Legends say that beautiful fairies roamed along the Rhodope meadows strewn with orchids and primroses, and local healers to this today pick fragrant herbs at Midsummer - June 24. In the month of herbs and fairies, several picturesque villages of Smolyan municipality play host to the colorful festival of wildflowers held for the first time in Bulgaria.

© Photo: www.rhodopeflowersfestival.org

Creative workshops for traditional crafts, hiking tours along marked botanical trails, a three-day cycling route among the flowers of the Rhodope Mountain, lectures devoted to the use of local herbs, tasting of traditional local dishes, authentic folk songs and graceful chain dances... This is only part of the extensive program that from 21 to 30 June draws visitors from all over the country and abroad to the Magical Mountain.
The initiative is implemented by the Rhodopes Environmental Organization and it is financially supported by the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Fund (GEF), the Culture Programme of the European Commission through the project "Colorful Europe" and Smolyan Municipality. The festival is implemented within the framework of the project "Rhodopes - the Garden of Orpheus", whose purpose is the protection of the unique flora of the region and its promotion as an alternative tourist product that would provide additional employment for local people. It is also part of the network of Wild Flowers Festivals sweeping Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and the United Kingdom under the auspices of PlantLife International.

© Photo: Wild Flowers Festival

Rhodope haberlea (Haberlea rhodopensis)

Emil Vaklinov, member of the Rhodopes Environmental Organization, told RB:

“The Rhodopes have over 2,000 vascular plants, making it a unique mountain on the Balkan Peninsula. With its biodiversity, it has a lot to offer to people interested in botany and a natural way of life. One of the interesting and rare plants, which is the symbol of the festival, is the Rhodope cream, also called "The Star of Orpheus". Legend has it that it is the flower that Orpheus gave to Eurydice chanting his love for her. It is perhaps the most beautiful flower that we have in Bulgaria. It is found in several places and one of them is near the village of Sivino near Smolyan. Another interesting and rare plant is the haberlea. Among the medicinal plants the most popular is the Mursalski mountain tea, which, unfortunately, in recent years began to disappear. This part of the Rhodope Mountains has many herbs that are used in medicine and healing. Some of the recipes that older people knew and used are already starting to disappear and this wealth that we had may be lost. So in this way we are trying to preserve this information for future generations”.

© Photo: Wild Flowers Festival

The Rhodope Tulip (Tulipa rbodopaea) and the Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea)

One of the most large-scale events in the festival is the making of a huge mural called "A Meadow of Patches". Hundreds of children from across the country took part in its creation as they had the task to paint, embroider or applique their wild flower of the local flora on pieces of cloth. The pieces were collected and sewn together in an artistic mural, which has been put on display until the end of this week at Peter Staikov arts gallery in Smolyan. It will then travel to the festivals in the other four countries, and will eventually be exhibited in Brussels along with the patchworks from Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and the UK. The idea is to turn this “meadow of patches" into the festival’s business card.

© Photo: Wild Flowers Festival

Turk's cap lily (Lilium martagon)

The culmination of the festival of wildflowers will be the singing competition "Voices from the Fountain”. It will be held on Saturday (June 29) in the picturesque village of Smilyan. One of our main ideas is to promote local folklore via singing, to record it and thus preserve it for future generations, says Emil Vaklinov. Among the irresistible temptations during the festival will be the tasting of traditional Rhodope meals prepared entirely from domestic and organic products.

© Photo: Wild Flowers Festival

Haller's Pasque-flower (Pulsatilla Halleri)

“The local cuisine, culinary arts and incorporating nature in it is one of the things we are trying to show during the festival”, “Nature is part of our lives. In many of the Rhodope villages local people use some of the flowers and herbs to cook sweet desserts and jams. During the opening days of the festival guests were able to taste these homemade jams and beverages”, explains Emil Vaklinov.