It may be the first Salmon Arm event founded on a love for yogurt.
On Friday, April 19, Velislava Panova, the Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria and Daniela Dobreva, vice-president of the Bulgarian Canadian Society of B.C., are hosting the Days of Bulgaria Festival in Salmon Arm. This free event will include displays of traditional Bulgarian art, including music and dance, an opportunity to taste traditional Bulgarian food and wine, to learn about Bulgaria and what a city there comparable to Salmon Arm is like.
Among the foods available will be the Bulgarian-style yogurt produced by Salmon Arm’s Grass Root Dairies. This popular yogurt, made with the Bulgaricus strand of live culture that originated in Bulgaria, is actually the catalyst behind the upcoming celebration of Bulgarian culture.
Grass Roots Dairies Kathy Wikkernik said a couple of years ago, out of the blue she received a phone call from Panova.
“She’s in Ontario and she’s very active with our Bulgarian community in Vancouver and they told her about our Bulgarian yogurt,” said Wikkernik, whose own roots go back to the Netherlands. Wikkernik explained her family took over the farm-based dairy operation 16 years ago and continued production of the already popular Bulgarian Style yogurt, which she said is a strong seller in Vancouver.
“So she said the people in Vancouver love your yogurt and buy it all the time and can I come up for a visit,” said Wikkernik. “She came up… and we went out for dinner got to talking and she came up with this idea she wanted to have a Bulgarian event here.”
This led to communications with the Salmon Arm Economic Development Society (SAEDS) and project co-ordinator Caitlin Thompson, who oversees the event funding program in Salmon Arm to help attract events and visitors to the community.
“I was able to do a virtual meeting with (Panova and Dobreva) and learn about this and learn about their passion and they’re just so lovely and so warm and welcoming and friendly,” said Thompson, explaining the women wanted to know how they could bring an event to Salmon Arm. “‘We don’t live there, we don’t know anyone there.’ But they want to come and they want to bring all these people with them and they’re staying over night for a couple of nights and they’re going to explore Salmon Arm…
“I’ve never seen an event like that come to us in this way and I think it’s an amazing story that it literally came to us because of yogurt!”
Thompson and SAEDS got into action to help to bring Days of Bulgaria, an annual event hosted in different cities across Canada, to Salmon Arm.
“We are so happy to see events like this in Salmon Arm during the shoulder seasons, to attract visitors and showcase our ability to host and attract incredible events,” said Thompson. “The spirit of this event is rooted in celebrating culture and making friendships or connections through food, art and performance.”
Salmon Arm’s Days of Bulgaria Festival runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at Song Sparrow Hall.
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