Koprivshtitsa Festival

Koprivshtitsa is one of the most renowned and largest folk festivals in the Balkans, as well as one of the best known to folklore enthusiasts. The concept came about when local musicians wanted to protect traditions endangered by factors such as urbanization and commodification. Thousands of Bulgarians of all ages and the diaspora come together in August to perform and share their intangible cultural heritage practices.

Koprivshtitsa in Bulgarian word коприва, kopriva, meaning nettle. It is a historic town that lies on the Topolnitsa River among the Sredna Gora mountains in the Koprivshtitsa Municipality in Sofia Province, central Bulgaria.

This city was one of the centers of the April Uprising in 1876 and is known for its traditional architecture and folk music festivals, making it a popular tourist destination. Koprivshtitsa hosts the National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore about every five years, which draws musicians, artists, and craftsmen from all over the country.

The festival is the only major Bulgarian music event that focuses exclusively on amateur performers, with thousands of performers in the hills above town. It involves the Ministry of Culture, Bulgarian National Television, Bulgarian National Radio, the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies, the Ethnographic Museum, the Institute for Art Studies, and the community centers.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Balkanton recorded most of the authentic Bulgarian village music records released during the Communist era in Koprivshtitsa. The festival of folklore in Koprivshtitsa has a concept that was developed to gather thousands of Bulgarians of all ages and from the diaspora in August to showcase and share their intangible heritage practices.

Festivals are held in the Stara Planina Mountains in August in the meadows above the museum village of Koprivshtitsa. Bulgarian Folk Festivals are usually held in the preceding months and last for 3 days. These include dance and storytelling, as well as games and craftsmanship. These evolved from local musicians' desire to preserve cultural traditions threatened by factors such as urbanization and commodification.

It raises awareness about the importance of preserving living heritage and preserving its presence in people's lives, and for future continuity, documenting it for future generations, as well as stimulating its transmission. Performing artists participate through selection procedures organized by Bulgaria's administrative districts.

A new tradition is also identified from these performances, and then the performances are broadcast and documented by scholars for archival purposes, such as those at the Ethnographic Museum with the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies.