Traditionally, the church and municipal authorities celebrate Virgin Mary's Birth together. On the eve of September 8, a mass was served in the chapel at the Virgin Mary monument. The divine service took place in The Assumption Church. “The Mother of God our protectoress has proved that she keeps watch over our town, because she defended us from the natural elements in the summer,” said Vicar Antoniy Enev in his sermon.

The Day of Haskovo brought another surprise as well. A unique sundial was opened on the occasion of September 8 in one of the central pedestrian alleys. It measures 7 meters in diameter, it is made of granite and besides being an attraction, it provides information about the four cardinal points, the difference between the solar and earth time, the latitude, etc.

And if the opening of new public facilities boosting the image of the town was just another gesture to its permanent residents, the cultural events attracted thousands of guests from neighboring municipalities. Indisputable is the merit of Haskovo Municipality for displaying 46 of Vladimir Dimitrov-Maistora's most famous canvases. For the third time the Gallery of Kyustendil, owner of the works, agreed to exhibit Maistora's paintings outside its premises specially for the Days of Haskovo.

A puppet show

Two of the ethnographic exhibitions, arranged on the occasion of September 8, brought the residents and guests of Haskovo back to the region's past and traditional crafts, lifestyle and customs – “Nine Loads of Silk and Another Nine of Embroidered Silk” and “Ancient Arts, Crafts and Traditions of Haskovo” not only made a demonstration but also taught a lesson.

A further gesture to the science and past of Haskovo was the presentation of the book “History of Haskovo from 1912 to 1945”. The scientific work has been compiled by a team of museum experts from Haskovo. The project was carried out with the support of Haskovo Municipality, which alloted 10,000 levs for the wrting and publishing of the book.

In the photo competition Haskovo in Focus participated over 40 artistic photographs. Each of the pictures has its own history, just as every place in Haskovo has something to tell us, commented participants in the competition. The mayor of Haskovo Georgi Ivanov announced that he was going to transform the event into a tradition and that the municipality would buy 12 of the photos to include them in next year's calendar.

Pirin Ensemble

For the first time a Day of Leicester, England, was marked within the frames of the traditional Days of Haskovo. The selected September 9 brought good news for Haskovo. Enhancement of the friendly contacts between the authorities and the people of the two towns, new gestures on the part of the Englishmen – donations for tackling crisis situations, for combating natural disasters, for police units, for nursing homes and orphanages, for medical establishments. A logically anticipated stage in the relations between Haskovo and Leicester is the ratification of the agreement for friendship between the Bulgarian and English municipalities.

The children's entertainment had grown into an inseparable part of the festive program. Each sunny morning in Haskovo from 5 to 11 September began with a program for the youngest. The kids participated in a competition entitled “Hello, Haskovo”, in a quiz “What do we know about Haskovo?”, they danced and sang along with the special and favorite guests Dido Machev, Mini 88, the clown Keny, dressed up in carnival costumes and drew paintings. Stimulated by the enticing awards and challenged by the competitive nature of the events, the youngest residents of Haskovo were the merriest and happiest participants in the festive Days of Haskovo.

Concert of Yaldaz Ibrahimova

Together with them the adults had fun, too. Among the acclaimed and popular guests were the world famous Yaldaz Ibrahimova and the virtuoso guitar player Ognyan Videv, the singer Elitsa Todorova and the jazz drummer Stoyan Yankulov. Pop musicians and hit groups also appeared on the stages of Haskovo: Rushy Videnliev, Karizma Duo, BTR, Tonika, Tony Dimitrova, Preslava and Anelia, Kanarite Orchestra.

Thousands of people turned up to see the glamorous performances of Bulgare Ensemble and Lily Ignatova's show The Legend. The participants' good mood was genuinely enhanced by the performances of Pirin Ensemble from Blagoevgrad. The dancers and instrumentalists from Sliven Ensemble played in harmony with Haskovo Ensemble in the concert The Folklore Songs and Dances of Bulgaria. Once again the organizers made it possible to witness the accomplishments of all local ensembles and clubs: Golden Trakia, Yuzhnyatsi and Yuzhniache, the Folk Orchestra of Haskovo Municipality. In partnership with the visiting American singer of authentic Bulgarian folklore Angela Rodel and the Japanese bagpiper Yutaka Ban, the musicians from Haskovo provided a grand show to their audience. The overall picture was complemented by the visiting folklore musicians from Orestiada, Greece.

The concert of Karizma Duo	The winners in the Miss Haskovo Contest

Traditionally, the theater connoisseurs make their conventions in Haskovo in the days around September 8. This year the idea was to see the plays Magic, Sex and Karambol, and Hamlet Today of the Haskovo Youth Theater, and to take part in the festival of humor Haskovo Kaun 2005.

In the program of the celebrations, special emphasis was placed on sport events. Haskovo-specific sports gathered hundreds of spectators at the International Wrestling Tournament for the Cup of Haskovo, at the street ball competition for the prizes of Haskovo Municipality, the traditional cross-country running, the tennis and hunt-shooting tournaments, swimming competitions, the bridge tournament. One of the most attractive sport events was the carting race. It was held on one of the most modern speedways in Bulgaria, located in the vicinity of the town.

The image of Haskovo becomes ever more European

This is the opinion shared by residents and guests. Every year the town becomes more attractive. Though constituting just a fragment of the interior, the mounting of billboards at the entrances to the town was widely acclaimed. Thus every visitor will learn that they are guests in the town of Virgin Mary, while the residents will be reminded that they have a good reason to love and pride themselves on their town.

The material was provided by Haskovo Municipality