Poetry evening of 2012 SEP laureate Serote

The creative work of this year's  laureate of Struga Poetry Evenings (SEP) - South African poet Mongane Wally Serote - will be presented late Saturday in 'St. Sophia' cathedral church in Ohrid.

President Gjorge Ivanov will attend the event.

The Golden Wreath will be presented to Serote on Sunday at the international poetry event "Bridges" which is being traditionally held at "Bridge of Poetry" on the river Drim in Struga.

The 51st Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) opened Thursday by traditional reading of poem T'ga za jug ('Longing for the South').

The festival, which closes Aug. 28, will be attended by famous poets from Azerbaijan, France, India, Cuba, Iraq, Greece, Syria, Morocco.

Award for Hotel Makpetrol Struga

The yearly magazine of tourist agency "Corendon" from the Netherlands that began bringing tourists to Ohrid Lake last year unveiled the evaluations of tourists regarding the hotel capacities on the Ohrid Riviera. 

From all the hotels the tourists stayed in, they gave the best grade - 8,7 to hotel "Makpetrol" in Struga. The grades for the hotels are result of different, good and bad experiences of Dutch and Belgian guests that visited Macedonia through tour operator "Corendon" and they look like this: Ineks Gorica 7,0; Sileks 7,0; Beograd 7,0; Turist 7,2; Metropol 7,3; Diplomat 7,8; Donco 7,9 and Belvedere 8,3. 

The tourist arrangements of "Corendon" and other tour operators will offer Macedonia this year as well. It is expected for the number of Dutch and Belgian tourists, who visit Ohrid Lake in the period from May to October, to exceed last year's number of 10,000 guests.

Dutch Tourists Arriving in Ohrid

The first group of 120 tourists from the Netherlands using arrangements of tour-operator "Arke Travel -TUI", arrived in Ohrid on Friday.

A formal event was held at Ohrid-based airport "St. Paul the Apostle", with Economy Minister Valon Saraqini and Netherlands Ambassador to Macedonia Marriet Schuurman greeting the Dutch tourists.

Minister Saraqini wished the guests a warm welcome, saying they should acquaint with Macedonia as much as possible during their stay and convey their impressions to friends at home.

Saraqini told reporters efforts would be implemented this year towards increasing the number of foreign tourists in Macedonia.

"Besides lowering the VAT for tourism services, we have adopted a new rulebook on categorization of capacities, which would significantly improve services offered by hotels. Another measure for attraction of tourists is the subsidizing of low-cost airlines with EUR 4,9 million allocated for the next three years", said the Economy Minister.

According to expectations, nine flights carrying foreign tourists are to land at the Ohrid airport every week.

"Taking into account information we have from tour-operators, we expect about 700 tourists per day from the Benelux countries only. Over 14,000 tourists are expected from the Netherlands this year", emphasized Saraqini while thanking the Dutch Embassy for successful promotion of Macedonia as an attractive tourism destination.

Ambassador Schuurman recalled that such charter flights brought 22,000 Dutch guests to Macedonia last year.

"We are convinced that more tourists will come from the Netherlands this year. I know that Dutch tourists like Macedonia very much, which has been confirmed by the fact that many who came last year are planning to spend their holidays here again this summer", underlined Schuurman.

Warm welcome for ArkeFly and tourists from The Netherlands

The first group of tourists from The Netherlands arrived at Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport, marking the beginning of the tourist season. The guests were welcomed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, HE Marriet Schuurman, the Minister of Economy, Mr. Valon Saraqini and the General Manager of TAV Macedonia, Mr. Zoran Krstevski. The welcoming ceremony was organised by TAV Macedonia and the local TUI operator. According to the Macedonian tradition, the guests were offered bread and salt, but also cake and champagne.

14.000 Dutch tourists to visit Macedonia this year

The first group of Dutch tourists will arrive to Ohrid on April 27, Economy Minister Valon Saraqini told reporters on Tuesday.

About 14.000 tourists only from the Netherlands are expected to visit Macedonia this year. Contacts have been also established with tour operators from Israel, Finland and countries form the region, he said.

"We wish for Macedonia to become an attractive tourist destination and have been working hard to that effect. A month ago we have promoted the new national strategy on rural tourism development," Saraqini said after opening the Skopje Travel Market 2012 fair.

The tourism, as fast-growing sector that creates new jobs, will also contribute substantially to the budget foreign currency inflow, he said.

Israeli experts to conduct rural tourism training in Struga

Local Development Agency Struga in cooperation with the Faculty of Tourism - Ohrid, Centre for Development of Southwest Planning Region with main office in Struga, Tourism Cluster and GIZ will organise a training for trainers in the field of rural tourism which will be conducted March 19 to 29.

Trainers will be Israel's top experts in the field of rural tourism. After completing the training, candidates will receive a certificate from Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation.

Four souvenir Shops open in Skopje

Four souvenir shops opened in downtown Skopje on Wednesday, first of the 20 unified tourism-cultural points in several Macedonian cities (Ohrid, Bitola, Struga, Berovo etc) and three border crossings (Tabanovce, Bogorodica and Deve Bair).
The shops sell replicas of displays in the Museum of Macedonia - items excavated at archaeological sites or applications of authentic jewelry, copies of the monuments throughout the country, puzzles, key chains, magnets etc.
Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska said souvenirs aim towards cultural and tourism promotion, but are also intended for Macedonian citizens.
"These shops are of enormous significance for Macedonia's tourism promotion. There is a large spectre of items, whereas prices are lower compared to other countries", added Kanceska-Milevska.

Vevcani Carnival 2012 in full Swing

The event unofficially began on January 12 with a concert that will include performances by rock bands from Macedonia and Croatia.The main parade will take place on January 13, where the old new year will be welcomed outdoors in the center of Vevcani. The next day, masks will be set on fire as a ritual.
The Vevcani carnival is supported by the Ministry of Culture and sponsored by Macedonian Telecom.In 1993, the Vevcani carnival, or more precisely, the municipality of Vevcani, joined FECC - the Federation of European Carnival Cities.
The traditional masks of groom, bride and August the Fool will parade in Vevcani on January 13 and 14 at the carnival celebrating the passing of the old year and the coming of the new one according to the old calendar. Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska - Milevska will address the official opening.
The carnival honoring Saint Basil the Great is known for its archaic spirit and unique masks mixing pagan rituals and modern celebrations. The carnival takes place in the village of Vevcani, which is magically transformed into a theatre in its own right, free of borders, where every house and every street is a stage for those behind the masks to perform their roles and play their games as true actors.
It's easy to say, no one mocks politicians, celebrities, countries ... better than the Vevcani carnival.

Vevcani carnival is a pearl of Macedonia's tradition, says Kanceska-Milevska
A group mask created by the inhabitants of Vevcani reflecting Macedonian-Greek relations was the most talked about mask among visitors of this year's Vevcani Carnival.

Other masks included US president Barack Obama, a "Flying to Europe" mask, the hand of VMRO-DPMNE, etc. Scenes from cowboy movies were re-enacted and Tito's Pioneers, Muslim priests, dead people paraded through the village of Vevcani. This year, Macedonian politicians were spared, there were no masks making fun of any local politician.

Opening the carnival, Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska said all well-intentioned visitors with a carnival spirit were part of an unique satire reminding us of events and persons who had marked 2011.

"The Vevcani Carnival offers a game without protocol. It is a valuable pearl in the Macedonian tradition and a brand which makes Macedonia famous in the world. This carnival is being celebrated with a sense of preserving a valuable sample of the Macedonian tradition that amazes with its originality," Milevska said.

She vowed that the Ministry of Culture would keep on supporting the traditional carnival in Vevcani.

At midnight, the old new year (Vasilica) was welcomed at the Vevcani Springs.

The carnival ends on Saturday after all of the masks will be set on fire.

Albanian tour-operators, journalists visit Macedonia

Popova Sapka

Economy Minister Valon Saraqini and Macedonian Ambassador to Tirana Vele Trpevski met Monday with tour-operators and journalists from the Republic of Albania, who pay a visit to Macedonia within project "Promotion of Macedonia's Winter Tourism in Albania".
"Macedonia-Albania cooperation in the tourism field has focused on stay of Albanian tourists in the Ohrid-Struga region, as well as vacations of Macedonian nationals on the Adriatic coast. This project aims at offering Albanians our winter resorts. Moreover, we want to create a joint tourism product for the global tourist by combining their seaside with our lakes and mountains", said Minister Saraqini.
The Albanian guests were presented with the possibilities of winter resorts Mavrovo and Popova Sapka. They also met with Macedonian tour-operators and representatives of country's tourism associations.

Struga Poetry Evenings

48th Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) - the most prestigious international poetry manifestation in Macedonia - will be opened Thursday evening in Struga at a ceremony, which will include a traditional recital of the poem T'ga za jug (Longing for The South), concert by pianist Simon Trpceski and the international poetry recital named "Poetry Meridians". This year's SPE laureate is Slovene poet Tomaz Salamun, who has already arrived in Struga and is scheduled on Thursday to plant a tree in the Park of Poetry and to hold a press conference.
The formal opening will be followed by the annual Nights without Punctuation multimedia artistic event featuring experimental forms of poetic presentations, where Senegal author Ousmane Sarr-Sarrouss will be presented. He is the winner of this year SPE and UNESCO award Bridges of Struga for the best first poetry book by young author.
The Struga poetry festival, which will run till Aug. 23, will be attended by 75 foreign poets from 50 countries worldwide. SPE's activities were kicked off yesterday when flowers were laid in front of the Miladinovci brothers' memorial house. This year's symposium, dedicated to "Poetry and Music", is scheduled for August 21. SEP will in addition mark the 100 anniversary of the birth of Nikola Jonko Vapcarov (1909-2009). The festival's programme also includes an "Evening of Norwegian Poetry", promotion of 10 books of Macedonian poets, translated in English language.
The closing ceremony "Mostovi" (Bridges), held at the Bridge of Poetry on the river Drim in Struga including poetry readings and the awarding ceremony, will be held on August 23. Another event in the so called Caravan of Poetry, which consists of poetry performances around the country. Usually, after the end of the Festival, poetry readings are being organized in several cities across Macedonia.
The last event takes place in the country's capital, Skopje, where 2009 laureate Salamun will be declared as an honorary member of the Macedonian Poetry Association. Tomaz Salamun is a Slovenian poet. He was born in 1941 in Zagreb, Croatia, and raised in Koper, Slovenia. He has published 30 collections of poetry in his native Slovenian language. Salamun spent two years at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop in the 1970s and has lived for periods of time in the United States since then. For a time, he served as Cultural Attaché to the Slovenian Embassy in New York. He has had ten collections of poetry published in English, including The Selected Poems of Tomaz Salamun (Ecco Press, 1998); The Shepherd, the Hunter (Pedernal, 1992); The Four Questions of Melancholy (White Pine, 1997); Feast (Harcourt, 2000), "Poker" (Ugly Duckling), "Row!" (Arc Publications), "The Book for My Brother" (Harcourt), and "Woods and Chalices" (Harcourt). He lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and is married to the painter Metka Krasovec.
SEP was launched in 1962 with a series of readings by a number of Macedonian poets in honor of the two brothers, Konstantin and Dimitar Miladinov, great intellectuals, teachers, and writers, born in Struga in the beginning of 19th century. Konstantin Miladinov has been considered the founder of modern Macedonian poetry and each year the festival officially opens with his memorable poem "Longing for the South" (T'ga za jug) written during his student days in Moscow. For the last 47 years the festival has welcomed about 4,000 poets, translators, essayists and literary critics from 95 countries.