Vitosha 2001, the fifth Sofia International Folklore Festival, starts this weekend with guests from six countries and ensembles from the Shopska region.

It will take place at two main sites - the base of Vitosha Mountain (Pavlovo district) and the Gardens of the United Nations in front of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. At 6pm tomorrow a procession will mark the commencement of a five-day folklore program in Sofia. The streets leading from the National Palace of Culture to the National Theatre will resound with folklore singing and national costumes from Turkey, Greece, Poland, Georgia, Ukraine and Bulgaria. "In its first years the festival hosted a few ensembles predominantly from the Balkan region. Today there is a much greater diversity of cultures and religions, which we are extremely happy about," said Kiril Ilievski, cultural director for Sofia Municipality.

According to Ilievski one of the finest traditions of the festival is the planting of a tree accompanied by special songs or dances for birth giving from different regions. "The path in the national park will be completed with more trees to demonstrate the cultural exchange and friendliness between participating countries," said Ilievski.

The opening night will feature a rich collection of songs and dances from all the countries present for the international festival. There will also be a variety of performances in the Vitosha Cultural Hall (68 General Suvorov Street, Pavlovo district).

On Sunday groups from Ukraine, Bulgaria and Poland will perform the fast Bulgarian Rachenitsa dance on stage in the Vitosha Cultural Hall. "The Gorlichka Ensemble from Lvov, Bulgaria has prepared artistic combinations from Ukraine and the Shopska region in Bulgaria," said Nestor Nestorov, director of the festival. The Kichera ensemble from Poland will perform a rachenitsa dance that has taken a month to prepare.

There will be Nestinarski dancing in front of the National Theatre on the same day. The Nestinarka dance is performed on hot charcoal and requires special preparation and abilities. Together with a show of typical Bulgarian dance, the Fomget (Turkey) and Bhangra (India) ensembles will exhibit costumes and folklore motifs.

The festival will be closed with a traditional ceremony that unites a girl called Vita and a boy called Lyulin. The ceremony derives from the legend that many years ago Vitosha Mountain was known as the Tall Hill and Lyulin Mountain as the Long Hill. A boy (Lyulin) and a girl (Vita) lived there and were deeply in love but the girl's mother wanted her to marry a rich man. The girl escaped and her mother turned her to stone with a curse. In his depair the boy became lost in the mountains. "That is why we want to use the folklore of the Shopska region for a beauty contest," said Nestorov.

The prize will be awarded on August 30 at 10am in Pavlovo.

Folk discos with typical Bulgarian folk music from all regions in the country will be organized for the younger participants.