Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

A bagpipe playing contest draws thousands to Bulgaria's village of Gela

Photo: BNR Kardzhali (archive)

Bagpipe playing and the Ilinden Fair Assembly are held in the village of Gela in the heart of the Rhodope Mountain. In the 20th edition of the competition, kaba gaida performers from different folklore regions of the country are taking part. 
The program of the fair will continue until August 6 with a meeting of the clans.

Lively traditional folk dances, songs and bagpipe melodies resound in the Rhodope Mountains on the two days of the traditional fair which every year attracts thousands of people from the country and abroad, who come to enjoy the performances of the bagpipe players and the wonderful views from the Gela meadows of the Rhodope Mountains.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The demonic image of horse rider St. Todor in folk traditions

"In a vast region in northern Bulgaria, St. Todor is somehow perceived as a demonic character... He visited gatherings of unmarried girls, which were prohibited during that period; he acquired the appearance of a young bachelor, but distinguishable by..

published on 3/23/24 7:10 AM

Yambol immersed in the magic of the Kuker games

Thousands of cowbells of different sizes and shapes filled the streets of Yambol with chiming, jingling and ringing at the 25th International Masquerade Festival "Kukerlandia".  Згдшд  More than two thousand mummers - called kukeri, sourvakari,..

published on 3/17/24 4:16 PM

Martenitsas or Rhodope baynitsas – a symbol of hope for the good things to come

Martenitsas are one of the symbols of Bulgaria – regarded as the harbinger of spring and the end of darkness. Every year, on 1 March, Bulgarians, wherever they may be in the world, give friends and family the red-and-white tassels, as a token of..

published on 3/1/24 7:05 AM