The village of Varbitsa is located in Central Northern Bulgaria. The region’s infrastructure is in a poor shape and some of the houses in the village are deserted and in a state of ruin. Luckily there is a kindergarten and a school here, but children are fewer every year. This school year might be the last for the local school, another building to become susceptible to ruin. In ethnic terms the population of Varbitsa is half Bulgarian and half Roma. Most of its residents (about 500 in all) are retired. The children and grandchildren of most of them live and work abroad. They do not come back often as there is hardly anything they can do here. The road dotted with holes is another reason for fewer people visiting the place. But in fact Varbitsa is just 25 km away from the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa and the city of Veliko Tarnovo.

Is there a way to bring joy back to Varbitsa? The local activist from the community center (chitalishte) Anelia Dimitrova is not easily discouraged and has offered the idea of a new festival. She has been the chairperson of the center called Gradina Varbitsa 1894 for the past two years. Anelia explains that Varbitsa boasts a lot of fertile farming land with crops including corn, wheat, soy, peas etc., and there is hardly a bad farming year. She wants to make village residents believe that rustic life here not boring, and argues that they need little to feel proud of their work and skills. So Anelia came up with the idea of launching a festival that celebrates one of the most famous Bulgarian dishes – the banitsa (a traditional cheese pastry). And because the best banitsa is the homemade one with crunchy and ragged crust, the locals jokingly called the event the Festival of Tattered Banitsa.

“In our village banitsa is made for various occasions from Christmas till Saints Peter and Paul when we have fresh cheese,” Anelia Dimitrova says:

“Most women make their own sheets of pastry using different methods – rolling out, kneading or pulling. Their banitsa cheesecakes are always very tasty. There is nothing better than homemade Bulgarian food. We do not have a particular local recipe but every housewife tries to prepare the best banitsa and experiments a lot to make a difference. This idea emerged as we discussed what kind of festival we need in the village. We agreed we needed to be specific and decided against a song festival, as this is very common. We included a culinary theme and chose banitsa that reigns on the traditional menu of Bulgarians throughout the year.”

This year the Festival of Tattered Banitsawas held on 19 May for a fifth year running. In earlier editions, only women from the village joined in, but Anelia Dimitrova wanted to make the event bigger and more diverse. Last year she sent out invitations and 14 groups from 8 Bulgarian municipalities accepted to take part. The festival proved the right step in trying to revive social life in Varbitsa. “Nice weather us also important – such a gathering will never be the same indoors.” Anelia explains.

“When the long tables are extended in the open and there is a stage for authentic folklore performances; when people join the big chain dance in tune with the Bulgarian tradition – the result is the atmosphere of a festival. Some may find it illogical but in the village we live better than in big cities. People are closer, spend more time together and help each other. Well, the worst part of the story is that fewer and fewer people remain in villages.”

English Daniela Konstantinova