The Cultural Club Antika Bulgaria, San Francisco, proudly presents the expansion of the
15th Annual Festival of Cyril and Methodius in San Francisco
into the
Inaugural Grand May 24th Cultural Festival of the Other Bulgarian Western Regions in California!
When and where?
- Friday, May 22nd – in the dance studio of Antika Bulgaria, El Cerrito (click here for a map)
- Saturday, May 23rd – in the Croation Cultural Center, San Francisco (click here for a map)
- Sunday, May 24th – The Big Bulgarian Horo and dance trip along the most famous sights in San Francisco. (exact locations TBD)
- Monday, May 25th – at the monastery in Castro Valley (click here for a map)
This event will be significant for the Bulgarian community in California because it is coordinated with other Bulgarian organizations and groups, and it happens to fall on the 15th anniversary of Antika Bulgaria, when it will be our pleasure to observe and share with guests, friends, and participants several anniversaries which serendipitously fall оn the same year—namely:
- 15 years of the Bulgarian Festival dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius, San Francisco;
- 10 years of Bulgarian May—the May celebrations of Bulgarian art and culture in San Francisco;
- 5 years of the Bulgarian Folkloric Ensemble Antika and the Martenichki School of Bulgarian Language, Art, and Traditions, San Francisco;
- 40 years in the service of Bulgarian Folkloric Art by Tanya Kostova!
We will have the participation of many local and guest musicians and groups, performers and artists, friends and connoisseurs from the entire West Coast. In addition to our local dance groups and five or six local musical groups, we will have three dance groups from Los Angeles, one from San Diego, one from Toronto, and even a guest soloist from Bulgaria!
REQUESTS FOR PARTICIPATION in the festival can be made by groups and individual performers until the end of April by calling 510-666-7701.
In recent years we have been witnesses and participants in the great modern revival of the Bulgarian spirit and homeland everywhere throughout the world! One of the first sparks of this revival, coincidentally or not, ignited here in California through the activities of Club Antika Bulgaria, in the now distant 2001, when the annual Bulgarian Festival of Cyril and Methodius began. For several years it has been the heart of the May Celebrations of Bulgarian Art and Culture in San Francisco, and more recently, in 2009, in all of California and beyond, the infectious energy of the first entirely Bulgarian Folkloric Music and Dance Ensemble Antika Bulgaria and the Martenichki Bulgarian School has spread.
California is the first state in the U.S. to declare our beloved holiday of May 24th an official holiday in the state, dedicated to Slavic cultural heritage—which brings us great joy and pride, but also a great responsibility!
Now the big holiday is once again approaching! I am happy that the little flicker from 15 years ago is now an unquenchable flame, and that the patriotic Bulgarian spirit is a quality by which we recognize ourselves, even without having realized before that we would become so much more, and that a great new cultural “uprising” would lie ahead of us – the presentation of the 15th Anniversary of the Annual Bulgarian Festival of Cyril and Methodius in San Francisco in the great May 24th Festival of the Other Western Bulgarian Regions, in California.
I would like to extend you a warm welcome to our festival!
More detailed information and the program coming soon!
Tanya Kostova, Founder and Artistic Director
Phone: 510 666 7701
E-mail:antika_bulgaria@yah
ANTIKA BULGARIA Int. Cultural Club/Chitalishte, San Francisco, СА