July Morning will be celebrated with a three-day festival on the beach, at the mouth of the Kamchia River, by visitors of the fourth edition of Ritual Gatherings. The organizers chose this location to revive the traditional Bulgarian ritual of welcoming the first sunrise of July through contemporary art and music. The festival aims to establish sustainable practices for conducting eco-friendly outdoor events and will apply several measures to preserve the location, such as massive beach cleaning before the festival, lectures and discussions with experts, separate waste collection, and minimizing the consumption of single-use cups.
A Zero Waste Opening Ritual Dinner
Ritual Gatherings will start on June 30, adhering to the tradition of starting the three-day experience with a ritual dinner, which will be located between the Kamchia River mouth, the sea, and the typical white dune of the area. The concept of the dinner also lies in the main message of sustainability and reducing human impact on nature, as it will offer an entirely zero-waste menu made from local products from local producers typical of the Northeast region.
Art With A Message
This year, one of the largest and most beautiful beaches in Bulgaria will be turned into an outdoor contemporary art gallery with an exhibition of some of the most promising young authors in the country, curated by Martina Yordanova - curator at the National Art Gallery and Director of the Gabrovo Biennial of Humor and Satire. The exhibition will present several different forms of art - sculpture, street art, contemporary dance, illustration, all united by the theme of reducing the human impact on nature, cultural diversity, and continuity. The theme of ecology is also integrated into the scenography plan, as the main stage is specially created for the event by the Swedish artist Philip Jakobsson and his studio FlipZurd, entirely made of wood and natural materials. At the beginning of May, people from Sofia will be able to see part of the stage displayed in front of the National Palace of Culture as part of the Festival for Light.
Ritual Gatherings: Traditional Rituals and Interactive Contemporary Art - Mechanisms for Building Communities and Achieving Sustainable Cultural Ecosystems” (Project BGCULTURE-2.001-0117-C01) is implemented with the financial support provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism to the amount of EUR 199,984. The project is part of the OP “Cultural Entrepreneurship, Heritage and Cooperation” Result 2 “Improved access to arts and culture”.
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