On Lazarus Saturday (April 16) there will be a charity picnic in support of Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria. It will be held on the big meadow in the South Park in the capital under the title "Easter together/Velikdenь разом".

"With this event we would like to show our hospitality to the people who left their country because of the war in Ukraine," one of the organizers, Vladi Gerasimov, told Radio Bulgaria. Nearly 4 million people have fled the war, and over 80 thousand of them are here, in Bulgaria, many of them in Sofia.

For all who have sought refuge from war, this will be a difficult Easter, filled with thoughts of their lost homes and loved ones. That is why the first task of each of us is to try to give them hope for a better tomorrow. We must all do all we can to help. That is what these young Bulgarians are trying to do with the "Easter Together" initiative.

Three weeks ago a young man, Vladislav Dimitrov, contacted us. He has an advertising agency in Kiev. We wanted to know what was the real situation there, and to see how we, as professionals who organize city events, could help him and Ukrainian community in Sofia, so we met with Vladislav.  Some time ago we had worked on an idea of how we could celebrate Easter with an art installation in an urban environment, which we cancelled because of the war in Ukraine. After talking with Vladislav, we decided that we could join forces and turn the idea into something meaningful and for a good cause" - says Vladi Gerasimov.

The event will be an artistic outdoor celebration. An art installation of six large, nearly two-meter high eggs painted by Bulgarian and Ukrainian artists will be placed on the large lawn. One of the eggs will also have a special mission - it has been turned into a donation box for the Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria, in which every visitor to the event on Saturday will be able to leave their contribution to a good cause.

The eggs carry the artists’ vibes, so everyone who comes to the picnic and sees them, will feel the same emotion. The message we are sending is "Peace and unity," Gerasimov says. He admits that the original idea has been to invite only artists from Ukraine, but because of the complicated situation, they are currently realizing it with only two of them – designer Paul Romaniuk-PASHA and designer and illustrator Vicky Knysh-Minushka.

"To be honest, it all started from what our colleague Vladislav Dimitrov said: 'Let's have a picnic where we can all sit on a meadow and be together'. We named the event "Easter Together", because we wanted to share this feelings of togetherness with Ukrainians. To make them feel that they are welcome here. Every egg from the installation can be purchased by a big company and so they will donate to the campaign to support Ukraine," Vladi Gerasimov says.

"All funds raised in the campaign will be donated to the humanitarian aid organization "Mati Ukraїna", specifies Vladi Gerasimov. A festive atmosphere and pleasant mood will be created by Bulgarian musicians Beloslava, Svilen Noev from the alternative rock band Ostava, Elena Sirakova, Mila Robert, and others on a special stage, erected for this purpose. Stories will be read by our colleague Kamen Alipiev-Cedar and writer Tsvetelina Tsvetkova,"Gerasimov explains.

"All in all, we have everything we need to make a really nice picnic, as we called it, and anyone who wants to support the cause, look at the eggs or just listen to some music is welcome from 11 am to 5 pm in the South Park," Vladi says, hoping that these inexplicable for him, inhumane and inadequate to today's times events will soon come to an end.

Editor: Elena Karkalanova