An event commemorating the 8th anniversary of the creation of the Bulgarian Center Bulgarica in Chicago was held on November 12, 2022. On behalf of the National Library “St. Cyril and Methodius” in Sofia, Petranka Stamatova gave a painting of a map of Bulgaria with folk needlework to the “Bulgaria” Center during the celebration.
On the map of Bulgaria, there are 144 embroidered stitches representing each nation’s ethnographic area. The National Ethnographic Museum holds the original, which measures 195 by 165 cm. Velichka Kamenova of the Chiprov village of Gorna Kovachitsa created it after being inspired by the actions of the Bulgarian Irene Velichkova- Yamami, who performed the same thing in 2015.
The 86-year-old started stitching the map on March 3, 2020, and the last stitch was finished on November 23, nine months later. The elegance, beauty, and variety of Bulgarian embroideries continue to unite Bulgarians around the globe. When they are joined to form an embroidered card, they remind them of the adage “Combination builds strength.”
The initiative aims to distribute these cards to Bulgarian communities living abroad. Cards have already been distributed to Bulgarians in Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Nigeria, and the United States.
In November 2014, 6-7 enthusiasts who founded the company “Bulgarica Traditions” Bulgarica launched the Bulgarian Center Bulgarica TM. “Development of self-awareness and patriotism in the Bulgarian community in the USA, via active engagement in cultural and public life,” has been their slogan.
Participants in the dance school make up the major force in Bulgaria, and some of the key players include Tanya Ivanova and Yana Kopcheva, who have taught at the dance school for a long time. Valentin Ivanov is the principal choreographer and director of the dance school “Bulgaria.”
Without Petar Georgiev, the director and founder of “Bulgarika,” Radost Miladinova, Anna Ilieva, Nikolay Shopov, and Emilia Ivanova, members of the board of the “Bulgarika” centre, it is evident that it cannot be done. The creators of the dance company Vivanov, Valentin and Tanya Ivanova, gave a workshop on the study of actual people before the celebration honouring Bulgaria’s eighth anniversary.