The Ritual Gatherings music and contemporary art festival is coming to the Founders of the Bulgarian State monument on May 28, for an impressive music show featuring Laylla Dane records, exhibitions and workshops by some of Shumen's best-known artists.

The results of the survey conducted in the months from January to April focusing on the cultural life in Shumen and the preferences of the audience in the city show that its residents need different formats of events and entertainment. One in three say they attend cultural events less than once a month, and only one in ten once a week. On a positive note, only 3% say they do not attend any cultural events. Most often Shumen residents go to the theater - 54%, followed by music festivals - 43% and cinema - 39%, nearly 38% attend rock concerts. From the results we understand that these are also the most desired musical events that people miss -
just over half, 52%, said they would like to see more music festivals in the city, as well as more rock and pop concerts, 45% and 43% respectively. Over a third noted that they attend folk festivals, and the same number go to music concerts.

On Saturday, May 28, the Ritual Gatherings Music and Contemporary Art Festival will bring a fresh musical sound to the city, with a special event featuring one of the most acclaimed artists known not only on the Bulgarian electronic scene, Laylla Dane. Growing up in Shumen, Laylla Dane has been living and working in Berlin for several years, where she has devoted herself entirely to music, and is now a familiar name in some of the most iconic clubs there. Her distinctive style reaches a number of clubs and festivals around the world, from New York to London to Buenos Aires, and in this country she is the driving force behind Barbara's Wake Up Stran-Jah festival.

At 6pm, the founders of Ritual Gatherings, The Foreigners, will be at the heart of the memorial, followed by Laylla Dane with a special DJ set of vinyls.

The event's artistic program will start early and will feature outdoor exhibitions - "Appetite" by Emilia Baleva - painting, "Parallel Bursts" by Stoyan Skew. The city's favorite dance troupe Emotion will get the crowd ready to dance with a choreographed performance just before the DJ sets begin. Anyone who wants to join in the flash mob in the heart of the memorial will be able to do so from 4 to 5 pm.

Transportation to the memorial will be provided, with buses leaving every hour from the City Hall entrance.
The event and activities are completely free and free admission.

For more information about the event, follow the Facebook event here and at https://ritualgatherings.com/

The audience survey was initiated by the Ritual Gatherings Cultural Festival and aims to identify the desires, motivations, frequency and type of events preferred by the local audience. It involved 220 people, aged between 18 and 55+, living and working permanently in the city. In parallel, the local cultural and folklore heritage, in particular the specific rituals and traditions in the municipality of Shumen, their preservation, development and promotion through interactive methods were also explored. On the basis of this information, the organizers will prepare a cultural profile of the municipality to support it in the strategic development of the local cultural scene.

Ritual Gatherings an annual interdisciplinary cultural festival accompanied by a series of urban events that combines music, contemporary art, traditional rituals, culinary and practical ecological practices.

Ritual Gatherings 2022 will be a unique 5-day July Morning experience, divided into two parts: a 2-day forum in the city of Varna with presentations and discussions aimed at people from the creative industries, followed by a 3-day festival on the beach at the mouth of the Kamchia River with an evening music program with live bands and popular names from the global and local electronic scene, a contemporary Bulgarian art exhibition on the beach, discussions, workshops on spiritual practices, sports activities and activities for children.

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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”.
www.eeagrants.bg