The city's garden in the capital was transformed into a "small" Hungary on the 20^th and 21^st of October. The Hungarians' Street brought a lot of mood with the sounds of the chardasha, the fine lace "Halash", the aromas of the Kunság specialties...

The event was part of the program of the Embassy of Hungary and the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Sofia on the occasion of the Bulgarian-Hungarian Friendship Day – the 19^th of October; and under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture of Hungary, Mr. Sándor Fazekas. It was carried out with the assistance of the Sofia Municipality, the Hungarian Committee, the Bulgarian Republican Self-Government in Hungary and a number of other partners and sponsors from both sides.

The Unique Hungarian Festival was opened personally by Mr. Sándor Fazekas, Minister of Agriculture of Hungary, and Mr. Valery Simeonov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria. And after their greetings, the scene was flooded with Hungarian folk music and dancing. The Agyagbanda group from the town of Miskolc played the music of the Chango Moldovan national group,  popular Hungarian songs, amusing melodies. The Hajdú dance ensemble from Debrecen performed an extremely wide variety of dances - chardas, verbunka, female and male horo. The same thing was done by the group Flaskabanda and the dancers from the folk ensemble of the town of Debrecen, who had performances during the two days.

In the wooden houses forming the "Street of the Hungarians", the Hungarianums were presented. The collection united those spiritual, cultural and material works created by the Hungarian people over the centuries, which are perceived as native to every Hungarian, wherever he is in the world. The products show to the world the Hungarian creativity and creative energy. On the streets, Tokaj wines could be tasted, as well as, Hungarian rakija "palinka" and bio-beer from coarse grains. People could try Pick Szegedsalami, Gyulai and Csabaisausages - types, Hungarian red pepper, mustard, traditional peppermint cream, crocheted pie pots and boiled pretzel from the area Kunsag, öreglebbencs, shepherd's couscous, millet mash, Hungarian stewed lamb birkapörkölt and more.

Visitors also sincerely enjoyed the fine works of Hungarian folk art, the famous Hungarian embroidery, the lace of Matyó, and others. There were special attractions for the children. A lottery with many prizes was also organized.

In addition to the Hungaricum Street Festival, the rich program for the Bulgarian-Hungarian Friendship Day, which took place from the 18^th to the 21^st of October, also included: Hungarian Readings at the Hungarian Cultural Institute, opening of an exhibition of paintings by Lajos Szalay dedicated to the year of 1956 , the vigil of the pilgrims from Hungary in the Rila Monastery, a concert of the Hungarian band "Meszecsinka" and Milenita in the Sofia Live Club, putting wreaths in front of the memorial plaque for the 1956 in front of the Embassy of Hungary, a concert in "Bulgaria" hall of the Genesis Orchestra, with conductor Yordan Kamdjalov, the impressive director of the Heidelberg Opera and the Philharmonic. The accent, however, was the opening of the memorial plaque dedicated to the Bulgarian-Hungarian friendship in Saint Sophia Church.

Photos: "Diplomatic Spectrum"

First row: At the opening of the festival, Mr. Sándor Fazekas, Minister of Agriculture of Hungary, and Mr. Valery Simeonov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, addressing the participants. Mrs. Márta Mátrai, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Hungary, H. E. Mrs. Tekla Harangozó - the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary in the Republic of Bulgaria was also there, and Mrs. Györgyi Dimitrov, Director of the UCI; performance of the chardas; Mrs. Márta Mátrai /in the middle/ and H. E. Mrs. Tekla Harangozó /right/

Second row: on the "Street of the Hungaricums"