On June 30 /Sunday/ at 9 a. m. in the Youth Park will be held the 54th edition of the Folklore Fair "The Golden Gadulka". The event, which is organized by the Municipality of Ruse, is one of the oldest folklore festivals in Bulgaria. This year more than 700 participants from different parts of the country will perform in it, as well as the children's folklore group "Talisman" from the town of Sofia. Taraclia, Moldova.

Singers, instrumentalists, dancers, storytellers and participants in folk customs will compete for the "Golden Gadulka" prize for collective and individual awards. The prize and the souvenir gadulki are made by the Ruse master Anton Antonov.

Students from the national art schools in Kotel, Pleven, Varna and Ruse, children and young people playing Bulgarian folk instruments from music schools in the country have applied for participation in the festival.

The competent jury, which will evaluate the performances of the participants, is composed of outstanding professionals. Chairman is Krasimir Kondov - one of the best Bulgarian bagpipers, Chief of Staff. artistic director of the "Northern Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances", teacher at the National School of Arts "Panayot Pipkov" - Pleven. Members of the jury are Antoaneta Asenova - Danova - choreographer, deputy director of the National School of Dance Art - Sofia, former artist - soloist of the ensemble "Pirin" - Blagoevgrad, and prof. Dr. Nikolay Nenov – ethnographer and director of the Ruse Historical Museum.

Guest performer of the festival will be the northern folk singer Ana Borisova, and her concert will start at 12 o'clock.

The young actor Boris Atanasov will appear on stage as a host. The talent born in Ruse has a number of appearances in cinema and theater. As a child he played in the Ruse tambura orchestra.

What is new this year is that the awards will be announced and presented on stage on the same day after the competition program.

The traditional "Crafts Street", organized annually by the "Danube Fellowship of Folk Arts and Crafts", will be located on the "Peristeri" alley in the Youth Park, where you can see unique works of masters from Ruse and other cities.

The first Dragon Boat Festival for Ruse, which was held over the weekend in Lipnik Forest Park, has ended. 15 teams took part in the contested and attractive competition, and in the crews of 20 people the winner was the mixed team of the Ministry of Interior - Ruse, and of the 10-member crews, the first team was ranked "Loko Dragons".

"During these two days, we managed to expand the geography of rowing sports in the municipality of Ruse. The dragon boats bring a lot of positivity and teamwork to the participants, and the spectators experienced a lot of positive emotions, which I am sure will be an occasion for more than one or two new members to enroll in our rowing clubs," said Deputy Mayor Encho Enchev, who, together with Deputy Mayors Dimitar Nedev and Borislav Rachev, awarded the best teams. He expressed special thanks to the co-organizers of the event, the Dragon Boats Association, as well as to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China for their assistance.

3 teams took part in the race with the big boats, and the second was the mixed crew of the Regional Directorate "Fire Safety and Protection of the Population" and the Ministry of Interior - Ruse. The bronze medals were grabbed by the "Haskovo Dragons".

In the crews of 10 people, the silver went to the "Police Dragons" team, and the Army Dragons ranked third. A special honorary award was given to the team of Ruse firefighters "Stronger than Fire", who are still struggling with the consequences of the fire that broke out yesterday in the area of the former bakery.

On the second day of the festival, the audience enjoyed the performances of the Impulse Dance Group at the Municipal Youth Center, led by Milena Lazarova and Petya Boneva, the Folklore Dance Ensemble "Zdravets" at the Municipal Children's Center for Culture and Art, led by Dimitar Donev and accompanist Katya Dimitrova, and the Vocal Group "Sun" at the Municipal Children's Center for Culture and Art, led by Dr. Natalia Konstantinova.
Even today, residents of Ruse and guests of the city could buy handmade products from the creative workshops located in the large parking lot opposite the municipal rowing base, as well as taste the delicious food and drinks offered there.

Today in Lipnik Forest Park began the first Dragon Boat Festival for Ruse. It is organized by the Municipality of Ruse and the Dragon Boats Association under the patronage of the Mayor of Ruse Municipality. The festival was opened by Pencho Milkov and Mrs. Wang Ming, Counsellor at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Bulgaria. They performed the traditional ritual of painting the eyes of the dragons on the boats, with which the racing part began.
"Today a big dream comes true, for which we have been working for several years. The festival is not just a sports event typical for China and Asia, but an event that teaches people to create a sense of friendship and community," said the mayor in his greeting. He expressed his gratitude to the Chinese Embassy for the assistance it provides to the Municipality of Ruse for holding dragon boat races in Ruse.

According to Ms. Wang Ming, warmth and hospitality have contributed to the successful joint initiatives. She did not fail to point out the advantages of the municipal base in the Lipnik Forest Park, which helps the competitions to be held in excellent conditions.
The opening of the festival was attended by the Deputy Mayors of Ruse Municipality Borislav Rachev, Encho Enchev and Dimitar Nedev, Yang Tien – Secretary for Educational Activities, and Peng Yu – Secretary for Cultural Activities at the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria, the Director of the Municipal Enterprise "Sports Properties" Lacezar Ivanov, the Member of Parliament Ivan Ivanov, the expert at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Eleonora Gurbanova and the municipal councilor Plamen Rashev. Many citizens of Ruse and guests of the city are present.
15 teams took part in the dragon boat race – 12 with a crew of 10 people and 3 with 20 rowers, who had to cover the distance of 200 m.

Today at 18:30 on the stage will be the special guests of the festival - the young pop stars Alex and Vladi. An hour later, the attendees will be able to enjoy the performances of the Chinese band from the inner province of Mongolia "IH TSETSN".
On Sunday, the festival will continue with a cultural program at 10 a. m. , and an hour after that the semi-finals in the dragon boat race will begin. The finals will be at 1:30 p. m. , and the program of the event will end with the awarding ceremony at 2 p. m.
The festival offers a rich Chinese-Bulgarian program with music and dance performances, creative workshops, craft arts, art bazaar, martial arts demonstrations, attractions for children, culinary exhibitions, food and drink venues and other entertainment.

The official opening of the Dragon Boat Festival is at 10 a.m. on June 22nd (Saturday), with races scheduled to take place in several stages until 4:30 p.m. From 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the area between the two small lakes a rich Chinese-Bulgarian program will be held with music and dance performances, creative workshops, craft arts, art bazaar, martial arts demonstrations, attractions for children, culinary exhibitions, food and drink venues and other entertainment . At 18:30, the special guests of the festival - the young pop stars Alex and Vladi - will take the stage.

On Sunday, the festival will continue with a cultural program from 10 a.m., with the semi-finals of the dragon boat race starting an hour later. The finals will be at 1:30 p.m. and the program of the event will end with the award ceremony at 2 p.m.

The organizers of the festival ask for compliance with the changes in the organization of traffic along the alleys in the forest park such as:

• a ban on the movement of any type of public transport vehicle is introduced along the alley to the right of the road between the two lakes;

• the alley leading to the statue of the "White Girl" and the alley passing by the "Teketo Zoo" are set aside for the parking of the cars of the visitors of the festival.

Motor vehicle drivers are urged to drive with caution and strictly follow the posted traffic signals.

The Municipality of Ruse organizes additional transport to Forest Park "Lipnik" with the following route:

Central Railway Station - Borisova St. - Skobelev Blvd. - Lipnik Blvd. - Nikolovo Village - "Lipnik" Forest Park (turning to the small lake) and back.

Departure times:

On June 22 (Saturday):

From the Central Railway Station – 10:00; 13:00; 15:00 and 18:00 From Forest Park "Lipnik" - 11:00; 14:00; 16:00 and 19:00

On June 23 (Sunday):

From the Central Railway Station – 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

From the forest park "Lipnik" - 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

The courses will be run by "Municipal Transport Ruse" EAD, and the buses will stop at all established public transport stops along the route.

All regular courses on the Ruse-Nikolovo-Dolno Ablanovo-Prosena line will be performed by entering the "Lipnik" forest park with the route: "Iztok" bus station, "Potsdam" street, "Nikola Petkov" street, "Tulcha" street, Dorostol St./Str. Pliska, Saedinenie Blvd., Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., Lipnik Blvd., Nikolovo Village, Lipnik Forest Park, Dolno Ablanovo, Prosena and vice versa.

Departure times:

from Ruse - "Iztok" bus station: 07:30; 09:30; 12:00; 14:00; 17:00; 19:00; 9:00 p.m.;

from Nikolovo: 10:10 a.m.;

from Prosena: 06:40; 08:30; 13:00; 15:00; 18:00; 8:00 p.m.

The graduates of SC "Kalagia" Ruse presented what they learned during the year in the traditional wushu tournament "Warriors of Kalagia" and the children's tournament for beginners "Kung-Fu Panda". The event is jointly organized by the Association SC "Kalagia", the Municipal Youth House - Ruse and the Student Sports School - Ruse.

In the tournament, the young talents showed their skills and spirit in the disciplines of wushu. The participants had the opportunity to compete in different categories, demonstrating technique, strength and mastery.

"Warriors of Kalagia"/"Kung Fu Panda" 2024 is an event that combines sports and culture, providing children with the opportunity to express their passion for martial arts. The competition aims to encourage physical development, discipline and team spirit among young participants.

"This tournament is a celebration of the skills and spirit of our young warriors. We are proud to organize it for another year and to see how the children demonstrate their abilities and love for wushu", said Maria Nedelcheva, Chairman and Chief coach of the Association SC "Kalagia".

All competitors received cups, medals and diplomas provided by the Municipal Youth House - Ruse, the Student Sports School - Ruse and the Association SC "Kalagia".

The senior Kalagians, who are graduates, received special diplomas, plaques and a souvenir sign of the school for their achievements in recognition of their achievements over the years.