Platform AGORA introduces CulinarFest – the mobile application for culinary festivals in Bulgaria

Wednesday, 25 August 2021

Association ‘Platform AGORA', in partnership with organisers of culinary festivals and champions of the Bulgarian culinary and ethnographic heritage, and in implementation of project DOS, has developed the first Bulgarian mobile application for culinary festivals, respectively named CulinarFest (КулинарФест in Bulgarian).

The idea behind the project is to stimulate interest, steer the preservation and present authentic local culinary traditions through the introduction of 20 culinary festivals. The application contains ethnographic information about local customs and names related to food and nutrition, as well as authentic photography taken during past festivals.

CulinaryFest is designed to appeal to those who strive for unknown routes, are eager to delve into new territories and explore them through the lens of outreaching and experiencing the cultural heritage, values, traditions, customs, crafts and culinary of local (small) communities.

Тhe framework of the project allowed conducting a research and analysis of the cultural value of existing culinary festivals and culinary tradition in Bulgaria. Based on the degree of preservation and utilisation of the authentic local culinary tradition, the festivals were categorized as belonging to a preserved, renewed or unique culinary tradition.

Community centers - Chitalishta from 17 municipalities throughout Bulgaria provided invaluable assistance in the project's implementation through their contribution in gathering ethnographic information about the culinary tradition and upcoming editions of the festivals in their regions. They also actively contributed to drafting basic guidelines and recommendations for festival organisers to be implemented in times of crisis and lockdowns, which are available in an appendix to the online ethnographic research on culinary festivals.

The project "Culture DOS" (which stands for Culture /Touch, Experience, Share/) is funded with the financial support of the "Cultural Heritage" programme, module "Cultural Industries and Cultural Tourism" of National Fund "Culture".