Bulgarian Fest of Orange County – Spring 2019

The Spring Edition of the Biannual Festival of the Bulgarian Community of Orange County. In the Spring, we celebrate the Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day, and in the Fall – St. Zlata’s Feast. This is our 6th festival.

Let’s celebrate Bulgaria’s heritage! Share our event and invite your friends! We promise you a great time, delicious food, great music, and dances! There will be a lot of fun activities for children as well!

Special Guests

• Veselin Valchev – Consul General of Bulgaria on the West Coast
• Fr. Blasko Paraklis – our Parish priest
• Fr. John Tomasi leading a Pilgrimage to Bulgaria in September
• Prof. Karen Quintiliani, Ph.D. and Prof. Melissa Maceyko, Ph.D. from California State University, Long Beach leading a group of students to Bulgaria this summer
• Prof. Eric Maceyko, Ph.D. – the newest teacher of our school

Performers

• Mariana Popzlateva – an opera singer
• Kristin Kalliope – a Bulgarian singer and composer
• Asen “Ace” Vaptsarov – a Bulgarian musician and composer
• Lazar Gadzhev – a Bulgarian singer
• DJ Vlad Kalev from Log Angeles
• DJ Teddy from San Francisco

Festival Schedule

12:00 PM • Doors open to the public
01:00 PM • Opening ceremony
01:30 PM • Mariana Popzlateva’s opens the program
02:00 PM • Bulgarian folk dance workshop
02:30 PM • Asen “Ace” Vaptsarov rocks the venue with his band Cannonball Splash
03:00 PM • School program begins (40 minutes)
04:00 PM • Bulgarian folk dance workshop
04:15 PM • Youth soccer match
05:00 PM • Soccer awards & raffle drawing
05:45 PM • Last call for alcohol
06:00 PM • Food sale
06:30 PM • All good things must come to an end

Entrance Fee

Entrance fee is waived for people wearing traditional folk costumes. For others, the fee is $5 for people 16 and older. Children 3 to 15 years of age also pay $5. Children younger than 3 require no fee. You can purchase entrance passes, festival and raffle tickets online here and skip the lines!

Volunteering

Our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is entirely volunteer-based. Any help is welcome and encouraged – including from teenagers who can earn Community Service hours with us! Volunteers can reserve their spot here or can come between 10:00 AM and noon or stay after 06:00 PM to help us.

Donations

You can make a tax-deductible donation to our 501(c)(3) nonprofit on Facebook or on our website. You can also check here if your employer participates in donation-matching campaigns.

Workshops

• Bulgarian Embroidery Workshop with Vessi Kazachka (04:00 PM)
• Arts & Crafts with Malina Gadzheva and Milena Georgieva
• Bulgarian Folk Dancing (02:00 PM and 04:00 PM)

Sports

Krassimir Boyanov volunteered to organize a youth soccer match, which will start at 4:15 PM. There will be prizes! Please, register your child at the ticket booth!

Kids Fun Zone

• Upgraded Jumper (12:00 PM – 06:00 PM)
• Balloon Artist (02:00 PM – 04:00 PM)
• Face Painting
• Wheel of Fortune

Bulgarian Food and Drink

• Taste authentic and delicious Bulgarian food; vegan and vegetarian options will be available as well
• Bulgarian desserts
• Bulgarian beer, wine, and brandy (rakia)
• Unique Bulgarian imported foods

Skip the Line and Purchase Tickets in Advance

Sponsor our Festival