The first one-day cultural and gastronomic tour "Beauty in the heart of Graovo" was held on Saturday, organized by the Regional Youth RAISE Center.
8 ladies from the capital took part in the tourist tour. They enjoyed the medieval church "St. Petka ”and“ Class School ”at the Municipal Historical Museum in Breznik thanks to their guide Milen Milanov.
It was a great pleasure for the guests of the region to wear authentic clothes from Graovo and to attend a folk dance lesson. So not only did they learn how the Vidovden festival was celebrated, but they can now dance the typical for the region Graovo dance. The tour continued with lunch at the tavern Praznicite and varivo (meat with sauerkraut) – a typical dish which has become an emblem of local cuisine. And from there the group went to the House of Masks in the village of Kosharevo.
There, the ladies immersed themselves in the atmosphere of the Surva Festival and watched how the various characters were made to chase the evil forces in the harshest part of the year.
The best possible end of the tour was the meeting with the chatty grandmothers from the village of Dolna Sekirna, who demonstrated how to make local zelnik (a dish of dough and sauerkraut)and sang to their guests.
This is the first in a series of tourist tours developed by the Regional Youth RAISE Center. All of them are published on the travel mobile application TravelSofiaWest (https://travelsofiawest.eu/ ) specially developed by the team of the center. The main goal of the young people is to show the people of the capital and abroad the unique charm of the region, its authenticity and beauty and to inspire more people to spend their free time somewhere among the delicacies, traditions and nature.
The RAISE Youth project, implemented by the Center for Development of Sustainable Communities, covers over 500 young people aged between 18 and 29, living in the municipalities of Pernik, Breznik, Trun, Radomir, Zemen and Kovachevtsi, who are not currently involved. Within its framework, various trainings for career and personal development are passed, and the most active 20 participants will be provided with additional training and mentoring assistance to start their own business.
The RAISE Youth project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.