Mayor Pencho Milkov launched the first Dragon Boat Festival in Ruse
Saturday, 22 June 2024
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.
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