It is that time of year again and I want to get out into Bulgaria's beautiful countryside to celebrate the blessings of nature. This time of year I have to fight off overwhelming urges to look for celebrations in the open air, where like minded groups of individuals hold hands and dance through the valleys and frolic amidst the rose bushes.

Yes my friends it is time to address the digital realm of Bulgarian Folklore. I have found some fascinating websites about this subject, which I can't wait to introduce to you.

The first place to visit is http://www.balkanfolk.com. This Bulgarian made, owned and operated site is so professional, it's almost scary. Not only is there an up-to-date list of events, they offer T-Shirts, wallpaper for your website, ring tones for your mobile, and a real online shop! It even offers an affiliate program. The website is also the home for Balkan folk 2003, a genuine workshop for all that is Folk Culture. The workshop will be held from July 18-31 in Pamporovo. It is advertised as a practical seminar for Balkan folklore including Bulgarian, Serbian, Turkish and Greek folk dances; musical instruments - gaida, kaval, gadoulka, tamboura, tapan, tarambouka and accordion; Bulgarian folk singing, embroidery, cooking (traditional cuisine) and language folklore evenings.

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http://bulgarianspace.com/bmg/article/folk_bnm_eng.htm is a well-written article about Bulgarian folk music. In addition you can also find links to other highlights of Bulgarian musical culture such as jazz and rock. The article writes covers the history and variations of Bulgarian folk. This page is well worth visiting.

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Another choice is http://www.bgbooks.net /folk.html an online shop with an interesting selection of folk music and instruments.

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http://www.balkan-shop.net/music.htm is more of the same, but with a slightly better design.

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http://www.angelfire.com/folk/balkan/ "In this site you can find information about the Bulgarian folklore dance and music, interesting folk events in Bulgaria - concerts of orchestra, singers, folk dance groups and folk festivals." This site is so ugly that I am not sure if I should show it to you or not. But it does have links and content that relates to our subject. But it desperately needs help, major help.

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Finally I want to introduce you to http://bal kanarama.com. It is the digital home of Balkanarama. They describe themselves as: "A Seattle band that plays dance music from Bulgaria, Macedonia and surrounding countries, including many songs from the Roma (Gypsy) tradition. Our sound features sax, clarinet, violin, synthesiser, guitar, bass, drums and four vocalists. We've been together since 1997 and regularly perform around the Pacific Northwest. The site is very professional, with loads of info about the band, sound downloads, but also a variety of interesting links to subjects related to Bulgarian folk. I really had a good time surfing this site, and that doesn't happen often... Simple but effective! Don't forget to listen to one of their clips.

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Other unrated sites you may want to visit:

http://www.folklorefest.com/Festival/eng_part/groups/mainBulgaria.htm

http://www.geocities.com/paulbourbin/sredets.html

http://www.foodnotbombs.net/stranja.html

http://www.radost.org/calendarpast.htm

Conclusion, beside www.balkanfolk.com and www.balkanarama.com there is not a lot quality out there. If I am wrong I will gladly stand corrected, and please send me an email with links to more and better sites on this wonderful subject.

I am using a 1-5 rating system.

If there are specific topics you would like to see addressed in DOT BG, please feel free to email me at koos@webfactory.bg or visit my site: www.webfactory.bg