Mrs. Ofelia Kaneva, deputy mayor of Sliven, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Stoykov and Mrs. Svetlana Lechkova, patron of the event

St Demetrius’s Day (October 26) is the day of one of Bulgaria’s most beautiful towns – the town of Sliven. The municipality dedicated 17 days of festivities to mark the occasion, 17 days with a varied cultural and artistic programme, with Deputy Mayor Ofelia Kaneva bringing in the major contribution. The Mayor of Sliven who is admired by many Bulgarians on account of his sparkling football career, Yordan Lechkov, not only gave his blessing for the festivities, but with his wife’s support sponsored a number of the events.

The Days of Sliven started with an imposing fashion show on October 10, staged on the premises of the Imperia hotel under the auspices of mayoress Svetlana Lechkova. A number of designers, fashion houses and boutiques based in Sliven and in other towns, guests at the event, presented their latest collections. With a solemn ceremony the Fashion Academy for the second time handed down its prestigious awards “Fashion Mercury 2005”. Agresia Group Ltd were recognized for their entrepreneurship and sizeable investments in the making and sales of men’s ware. The prize in the category “Entrepreneurship and sizeable investments in textiles” went to Miroglio Bulgaria. Irida fashion house swept the award for original ideas in the presentation of Bulgarian-made clothes. In the category “Fashion business, high quality and new technology in the production of Bulgarian clothes” the prize went to Miro Ltd. The prestigious award for “High quality and development of fashion business in optics” was won by Kvyat Ltd.

The Imperia discotheque could hardly provide enough space for those who wanted to have a glimpse at Bulgarian fashion clothes. Sliven-based companies Antique, Affect, Bel Ami, Bijou, Luxima, Stivan and many others have shown that they get their inspiration in the town which was the cradle of Bulgaria’s textile industry, where the first textile mill owned by Dobri Zhelyazkov was opened. Mrs. Kamelia Kasabova, Deputy Chairwoman of Parliament attended the event, giving a high estimate of Bulgarian fashion.

Asked what prompted her to stage Fashion Show days in Sliven, Mrs. Lechkova said without hesitation: “To me this is a challenge and I cannot be indifferent, we are talking about Sliven, our town. I am pushed to that by my moral duty to our fellow townsmen and my desire to attract the attention of the entire nation, because we manufacture top-class clothes as well as high-quality textiles.”

The heart and soul of festive Sliven is Deputy Mayor Ofelia Kaneva, whose imposing cultural programme is enviable. It turned out that four months of the year are devoted to various celebrations, which are marked with festivities. This is what she said about this year’s celebrations: “Fashion has always been of special importance to our fellow townsmen. It was high time we made a bow to tradition and paid due attention to the place Sliven occupies in modern Bulgaria.”

There are many sights to see in Sliven. If you want to know more about hand-made materials in Bulgaria from 7000 years BC until the end of the 19th c. when textile machines were made and introduced in the first textile factory in Bulgaria, you must visit the National Museum of Textile Industry. This is the place where the past is recreated right before our eyes with the thunder of mechanic looms, you see how threads are woven by machines designed by Bulgarian specialists.

The Art Gallery in Sliven has been there for some 100 years. A century, during which precious canvasses have been kept and hundreds of works by Bulgarian and overseas artists displayed. The scenery surrounding the town has been an inspiration to modern artists. For the fourth time Mr. Lechkov in person organized an event for artists from across Bulgaria. They gathered together in the village of Ichera, huddled in the mountains, untouched by modernity. A true inspiration to any artist.

When you depart for Sofia don’t forget to drop by at the “Windy Hills”. They can be seen from a great distance. In autumn, golden bunches of grapes are swaying at their foot. In winter they turn into fine wine produced in one of Bulgaria’s modern wineries. You will be welcomed politely, you will taste selected wines and will be sent away with presents and the memory will stay at the tip of your tongue.

All guests went away with a festive memory of Sliven. The town’s citizens will now be returning to their daily routines until the next holidays.