to the test, and the moral values of reconsideration. In such a difficult time, the Velingrad holidays of culture are a testament to spirituality and upholding traditions and I sincerely hope that they will continue. I hope that as before, so in the future it will have the understanding and goodwill of the Municipality to continue the already 12 years tradition of holding the plein airs within the Holidays. On these plein air participants were such names in Bulgarian painting as Encho Pironkov, Suli Seferov, Hristo Manev, Chavdar Pashev, Andrei Daniel, Angel Pachamanov, Dimitar Lalev, Tsvetan Panchovski and many other established names. Each of them has left their works from the plein airs of the Municipality and they are owned by the Municipal Art Gallery. These works will be the bridge between generations - that before us, ours and future generations. These works are invaluable not only because they are the work of great artists, but also because they will carry our thoughts, feelings, attitude to the world in time - the only true judge of the valuable things in man and the artist. It is known that only that which stands the test of time, that will stand! Lilia Zahova-Zhelyazkova: The ballet staff of Velingrad has always taken part in the Holidays. We were laureates (winners of gold and silver medals and plaques) of seven national competitions. This was a very big success for us because we are from a small town, and we have defeated schools of art and Sofians. With us worked such names as Nayden Shulikov, Asen Gavrailov (at one National Competition he said: "This is the ballet of Velingrad, remember it!"), Fedya Lobanov. They worked with us because they believed in our talent, industriousness and ambition. Within the Holidays we did Schumann's "Dream", Shostakovich's "Romance", Oschi chrnae based on Russian romances, Strauss' "Nigger Boy"... Dimitar Mechev and I as heads of groups are winners of the "highest degree" - a recognition that is not forgotten and it would be very nice now that the holidays have a jubilee, the director of the Center for Work with Children should have made an exhibition (there are enough photos) for the ballet of Velingrad. I want to thank everyone we worked with, we created art throughout the year to show it in the days of the Holidays of our fellow citizens and guests of Velingrad. Generations change, but I believe our holidays will have them. Good luck! Georgi Hasardzhiev: The Velingrad holidays of culture are such that they spread the glory of Velingrad not only in Bulgaria, but all over Europe. People would come and ask and still call to ask when the Holidays were. And I'm proud of the fact that we didn't interrupt them, and I believe we all do. Velingrad has welcomed 18 foreign brass bands and majorettes from Denmark, England, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Russia... The Bulgarian orchestras and cheerleading ensembles did not miss to participate in our Celebrations and with time Velingrad became the capital of brass orchestras and cheerleading ensembles. Many of our guests learned how to make holidays, copied them from us. I will never forget our friends from Tatabanja (a mining town in Hungary): we had accommodated them on Yundola and when they had to leave, they cried and kissed the pines. Now, when we travel through Europe, we know that if our path passes through Hungary, we have friends waiting for us. What impressed everyone was our forests, waters and parks, so many of them came again. In 1988. We were visited by Boneuil, a suburb of Paris. Their mayor, Monsieur Bernard Ivan, offered to send us specialists to help us heat the whole city with the water we have. All I can say is that Boneuil has only one thermal spring with a water heat of 20 degrees, from which is provided the heating of the city and their swimming pool, which is of Olympic size. Our holidays were a parade of art and our cultural traditions, proof of this is the participation in them of such names as the choreographer Assoc. Macedonian (he choreographed the background of all republican spartakiads), of Nayden Shulikov, of Assen Gavrailov, of Fedya Lobanov, of Prof. Tonev and, I confess, I cannot list all of them. Finally, I want to express my confidence that if in the last ten years we have endured and did not stop the holidays, then they will be there in the future. I believe that! Snezhana Veleva: For me, the Velingrad holidays of culture are a tough tradition, a necessity that has resisted time, which has proven its right to continue. I have my own explanation for this. It is in the nature of the people of Velingrad to feel the need for spiritual appearances and to manifest themselves. That we have many talents is surprising to many who do not know us closely, and when they get to know us they understand that we are also very proactive. The thing that has impressed me and continues to impress me is the absolute respect and adoration of the Veligradians to the traditions. Difficulties, troubles, whatever they are, are overcome and do not even remain a memory, but tradition, including the Holidays, which are already a tradition because they have 30 years behind them, must live and live.This is something we will always be proud of, and it gives us the confidence for the future. The purpose of the Holidays from their very beginning has always been and is for guests to come, see and hear and come back again. Those who have come once to emotionally bind themselves to this city, and the city do it people, because God has done a wonderful job - has given us waters, nature and endowed us with many talents and desire to manifest, the rest is our doing. I believe that since the holidays have not stopped in the past difficult and crucial years, the Velingradians will not allow them to go away with time. They will have them! Veska Bozhkova