27th Turkish Culture Symposium to Be Held in Shtip
The country's Turkish community's Hıdırellez Spring Festival, which has been on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2017, will be held in the Valandovo village of Chalakli (Turkish: Çalıklı) on May 2-7 and present folk songs and dances celebrating the arrival of spring as well as oil wrestling, CE Report quotes MIA.
According to organizers, a performance by a Strumica folk ensemble will open the festival. An oil wrestling competition will follow on May 3.
The festival will also include performances by folk ensembles from across the country and the Balkans on May 4.
Festival participants will perform traditional Hıdırellez customs — which celebrate the Turkish holiday of welcoming the first day of spring — in the Valandovo village of Bashiboz (Turkish: Başı Boş) on May 5 and 6.
As part of the festival, Goce Delchev University's Faculty of Philology in Shtip will host the 27th International Turkish Culture Symposium on May 7.
Taking place for the 32nd time, the Hıdırellez Spring Festival is organized by Hid Bah Şen association from Valandovo with the support of the Turkish Cultural Heritage Research Institute from Ankara, Türkiye.
