FESTIVAL "PALACE OF DOLLS AND CHILDREN"

In June 2024, the National Palace of Culture initiated a beautiful festival format aimed at our future – children. The organizers from the National Palace of Culture aim to make this format a regular event that establishes sustainable visions for managing the cultural calendar of the Palace and showcases the beauty and importance of culture to children.

The festival program was designed to allow children to experience exciting moments through educational puppet shows, a concert featuring children's songs with the participation of the charming musical performer Kerana. Children's workshops were also prepared, which included a return to the games from the 1980s and 1990s, with which the older generation grew up.

The "Palace of Dolls and Children" Festival took place during the first two weekends of June (1st, 2nd, 8th, and 9th) in the vast space of Hall 6, its adjacent foyer, and the south terrace at entrance A6.

The program started on June 1st, where the youngest audience saw the educational puppet show "The Fairy Tale Cinderella" based on Rossini's opera. The performance was created with the cooperation of educators from Bulgaria, Italy, and Spain and is carried out jointly with the Puppet Theater – Plovdiv.

On June 2nd, children immersed themselves in the fantastic world of the puppet show "Unborn Maiden" and also got acquainted with the adventures of "Peter Rabbit."

On June 8th, events for our youngest audience began again with "The Fairy Tale Cinderella", as well as a concert uniting songs from favorite Bulgarian children's films called "Where Are My Children's Books?" Children from the Academy of Opera Plovdiv and Kerana took the smallest guests of the Palace on a musical journey through beloved songs from children's cinema from the 1970s and 1980s – "War of the Hedgehogs," "Unexpected Vacation," "Vasco da Gama from Rupcha Village," and others. Artists from different age groups collaborated on stage, making a parallel between different times, transporting the more mature audience back to their childhood. Children had the opportunity to remember the current eternal, fundamental themes hidden in the musical messages.

On June 9th, children enjoyed two more puppet performances – "The Brave Tailor" by the Brothers Grimm and "Baron Munchausen."

Throughout the entire festival period, Hall 6 was decorated with puppets from famous productions, created by Professor Vasil Rokomanov, who has designed the scenography for over 100 puppet shows in Bulgaria and around the world. The puppets are kindly provided by the State Opera – Stara Zagora and are from the operas "Turandot" and "Faust."

The events from the program are productions of the State Opera – Plovdiv, with the support of the Puppet Theater – Plovdiv, as well as the State Puppet Theater – Stara Zagora, and are prepared in a way that opens a cultural door for children, allowing them to feel the diversity and value of various art forms.

More about the events in the program can be found on the NDK website – www.ndk.bg and on our Facebook page.