3rd October
Urban Wine Fest 2025
For the fourth consecutive year, Plovdiv will host the Urban Wine Festival, dedicated to the International Mavrud Day.
The festival will take place on the following days and times:
October 3, 2025 (Friday): 4 – 10 pm
October 4, 2025 (Saturday): 2 – 10 pm
October 5, 2025 (Sunday): 2 – 5 pm
The festival presents over 40 wines from 15 local varieties, including emblematic ones for the Plovdiv region. Typical Balkan varieties will also be included. Visitors will have the opportunity to taste a selection of wines, enjoy a glass of wine or share a bottle with friends, meet wine professionals and get to know the richness of Bulgarian varieties.
The musical program will include performances by the Plovdiv Brass Orchestra, the Garbachev Quartet and DJ Manev.
For the first time, the Plovdiv Wine Routes Association will present itself with a regional stand, where visitors will be able to taste local wines and learn more about the wine traditions in the region.
On October 5, the Association invites you to a tasting tour under the motto “A glass of wine away from Plovdiv”, which will include selected wineries from Plovdiv and the region.
Bridge over Gladstone Street
03.10 – 05.10.2025
Premiere of the anniversary book 10 years of Zero32 Magazine
A decade collected in 256 pages – this book celebrates the 10th anniversary of Zero32
Formed in 15 thematic chapters, the book traces the main creative pursuits of the team behind the magazine and their developments in the period 2015 – 2025.
In contrast to the chronology of the regular issues and the online materials, this collection enriches the reading by offering context and shedding new light on the accents, problems and interactions that have built the physiognomy of Zero32.
Between the covers of the Short Chronicle, 85 texts come to life – notes, reports, essays, interviews, reviews and other genre experiments – and over 140 photographs and illustrations. Carefully selected over the course of nearly a year, the fragments here tell the subjective story of a city and a time, as seen and felt by the magazine’s authors and interlocutors.
Not so much an archive as a concentrated editorial experience, this book captures the most valuable published under the sign of Zero32.
Politico Speakeasy
6.30 pm
Buenos Aires Night with live band Tango Cats & Tango show
Around the World Nights presents:
Noche Argentina
We travel among the shadows and passion of Buenos Aires – the city that never sleeps!
We will encounter the culture of Argentina, the music of the old streets of Buenos Aires and the poetry of dance.
You are waiting for:
Before the main program – a short lesson on basic tango steps, which you will then be able to apply in the evening entertainment
On stage – the TANGO CATS group is coming to Plovdiv
They break the clichés, overturn expectations and breathe new life into tango – with a bold, modern sound that preserves the spirit, but brings new energy.
Their music is both innovative and deeply respectful of tradition.
• Zornitsa Tsvetanova – piano and vocals
• Mladen Taskov – pianist and arranger
• Orlin Tsvetanov – violin
• Veselin Veselinov Eco-bass
• Angel Marinov – accordion and
bandoneon
Live tango show – by Mata and Ventsi Dzhorevi. Tango is a short story about passion, pain and hope. Did you know that the dance is included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage?
Poetry and a brief cultural history – a walk in the heart of Argentina.
Argentine cuisine and wine – as a memory of a distant journey
Thematic decor, and we are waiting for you thematically in the colors of passion – black, red, elegant
Jazz club In The Jazz
8 pm
STEEL AND STILETTOS / High heels dance performance
Where do you end and where do others begin? What is the price of losing yourself?
Steel&Stilettos – High Heels dance performance based on the idea and choreography of Natali Chifligarova
With the participation of: Alexandra Tsareva, Gabriela Topalova, Ivet Angelova, Nikoleta Stoyanova, Nadezhda Ilieva
Faces become reflections.
Steps merge into repetitions.
Where do you end and where do others begin?
Enjoy a unique dance performance in high heels that will fill you with beauty, mystery and food for thought.
Natali Chifligarova is a professional dancer and choreographer from the city of Plovdiv. Dancing has been her passion and an indispensable part of her life for nearly 17 years. She has studied a number of dance styles, including: classical ballet and characteristic dances, jazz, contemporary, hip hop and high heels.
Currently, she is focused entirely on her development in High Heels dancing, as well as that of her students.
Part of her goals is to help popularize the style in Bulgaria, proving once again that Heels are not only beautiful, but also capable of telling stories.
Petnoto na Rorschach
10 pm
4th October
The Big Journey of the Little Crocodile
The little crocodile Lil goes on a long journey. He escapes the strict rules of the world of adult crocodiles and looks for a place where he can play freely. Lil ends up among people, and there many adventures and surprises await him. What does Lil discover on this long journey? Do his expectations come true? Together with his friend Bill, the little crocodile understands where he feels happiest.
State Puppet Theater Plovdiv
10.30 am
11.45 am
Autumn Sweet Brunch at the Bakery
Early autumn, warm weather, coziness and the aromas of sweet pastries!
On Saturday, October 4th, you are welcome to the Bakery for a special brunch of autumn creations:
Classic cinnamon rolls
Cheesecake with raspberries, coconut sugar and chestnut cream
Vegan tart with poached pears
Vegan gluten-free banana bread with spices and dark chocolate
Gingerbread with flaxseed and rosehip marmalade
And other autumn aromatic delicacies!
We will also prepare a special pumpkin latte
Reserve a table!
Dani’s Bakery
10 am
Pause – a discussion forum by Nula32
PAUSE is a new discussion forum by Nula32 magazine, which interrupts the noise and speed to open up space for meaningful conversation – about the city, creativity and technology.
Program and participants
panel CITY
The Plovdiv modus vivendi | Katrin Sarieva
Civic participation in the formation and management of cities | Lyubo Georgiev
panel CREATIVITY
Access to culture: the role of the independent sector | discussion with Deputy Minister Georgi Sultanov and Lyubomira Kostova
The question of taste | discussion with Ivan Landzhev and Pavel Vesnakov
panel TECHNOLOGIES
How to stay different in the world of artificial intelligence | lecture and discussion with Georgi Karamanev
Content and algorithms: is there a future for journalism | discussion with Mario Mishev and Assoc. Prof. Ivo Indjov
Chamber Hall, Drama Theater-Plovdiv
10 am
Café del Mundo Symphonic
Café del Mundo is a true joy of life in the concert hall.
Jan Pascal and Alexander Kilian come from the Franconia-Baden-Hesse border triangle, which they affectionately call “Allemandalusia”. They are fundamentally opposites like fire and water – and that is exactly why they complement each other to become a world-class musical act. Their joint live performance is the exciting dialogue between two talented virtuosos, who sometimes flatter, sometimes challenge and squeeze the best out of each other – intensely and explosively, creating a magical aura that no one can escape. Let yourself be surprised by the incredible musical diversity of two flamenco guitars with a repertoire that forms a subtle connection between classical music and jazz, techno and world music.
Café del Mundo together with the New Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Petko Dimitrov, for the first time at the Plovdiv Antique Theater!
Ancient Theater
8 pm
Tosca
Opera
Boris Hristov House of Culture
7 pm
Camping & Caravaning Expo
The largest and most important event in the camping, caravanning and outdoor sector will once again visit Plovdiv on October 4 and 5. For the second year in a row, the Camping & Caravaning Expo will be held at the Rowing Base in the most beautiful and second largest Bulgarian city.
This fall, we will once again bring together in one place novelties from the field of camping tourism, caravanning, water entertainment and outdoor activities. Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to view campers, caravans, tents, vehicles for tourism and leisure, camping equipment, boats and a number of new and interesting products and services related to camping, tourism, water and outdoor activities.
We are waiting for you on:
October 4, Saturday from 10 am -7 pm
October 5, Sunday from 10 am – 6 pm
Rowing Channel Plovdiv
Guardian of Value – the first museum of investment gold in Bulgaria
On October 4, in the center of Plovdiv, the first museum of investment gold in Bulgaria opens its doors.
“Guardian of Value” is a Tavex project with a mission to increase financial culture in our country.
This is a place that will take you on a journey – from stardust billions of years ago, through the first gold coins and fallen empires, to the money we carry in our pockets today.
“Guardian of Value” is not a dry lesson in economics, but an experience with:
rare exhibits and authentic banknotes
engaging interactive
stories about crises and inflations that affect us today
And much more…
This is an exhibition for anyone who has ever wondered: What is money really?
Why does it lose its value?
And how can we preserve it?
Tavex Gold and Currency
10 am
ALEXANDAR IVANOV & YEHORII UZHVA Quartet – Jazz Club “In The Jazz”
Aleksandar Ivanov & Yehorii Uzhva Quartet
For the first time together on the Bulgarian stage – four young jazz talents from Amsterdam:
Yehorii Uzhva (Ukraine) – saxophone
Duarte Fernandes (Portugal) – double bass
Nikolay Kostadinov (Bulgaria) – piano
Aleksandar Ivanov (Bulgaria) – drums
Energy, improvisation and original music from the new wave of the Amsterdam jazz scene.
Support young talents and immerse yourself in a different jazz world!
Jazz Club In The Jazz
8 pm
5th October
The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple
Three brothers inherit a golden apple from their father. Unfortunately, every year a Lamia comes and steals it. Only the youngest of the brothers sets off on a long journey after the Lamia to return his golden apple. Along the way, he imperceptibly grows up and discovers that a person’s strength lies in the heart. He discovers forgotten values such as faith, hope, love. He discovers friendship and wisdom. He manages to defeat the Lamia and return his golden apple. So that it can shine again on the top of the tree, woven by the hands of the storytellers. This is a spectacle about the roots and heritage left to us by our ancestors. About the preservation and protection of national dignity and identity. A spectacle in which Bulgarian folk music, folk art and needlework, Bulgarian dances and rituals are intertwined in a magical, magical tale.
State Puppet Theater Plovdiv
10.30 am
11.45 am
Together
You will hear live the songs from the album “We Are Here” – a project created with a lot of love and inspiration, dedicated to you, the audience. Emotional performances that touch the heart, masterful arrangements and many musical surprises await you.
Special guests of the tour are the beloved folk singer Nelly Andreeva and the female quartet of the “Nusha” choir, who will add more colors to the magical atmosphere with folklore arrangements and exciting vocal performances.
Do not miss this meeting with the music that connects the past and the present, the root and the soul.
Boris Hristov House of Culture
7.30 pm
6th October
Presentation of the photographic album “Sub Specie Lucis” by Zornitsa Garkova (Grumkova)
On October 6 (Monday) at 6:00 PM at the Regional Museum of Natural History – Plovdiv, we invite you to the premiere of the photographic album “Sub Specie Lucis. From the Point of View of Light” by Zornitsa Garkova (Grumkova).
The album collects 22 photographs of colors from various plants, part of the author’s debut exhibition at the Little Bird Place gallery (2024) curated by Desislava Dimova. The visual narrative also includes short literary fragments from the upcoming novel “The Glass Jar”. They follow the travels of the heroine Clara on the trail of the extinct sago palm Encephalartos woodii – a plant that has gone down in history as “the loneliest in the world”.
The album is a bridge between photography and literature – a study of light, plants and their role as a symbol of the connection between man and nature, between life and its fragility.
About the author:
Zornitsa Garkova (Grumkova) is a writer, journalist and photographer, born in Pernik (1981). She graduated in Bulgarian Philology and a master’s degree in Creative Writing at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She is the author of the collections of stories “The Path of the Ants” (2013) and “They Never Say” (2019), which were awarded prestigious national awards and nominations, including the European Prize for Literature. Since 2021, she has hosted the show “Izgrev” on the Bulgarian National Radio, and in 2024 she will hold her first solo photography exhibition “Sub Specie Lucis”. She also participates in the international writer-in-residence program of the Shanghai Writers’ Association.
Regional Museum of Natural History
6 pm
7th October
Flight
baby theater / 6 months – 3 years /
“Flight” over fantasy, beauty, smiles and emotions.
“Flight” will introduce us to the kite, the butterfly, the helicopter, the bee, the balloon and the sparrow. They all fly in their own way, on their own path, in their own direction, to reach Your smile!
“Flight” is a visual, musical, discovery adventure for babies from 6 months to 3 years.
State Puppet Theater Plovdiv
10.30 am
The Csárdás Queen
Operetta in three acts by Imre Kalman
Conductor – Ivan Kozhuharov
Director – Alexander Tekeliev
Scenography – Ivan Tokadzhiev
Costume designer – Yana Dvoretska
Choir conductor – Alexander Chepanov
Dances – Marina Zmeeva–Markova
Soloists:
Silva Varescu – Ioana Kadiyska
Edwin – Penyo Pirozov – guest
Count Bonifacio (Boni) Canceanu – Yani Nikolov
Countess Anastasia (Stasy) – Maria Yurkovskaya
Ferry von Kerekes – Diman Panchev
Mishka – Miroslav Dimitrov
Cecilia (Cilika) – Irina Dobrovolskaya
Notary Kish – Milen Dinolov
Prince Leopold – Petar Tiholov
General – Emil Peychev
Orchestra, Choir and Ballet of the Burgas State Opera
House of Culture Boris Hristov
7 pm
A Trap for a Lonely Man
by Robert Thomas
Chamber Hall
Plovdiv Drama Theater
7 pm
International Photographic Meetings 2025: A 40-Year Odyssey
For the 40th time, Plovdiv is hosting one of the most significant forums in photography in Bulgaria – the International Photographic Meetings. This year they are entitled “A 40-Year Odyssey”.
Photography is an art that unites the document with the imagination. It preserves the moment and opens up new perspectives on reality. “International Photographic Meetings” are not just a festival, but a cultural forum that has been gathering authors and viewers in a common space of ideas and visual searches for decades.
Today it is one of the most significant events for photography in Bulgaria, and Plovdiv – a city with a rich history and cultural layers – is its natural stage. Photography is a language without translation, and this exhibition with more than 50 authors is proof that images can unite people across borders and differences. Encounters are not just a festival, but a cultural necessity. They teach us to see – and this is perhaps the most important lesson that photography can give us.
Like Odysseus sailing from Troy, this festival began its journey 40 years ago, uncertain of the winds, but certain of its desire to return home with something worth showing the world. And now, this Odyssey is both an archive and a compass – proof that endurance is an art form, and vision – a journey.
The artistic director and curator is Assoc. Prof. Nikola Lautliev. The concept for the spatial layout of the exhibition is the work of Marieta Tsenova. Graphic and visual design – Assoc. Prof. Mariana Dafova.
Program:
Retrospective exhibition
Opening: October 7, 6:00 PM
Hall 2019
October 9 – 11
Workshop with Raffaello Kazakov “Degrees of Uncertainty: Self-Portraits in Pixels and Silver”
October 7 – 8
Lecture and presentation by Giorgio Barrera, Italy
AMTII, Blue School
October 8, 5:30 PM
Presentation of Sonya Stankova’s book “Time / Image 1983-2023”
Hall 2019
October 11 at 2:00 PM
7 Films Lab and Women In Street Bulgaria
Author Photography Bazaar in front of the “Cat and Mouse” bar, Kapana
07.10 – 11.10.2025
Evenings of Sports – Youth Initiative
Wondering where to spend your summer evenings?
Do you want to meet new people?
Are you thinking of getting involved in something active and diversifying your summer routine? Come to “Evenings of Sports” at the sports complex of the Youth Center Plovdiv.
From 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, young people from 15 to 29 years old will be able to practice their favorite sport, meet other young people and find out more about our upcoming events.
The youth initiative is organized by Borislav Byalkov – an active young man and sports enthusiast.
Participants will be able to choose between the following sports: Basketball;
Table tennis.
All activities of the Youth Center Plovdiv are free of charge. All that is needed is to register your participation in advance here: https://forms.gle/zwSrp1i8ngKVXX466
Youth Center Plovdiv
6 pm
Antonia Apostolova with the novel “The Pain Comes Later”
We open another season of the Literary Salon Spirt & Spirit with an anxious and high-pitched conversation – about losses, fantasies, postponed pains and family.
About credibility and fiction – in life and literature.
About what sustains us, and everything that methodically ruins us.
Moderator: Alexander Sekulov
“Life itself took care to provide him with analogues of a home, similarities of a family, forms of offspring. They were a find – not a given; a choice – not biology; a construct – not blood,” my hero reflects. He has always felt that other people were relatives and related, not those given to him by the lot of family fate and genes. And that is why it suffers from the syndrome of “elsewhere” (similar to that of the “golden age”) – an illusion that the value is not here, that it is displaced, difficult or completely inaccessible.”, says Antonia Apostolova. Antonia Apostolova graduated in English Philology from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. For fifteen years she worked as editor and journalist in leading Bulgarian media. She created the literary website “Literary Conversations”, where she publishes book reviews, interviews with writers and news about upcoming titles. Translator of the Israeli poet Amir Or – “The Language Speaks” (2017). In 1994, her first book was published – the poetry collection “Salt Apple”. She is also the author of the books “Drowning in the Dead Sea” (collection of short stories, 2019) and “Us, Who Are Not There” (novel, 2021), “The Pain Comes Later” (novel, 2025). Operational critic for “Literary Newspaper”.
Petnoto na Rorschach
7 pm
8th October
Next year at the same time
by Bernard Slade
Chamber Hall
Drama Theater Plovdiv
7 pm
8.10 PLOVDIV // Homeopathy for the Soul with the Captain
If you’ve ever wondered if you’re alone in the absurdity of everyday life… don’t worry – you’re not. You just haven’t been to the hall yet and haven’t seen this show.
This fall, Dimitar Ivanov – The Captain returns with his MEGA tour, which will last until spring, because we couldn’t fit all the dates, cities, countries and continents into just one season.
“Homeopathy for the Soul” is a stand-up comedy with a high content of sarcasm, drops of self-irony and concentrated doses of life-wise… er… absurdity. This is not just a show – it’s a comedic procedure for emotional recovery. It may not help, but it certainly won’t hurt you.
Contents:
– Truths that should not be said out loud
– The hidden history of a people
– Unanswered questions
– Questions with multiple possible answers
– Laughter that starts from the mouth and reaches all the way to your childhood trauma
Get your ticket on time, because “Homeopathy for the Soul” is not available to watch online.
Plovdiv Event Center
8 pm
9th October
Premiere of the poetry collection “Only the Language” by Vasil Balev
“Only the Language” is the new (fourth) book of poems by Vasil Balev.
“Every piece of the so-called reality seems increasingly untenable to me. The fulcrum that I try to have is language. And that’s why this book is called that,” says the author. Balev has published the poetry collections “Grain” (2011), “Poems” (2014) and “Heavy” (2019).
He won the poetry award of the “St. Kliment Ohridski” Foundation, as well as “Ivan Nikolov”. His play “Landslide” was nominated for “Icarus” for dramaturgy. The text was staged at the “Sfumato” Theater Workshop.
We chose its premiere for the Plovdiv audience to take place at the Theater Museum of the Drama Theater-Plovdiv. As a bridge between theater and poetry, in an attempt to meet them more often.
It would be trite to say that “Only Language” is an atypical book of poetry. But it is. In it, the writer frankly seeks to express himself in the silent mosses of the forests, between the breaths of natural mysteries, in the fragility of forgotten mountains. And in this sense, without having sought it, it is timely. Man returns to the embrace of wild animals and their habitats, to be amazed at how indissoluble this connection is.
“The smallest blade of grass teaches us that death does not exist; that if it ever happened, it was only to create life,” shares Walt Whitman. In Vasil Balev, this look at the leaf is an occasion for new life and new words.
Plovdiv Drama Theatre Museum
7 pm
Symphonic Concert
Soloist Svetlin Rusev
Boris Hristov House of Culture
7 pm
In the Moon Room
by Valeri Petrov
“In the Moon Room” by Valeri Petrov tells a story about childhood loneliness. The heroine Rositsa Spasova Petkova is a ten-year-old girl who stands alone and waits for her mother to come home from work. But she is late again… And the missing mother reminds the girl to play her piano exercises, because even when they are gone, parents want the best for their children. But Rosi doesn’t want to play! And how can she want to when there is no one to hear her? Who can you perform your concert for when the audience is absent? And she herself comes to Rosi’s aid. Her imagination gives birth to a fabulous concert performed by the Strange Man and the Three Moon Rays! They appear in her room out of nowhere and begin their performance! Rosi goes through countless emotions until she reaches herself. And it gives birth to its own melody, growing up before our eyes!
“In the Moon Room” is a performance about music and the soul! A concert that takes us through waltz, rock, Tchaikovsky, Bach, opera, country! Come and dance together!
State Puppet Theater
7 pm
Dimitar & Hristo from Kapkite with ANIMA in PLOVDIV
Dimitar & Hristo from the 13th season of “Like Two Drops of Water” are coming to Plovdiv. Together with the violin of Anna-Maria ANIMA (Bulgaria’s Got Talent). Lots of Bulgarian music. A wonderful evening.
Plovdiv Event Center
8 pm
Lakkshya Quartet ft. Nikolay Ivanov-OM – Jazz Club “In The Jazz”
The Indian jazz formation Lakkshya is coming to Bulgaria for the premiere presentation of their project, together with Nikolay Ivanov-OM!
Lakkshya Quartet was born from the shared passion for music and the desire to expand artistic horizons. Founders KJ Diliip, a virtuoso violinist, and Ila Diliip, a virtuoso on both violin and vocals, created a platform to celebrate Carnatic music and explore new genres. They are joined by their long-time friend Sunaad Anoor, whose mastery of playing the kanjira and hybrid percussion adds complex rhythms and dynamic energy. Later, Diptangshu Bhowmik enriches the ensemble with his piano and keyboards, giving it harmonic depth and a unique sound. For the Bulgarian tour, Lakkshya will be in a special collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Nikolay Ivanov – OM – a musician, composer and artist with an impressive international career, winner of a number of prestigious awards and author of music for over 50 films. His work moves freely between jazz, ethno, classical, electronic and avant-garde, and his concerts are energetic and inspiring journeys beyond genres
This will be the premiere performance of the Lakkshya formation in Bulgaria – an evening in which music will speak beyond styles, cultures and expectations.
Jazz Club In The Jazz
8.30 pm
