Municipalities today

The 33rd edition of the International Theater Festival "Varna Summer" began with the production of the "Bulgarian Army" Theater in Varna.

The most prestigious theater event in the seaside city began with performances by a brass band and a cheerleading squad at the 2nd Primary School "N. Vaptsarov" in front of the "Stoyan Bachvarov" Drama Theater. The opening was attended by the Mayor of Varna Blagomir Kotsev, actress Tsvetana Maneva - Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the "Via Fest" Foundation.

This year, the festival once again meets the audience with world-class drama, strong Bulgarian participation and internationally recognized names. Until June 11, the festival will offer a variety of forms - from contemporary interpretations of ancient tragedies to documentary theater.

The Bulgarian program of "Varna Summer" brings together some of the distinctive performances of the season, such as "Mother Courage and Her Children", "Public Enemy" and "Perfect Strangers". The Youth Theater, which celebrates its 80th anniversary, presents two of its productions - a new reading of one of Tennessee Williams' most popular plays, "A Streetcar Named Desire," and a stage adaptation of "The Little Prince."

Under the motto "Theatrical Bridges," the focus of this year's edition of "Varna Summer" is on the cooperation of Bulgarian theater artists with theaters from the Balkan region.

Among the special musical events of the festival are the guest appearance of the kings of Argentinean nuovo tango Quinteto Astor Piazzolla and Nina Nikolina's project "Jazz and Traditions," in which Bulgarian folk songs are viewed in a different way from the traditional one - through folklore, ethno-jazz, flamenco, vocal and instrumental improvisations.

The festival program also includes parallel events, such as a stage reading of dramaturgical works created within the framework of the "Creative Writing Workshop for the Stage," organized by the International Literary Festival "Varna Lit." The participants are 20 students from Varna over the age of 15, who have been pre-selected by mentors.

A National Conference will also be held under the title: Festivals of Bulgaria through the prism of tourism dynamics, organized by the Ministry of Tourism, in cooperation with the Via Fest Foundation. The event will discuss the following topics:

Creative industries as a driver of sustainable tourism;

Regional cultural events that shape urban culture and have tourism potential;

The importance of cultural and festival tourism as a driver of year-round interest in the country;

The importance of strategic partnerships between the state, business and municipalities in the direction of social impact, innovation and local culture;

The creation of a national festival calendar - a new map of the cultural experience in Bulgaria.

The conference will present the vision of experts, representatives of the tourism, cultural and festival sectors, local authorities and businesses, focusing on the promotion of culture through festival events and forums, the development of attractive tourism products and the building of strategic partnerships.