Why is Bansko closed tomorrow?

In this week’s Buzz:

• Is Bansko still cheap after the change in currency?

• Bansko mayor wins award for best mayor in tourism & culture category

• We’re coming to town over the New Year and have some questions

• Bulgaria plans central registry to track food prices

• Young mathematician from Bansko wins another competition

• Plovdiv follows Sofia and bans older cars in city over winter months

• Bansko Book Club is having its autumn meeting this week

• Someone sets up fake BNB WhatsApp group

Schools and municipal offices closed on October 5th, as Bansko marks 114 years since it was liberated from Ottoman rule

This week, Bansko has been celebrating a 5-day programme for Bansko Day, which happens tomorrow, October 5th.

But what are the celebrations for?

On October 5th, 1912, during the First Balkan War, Bansko was one of the first towns liberated from Ottoman rule by local detachments before the Bulgarian Army had even arrived. October 5th was later declared as the town’s official holiday.

This means that tomorrow, all schools and municipal administrative offices will be closed, and people will be celebrating. This might be through the official programme below or in smaller celebrations in different parts of town.

The official programme to celebrate 114 years of being liberated by Ottoman rule is:

• 9.30am — a church service at Holy Trinity Church

• 10am — an open day at the Bansko Museum Complex

• 10.30am — laying of wreaths & flowers at monuments and memorial plaques as a sign of gratitude to the fallen

• 6pm — a commemoration in front of the “Bansko Remembers the Heroes” monument (located here on Tsar Simeon Street near the town square)

If you see a different type of programme referred to, especially evening celebrations of a folklore concert, a torchlight procession or fireworks, then that is artificial intelligence hallucinating and providing details that it simply made up (those have not happened for Bansko Day before). It’s not very challenging to setup a website or portal using AI, but it’s easy for AI to get the details wrong, make many mistakes, and, as one AI put it, create something that is “…believable nonsense”. 🤷‍♂️ 

Read more about the Bansko Day celebrations here. [Translation required.]

Looking to sell your place in Bansko?

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Inside the Bansko Notice Board Group

✍️ 56 New Posts, 💬 228 Comments, 👍️ 779 Reactions

Is Bansko still cheap after the currency change, compared to GBP?
Daniel is thinking about coming to Bansko but wants to know whether prices have risen since the currency change from Leva to Euros earlier this year (against the pound). See what people had to say.

Does anyone know if there’s a 50-metre pool in Bansko (or in the local area)?
Anastasia wants to train in a big enough pool to do laps in, and wondered where there was one big enough in the local area. Quite a few people mentioned one particular place.

I have lots of British pound coins. Where can I exchange them?
Иван posted that he’s acquired lots of one- and two-pound coins from the UK and wondered if there was any place in town where he could exchange them into euros. See what people had to say.

We’re coming to Bansko over the New Year period and have a few questions
Ryan is coming to Bansko over the New Year period and wants to know where it's best to rent snowboards, the best option to get skiing tickets, and the best places for New Year’s Eve celebrations. A few people offered their opinions.

Bansko & Beyond

Bansko mayor wins Mayor of the Year award in tourism and culture category
Bansko’s mayor, Stoycho Banenski, has won Mayor of the Year award in the tourism and culture category for a medium-sized municipality at the awards ceremony in Sofia. On receiving the award, the mayor emphasised that local businesses and organisations in the town, not just the municipality, also contributed to Bansko being recognised. Read more.

Young mathematician from Bansko claims world title
A young mathematician from Bansko, Georgi Genchev, recently won the "Champion of Champions" award at the international mental arithmetic competition in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The fifth grader competed against 140 other children from 80 countries and solved 200 mathematical problems in under 10 minutes. Great to see this young man’s achievements over the past few years. Read more.

Other news stories
Here are a handful of other news stories you may find interesting:

• Bulgaria plans central registry to track food prices

• Bansko officially opens recreational space near Glazne River

• European Commission approves €170 million state aid package for Bulgarian farmers

• Twenty rescue dogs join disaster response training in Razlog [Translation required]

• Bulgaria’s population falls by two million over last thirty years

• Plovdiv follows Sofia and introduces ban on older cars in winter

Recommended Businesses

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Want to know about upcoming businesses opening, early rumours (that turn out to be true), and a bit more insight into what’s happening in Bansko? Join The Beehive. Learn more.

Shop online & receive packages delivered to Bansko with GGBG. Regular journeys from the UK, Germany and the USA to Bulgaria. See website for info.

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Events Next Week

Bansko Day Celebrations
Bansko will mark its own Liberation Day tomorrow (October 5th), with a church service at 9.30am, an open day at the Bansko Museum complex from 10am, a wreath-laying ceremony at 10.30am, and a commemoration at the “Bansko Remembers The Heroes” monument at 6pm. All schools and government offices will be closed tomorrow too. More info. [Translation required.]

Bansko Book Club
On Tuesday (6th), starting at 6.30pm (venue TBC), the Bansko Book Club returns for autumn. This will be a show-and-tell meetup to discuss what books you’ve read over the summer and to suggest a book to read for the following meetup. More info.

The Great Bansko Bakeoff
On Friday (9th) at Altspace Central from 6pm will be the 4th annual Great Bansko Bakeoff. Participants come together to compete on taste, texture, appearance, and creativity. All participants and tasters must purchase a ticket for the event (€5 for non-members). More info.

4 Elements Dinner at Pirin Sense
On Saturday (10th) at Pirin Sense from 7.30pm, join them for a 4-course dinner featuring new signature dishes and a special dessert focused on the four forces of nature: water, fire, earth & air. Price is €34 for adults and €19 for children. More info. [Scroll down for English.]

Organising an event in or around Bansko? Submit it for consideration here.

Photo of the Week

A view of the mountains from Pirin Street in October.

Follow @banskobuzz on Instagram.

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