A smell easily depicted in a sea of thousands of rose varieties – the Bulgarian Rose.
The City of Burnaby now has a flower bed of Bulgarian Roses brought in from the region of Kazanluk, for everyone to enjoy.
The Bulgarian Rose is not only a symbol of the country but a part of life.
Like any Bulgarian, the strong aroma of the Bulgarian rose seeped beyond our grandma’s garden, rose oil; soaps; perfumes; lotions; jams; honey and scented paper are just a few things I remember with a douse of the world’s most expensive oil.
Regarded more expensive than gold, pure essential rose oil from the Bulgarian Rosa Damascena most likely comes from the Bulgarian Rose Valley, that is between the Sredna Gora and southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains, in the city of Kazanluk. Bulgaria, the biggest rose-oil producers in the world have the Persian Empire to thank for bringing the value of rose-water to equal to gold. The city of Damascus in Persia, leed to rose exportation of rose water dating back to the fifteenth century and flower cultivation during Bulgaria’s grave 600 years under the Ottoman Empire. The Persian Empire was using rose water as payment for dues, thus, swapping gold with rose.
From left to right: Vania Zaharieva-Alexieva, James Wang, Richard T.Lee, Aglika Ivancheva, Ron Suh, Mimi Ilarionova, Velislava Panova, Mike Hurley, Elena Kolarova.
Fast forward to March 26, 2023, a large group of the Bulgarian community and British Columbia locals gathered at the Burnaby Art Gallery and later at the Burnaby Village Museum for a rose ceremony and celebrate the music and rhythms of Bulgaria in ode to the Bulgarian Rose.
Mimi Ilarionova and Daniela Dobreva Al-Kuwatli.
The rose ceremony was led by a group by local, provincial and National representatives. Although Velislava Panova, Consular General of Republic of Bulgaria, is the “engine” behind the rose planting in Burnaby, the day could have not gone without the vibrancy of: Vania Zaharieva-Alexieva, Aglika Ivancheva, Mimi Ilarionova and Elena Kolarova (all folk dancers from KITKA), dawned in traditional Bulgarian nosia’s. The panel also included Vladimir Popov, President of the Bulgarian-Canadian Society of BC; Ron Suh, Honorable Consul of Bulgaria for British Columbia; the Mayor of City of Burnaby, Mike Hurley; James Wang, Burnaby City Council and last but not least Councillor Richard T.Lee.
Ron Suh said, “I would also like to thank Gerana Todorova for the donation of the roses which we planted today. They are coming from the village of Drumohar, thanks to her and her late mother Malinka Nikolova.”
The evening was not only about planting a bit of Bulgaria (we Bulgarian’s love so much), but also a reflection of education and culture.
Richard T.Lee and Aglika Ivancheva.
Though some have a hard time finding Bulgaria on a map, the country’s distinct rhythm, musical instruments and voices are well known around the world. Folk dancers from the groups: Hubavitzi (meaning: beauties), Detelina (clover), KITKA (posy bouquet), Zornitza (morning star) and Biala Rosa (white rose), gave the Discovery Room at Burnaby Village Museum, a beautiful variety of choreographed dances.
Mimi Ilarionova, Velislava Panova and Mike Hurley.
The evening ended with a group “horo”, a line dance comprised of repetitive step patters with unbalanced musical rhythm, that somehow all makes sense.
The delicate nature of the Bulgarian Rose seeps beyond its elegant pink colour and large emerald green leaves, oil extraction through steam and thermal distillation of the rose’s petals takes 60,000 flowers just to make 1 oz of oil. Just over 35 ounces of Bulgarian Rose oil is worth more than $30,000 in today’s market. To put this into perspective, gold is under $2,000 per ounce.
Not to fret, only a few drops of the oil is enough for luxury goods, such as Creed’s eau du perfume found in the North American market; If you are looking for more authentic products, keep your eyes and ears peeled for Bulgarian community events where you might get lucky to snag a few rose oil hand soaps from small local vendors. Look out for slightly tacky and “dated” looking packaging designs, these are some of the original companies (giving more marketed ones a run for their money).
Vania Zaharieva-Alexieva and James Wang.
The small rose garden planted just south of the Burnaby Art Gallery is too small for any rose oil production, so as the beautiful roses grow, please admire them with your eyes and nose and leave your hands off of them.
Velislava Panova and Elena Kolarova.
Seeing is believing, tours (such as this one) of the majestic Bulgarian Rose Valley are available with the best time viewing May to June’s end.
Ron Suh and Mimi Ilarionova.
Let’s not forget a thank you to all the volunteers who made the evening possible keeping trays of food full, wine flowing and roses for guests in hands.
The event drew in a completely packed room and organizers are looking forward to bringing a bigger venue next year for the Bulgarian Days.
Want to try Bulgarian Horo? All holidays will be celebrated at Deer Lake Park by the Rose garden. May 24th, Day of the Slavonic Alphabet, is the next Bulgarian Day’s gathering.
Nina @Fueler
More Like This
