Shalom Sofia, the first festival of Jewish culture in the Bulgarian capital city, will be held on September 15 2013, beginning after the end of this year’s Yom Kippur, The Sofia Globe reported.
Culture and traditions preserved through the ages by the Jewish community will “come alive” at stalls in front of the National Palace of Culture, NDK, organisers said.
The ambition is for the festival to become an annual tradition, according to the organisers, including Shalom, the organisation of the Jews in Bulgaria, and Sofia municipality.
Plans are for the official opening to be attended by Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandukova.
Maxim Benvenisti, president of Shalom Bulgaria, the representative group of Bulgarian Jews, said that with the festival, “we want to show that we, the Jews, are an integral part of this society, as well as that we have a sense of self-irony. Through this initiative, we are reaching out and asking people to get to know us better. This is our way of saying, ‘hi!’ to everyone in Sofia”.
The festival will showcase Jewish music, cinema, literature and learning. Some of Bulgaria’s best-known Jewish directors, writers and artists are expected to participate. For younger visitors to the festival, there will be games and surprises.
Also appearing at the festival will be Bulgarian television celebrity chef Uti Buchvarov, who will be introducing visitors to some samples of Jewish cuisine.