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Smolyan bagpipers caught the attention of thousands of visitors Photos: Dima Maximova
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Thousands jammed their cars at noon on St. George’s Day on the main Sofia-Varna road on the way to the jubilee 10th Sheep Breeders’ Fair above Lyaskovets. The column of cars was still winding in the village of Sheremetya before the turnoff to Arbanassi, and the meadows near the Peter and Paul Monastery, where the large-scale festival takes place, were full of cars, campers and caravans for the long weekend.
Farm food, purebred animals that can not be seen elsewhere, old crafts, folklore, long tables and good weather attracted a record number of visitors on the first day of the fair.
Near the barbecues and grills, it seemed that the crisis had somehow passed the representative sample of partygoers, who gave 2 levs for kebab, 8 levs for a skewer and ate french fries for 5 levs. BGN 6 for 100 grams of deboned meat. Real milk cheese cost between BGN 14 and 17, and yellow cheeses with herbs and spices, even blueberries, were sold for BGN 20.
The beginning of the three-day festivities was set by the mummers from the village of Kalugerovo, Pazardzhik region, whose ritual dance drove away evil forces and brought grace. After them, the meadows near the Peter and Paul Monastery were announced by the famous Smolyan folk orchestra “101 kaba gaidi”. The music and traditions of the ancient nomadic shepherds Karakachani came to life in the performances of the dance group “Katsandonis” -Karlovo.
The program of the event from 6 to 8 May is full of exhibitions of animals (sheep, goats, llamas, horses, dogs, donkeys), attractive farm competitions in hand milking, shearing with shepherd’s scissors, masterful boning of lambs, the heaviest ram, towing loads from heavy horse horses, best sheep / goat milk products.
More than 70 participants are in the traditional craft exhibition, and the ethno reconstruction “Chiflik” showed forgotten techniques for beating butter, picking wool. Old-fashioned cuisine in the show “In Search of Lost Taste”, St. George’s Sacrifice with Uti Bachvarov, various culinary areas, firecrackers, choreographies, folk festivals, big evening concerts and many other attractions raise the mood.
