Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria has its own Cultural Heritage Day in the Canadian province of British Columbia

Bulgarian roses will bloom in downtown Vancouver

Author:
Photo: bcsbc.ca

May 24 has been announced as Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Day in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The document was personally signed by the mayor of Vancouver, and the credit for this goes to the team of the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Toronto, led by Velislava Panova.

"This is a historic moment for Bulgarians in Canada, because it is happening for the first time," the consul general said excitedly in an interview with Radio Bulgaria, as it is the result of several months of effort. According to her, it is the first time a municipality in Canada has designated a Bulgaria Day and on the initiative of the consulate, the date is not accidental, namely May 24 - the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture.

"On May 25, there will be a special ceremony - the first Bulgarian school in Vancouver "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" turns 30 years old and the children have prepared with a special concert. A representative of the Municipality will come to this important event for them and read the so-called Proclamation that May 24 has been announced as the Bulgarian Cultural Heritage Day in the city of Vancouver," explained Velislava Panova

Consulate General of Bulgaria in Toronto
The city of Vancouver itself hosts a large part of the Bulgarian community in British Columbia, which according to unofficial data is between 5,000 and 6,000 people:

"This is a large part of the people who participate in different types of events that for the last 3 and a half years we have been able to organize precisely in this most remote province of Canada - British Columbia. This is the most western province where we have started to organize outsourced consular days, which had not been done for a long time. The first were during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was something extraordinary for people there because they had access to services that were otherwise 6 hours away by plane. And when we started doing them, they actually had to come to the city center and present themselves to us to do the service.This motivated us to start different initiatives that became quite successful and we continued in the territory of all the other 9 provinces, for which the Consulate General is responsible in the territory of Canada."

Consul General Velislava Panova
The Consul General of Bulgaria in Canada Velislava Panova also announced yet another initiative brought to a successful end - the creation of rose gardens in various cities of the province.

"I can say for the first time on your programme that Bulgarian roses will be planted in front of the townhall in the city of Vancouver. This is in the very heart of the city where tens of thousands of people pass by every day. We have already provided them to the municipality as seedlings and we expect to know when  the official planting will be. This is happening for the first time in Vancouver, otherwise we already have a Bulgarian rose garden in the city of Burnaby, which is about 40 minutes from Vancouver, also in the province of British Columbia. So we can we boast that we will have several flower gardens with roses from Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian rose garden in the city of Burnaby
The Consul General in Toronto also clarified that these are rose seedlings planted and grown by Bulgarians in their homes, and are not a special import from Bulgaria, for which multiple permits are required.

It seems that the climate tolerates them well and is similar to the one in Bulgaria, says Mrs. Panova with a smile.

Another important initiative that is gaining more and more popularity is the Bulgaria Days in Canada, which is being held for the third year in a row.
"On the territory of all of Canada, the initiative became known after we discovered three cities connected to Bulgaria in the territory of the province of Ontario. This is the most densely populated province in Canada, where Toronto is also located. The cities are Shipka, Varna and Plevna. These are 3 settlements that bear their names thanks to Bulgarian history and are connected with different stages of the development of Bulgaria. 


That is why we decided to focus our efforts precisely in these 3 cities and organize the first Days of Bulgaria in Canada precisely in the municipality of Shipka, South Huron, where we even planted rosehips as a symbol of the city. But the city is called like this not because of the plant, but because of the battle at Shipka, and all the local people already know this.

Bulgaria Days in the community of Shipka, Canada
A large part of our compatriots in Canada have lived there for more than 20-30 years. Their profile is quite diverse – they include both teachers and university professors, as well as those working in the digital sphere, telecommunications, construction and maintenance. Thanks to their acquaintances, they tell many Canadians about Bulgaria, who remain fascinated by our country when they visit it. 

In recent years, there have been almost no new Bulgarian emigrants there, rather the opposite trend is a fact - Bulgarians who have property in the country sell it and return to Bulgaria.

Read also:



Photos: Consulate General of Bulgaria in Toronto, Bulgarian-Canadian Society of British Columbia, BTA



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Plovdiv invites lovers of ancient crafts to visit the city’s Ethnographic Museum

The regional ethnographic museum in Plovdiv opens its doors for the 16th edition of the Week of Traditional Crafts, the organizers report. The opening is on June 24 (Enyovden) - honored in Bulgarian folk traditions as the day of..

published on 6/23/24 9:05 AM
Tarator

Bulgarian cuisine 14th in TasteAtlas European national cuisines rating

Bulgarian cuisine is ranked 14 th out of all national cuisines in Europe in the prestigious TasteAtlas rankings, BNR-Varna reports. The cuisines are rated every year on the basis of points given by the website’s users. Bulgaria is given an average..

published on 6/22/24 5:55 PM

“Crushed beans with nettles and horo dancing” festival in Cheri Osam village

The 6 th culinary festival “Crushed beans with nettles and horo dancing” in Cherni Osam village near Troyan brought together crowds of fans of folklore and of traditional cuisine from all parts of the country, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports...

published on 6/22/24 3:50 PM