Dear YBVNY Friends,
As the calendar year nears its end, we take a moment to remember the time we spent together in 2021 as part of the Young Bulgarian Voices New York. The last 20 months taught us all some important lessons and made us rethink our values and priorities in a unique way. At YBVNY, we learned that we can do without many things in our everyday life but not without our cultural community. Despite the challenges this year presented us with, YBVNY never stopped creating a safe educational environment online every Sunday for all of us to enjoy.
We have enrolled in our classes more than 150 people coming from different backgrounds and ages, from 2 to 102 years old. We have successfully incorporated new modes of teaching working with more than 35 bilingual children, introducing them to their Bulgarian heritage and the power of learning in a new and participatory way. We performed at the first ever digital edition of the Golden Festival – singing and playing Kaba Gaida in front of thousands of Balkan Folk Music lovers who received us with enthusiasm. We received our first ever public grant from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Our children made Martenitsi, colored Easter Eggs and created their own unique Bulgarian speaking puppets in our creative workshops. We have added to our offerings a new class “Bulgarian for Beginners” for children 9 to 18. Our beloved 101 KABA GAIDI NEW YORK (Bulgarian bagpipe) expanded its reach all the way to the West Coast, and our TUPAN (double-sided drum) class never stopped keeping the rhythm for them. Our unique BULGARIAN FOLK DANCE CLASS “Na Megdana” and our MIXED CHOIR draw people from all ages and backgrounds. At the end of December of 2021, our semester will culminate in a public event that recreates the traditional Bulgarian winter rituals.
Going forward, we have planned to expand our reach and our activities. In 2022, we will continue our Bulgarian music, dance, arts and language education and we’ll continue to share the richness of Bulgarian culture with others by organizing Bulgaria Spring Rituals workshop series, recreate the Spring Ritual “Lazarki”, celebrate the day of Bulgarian literacy, May 24th and many other exciting events. YBVNY would be grateful if you could help us financially to achieve our goals together.
Thanks to you and against all the pandemic odds our enrollment keeps growing and our community becomes richer and more colorful than ever. Please support us in our effort to keep our good work going! Donate, volunteer or join a class today!
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH YBVNY!