Kazanlak’s Rose Queen - goodwill ambassador
The beauty of Bulgarian women is often compared to that of roses - those delicate and fragrant flowers that have long become a symbol of Bulgaria. We use roses to welcome and send away dear guests. We extol their beauty in poetry and paint them in tourist leaflets. The Kazanlak Valley in central Bulgaria is the place where, for centuries on end, Bulgarians have been growing these aromatic flowers that have become the main raw material for the perfumery, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Every year, the town of Kazanlak holds the Festival of Roses where a Rose Queen is chosen among girls graduating local schools. This summer, the crown desired by all girls in Kazanlak was won by a graduate from "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" High School. Young beauty Nelly Slavova was the first choice only by the 11-member jury of the contest, but she also won the online voting.
“In 2013, the Rose Festival will be celebrating its 110th anniversary and our Rose Queen will be selected for the 45th time," Mayor of Kazanlak, Ms Galina Stoyanova explains. "On this occasion, this year's candidates in the contest and current Rose Queen Nelly Slavova proposed that a history of all Rose Queens be written. The girls took the initiative to create their own goodwill messages. This year, Miss Nelly Slavova visited two of our twin cities - Grasse in France and Munakata in Japan. The key messages of our official delegation focused on the best presentation of Kazanlak with its natural beauty, culture, history, and all the attractions of this wonderful place we live in - the Valley of Roses and Thracian Kings. In Grasse, Nelly Slavova presented to the local mayor our project for opening a new national museum of the rose in Kazanlak. Grasse is the capital of the French perfume industry and it hosts a museum of perfumery. The mayor of the city, along with French architects who examined the Bulgarian project, gave a good estimate of our idea. The Rose Museum which we want to make will be a living museum, which will not only showcase artifacts from the production of rose oil, but it can give tourists the opportunity to fully participate in the history of the rose and the development of rose production."
In Grasse, the Bulgarian Rose Queen Nelly Slavova participated in the carnival procession on the local flower festival, which takes place in early August. Along with the Queen of Grasse, Nelly was handing out flowers to all guests. A month later, the young Bulgarian beauty traveled to the Japanese city of Munakata which each year holds traditional festivals of Bulgaria in Japan. Alongside the "Arsenal" folklore ensemble from Kazanlak, Nelly Slavova demonstrated the beauty and authenticity of Bulgarian folklore.
The mayor of Kazanlak Ms. Galina Stoyanova tells us more about the relationship between the two colorful cities:
“We have signed a memorandum of partnership between Munakata and Kazanlak. We discussed the details of our twinning project. One possibility is to deepen the relationship between the Kazanlak-based mathematical high school and their high school. The start of these contacts was last year and in 2013 we will work on the details. Our Japanese partners do very interesting things in the realm of culture. The Bulgarian folk ensemble has been met with great interest in Japan for 12 years now. We develop our partnerships also in the direction of historical and cultural heritage. Munakata has a very interesting history museum, as we have one in Kazanlak. So the two museums could engage in further partnership. During my visit to Japan, I had a meeting in the city of Fukuyama, our other sister city. There we signed a memorandum of partnership between Kazanlak and the Association "Fukuyama - Bulgaria". In 2013, a Japanese folk orchestra performing with the traditional Japanese instrument koto will arrive at the Rose Festival in Kazanlak. We met with the orchestra and the musicians are really eager to come to our town. We will have the opportunity to present the art of Japan and Fukuyama in our educational and cultural institutions. The friendship between both countries over the years has resulted in more than 10,000 visitors from Japan in Bulgaria and especially in Kazanlak for our Rose Festival. This interest must be deepened and developed so that the citizens of the twin towns of Kazanlak, Fukuyama and Munakata can be acquainted with the culture of the other nations”, says Ms. Galina Stoyanova.
In Japan, the Bulgarian Rose Queen Nelly Slavova was received with great attention and the tickets for the concert of the Bulgarian folk group were sold a year earlier as the Japanese audience is always eagerly looking forward to the concerts of Bulgarian artists.
Text and photo: bnr.bg
(16.10.2012)