Skopje, 8 July 2022 (MIA) – Ilcho Dimitrov and Elena Durakovska are this year’s bride and groom at the 48th edition of the Galichnik Wedding Festival, which will take place next weekend, from July 15 to 17 in Galichnik, on Mount Bistra. Another feature of this year's event is that besides them, Iskra Blazhevska and Marko Bekrik will be married in the church "Saint Paul the Apostle" on the same day, while Marija Krstevska and Vladimir Cherepnalkovski will say “I do” in Galichnik on August 28. Given his Galichnik origins, Ilcho Dimitrov told Friday’s press conference that he has not missed a single Galichnik wedding event, adding that he is especially proud that he and Elena are this year’s bride and groom. Elena Durovska said she also comes from the country’s west and feels privileged to be a bride at the Galichnik wedding this year. “It’s an honor and a pleasure, and even a privilege to be the bride,” Durovska told the press conference. The representative of the organizational team of the Galichnik Local Community, Aleksandar Kostikj, pointed out at the press conference that the interest of young people in participating in a Galichnik wedding is growing every year, which, according to him, shows that tradition and folk customs remain the foundation of our collective identity and values. “This year, five couples applied, three of which fully met the requirements, after which the organizational team decided to give them all the opportunity to participate in this year's event, in the best possible way,” Kostikj said. He added that thanks to the large support, this year Galichnik is ready to welcome all visitors from the country and abroad who will come to see and witness the beauty and uniqueness of the wedding customs, the rich color of the folk costumes of weddings and original songs and dances, typical of these Macedonian regions. The patron of the wedding festival is President Stevo Pendarovski, and the Ministry of Culture is one of the traditional supporters of the event. According to the Minister of Culture, Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska, the Galichnik wedding is more than a tradition, more than a cultural treasure, a heritage. The Galichnik wedding, she noted, is identity. “The pride that people of this region take in their roots, in their family trees, is admirable. Their migrant history, which is retold from generation to generation in order not to be forgotten, is a precious record of the Macedonian past. The work and love invested in the preservation of this unique tradition is appreciated. Together with the Institute for Folklore, we are working on a report on the preservation and protection of the Galichnik wedding customs, with which it and its customs, for the first time in their sixty-year existence, will receive the deserved institutional protection,” said Kostadinovska-Stojchevska. The Skopje Brewery and its brands are also part of the Galichnik Wedding Festival this year, thus continuing their partnership that has lasted for 48 years. In addition to financial support, which is necessary to maintain the continuity and high level of the Galichnik wedding event, Skopje Brewery traditionally provides drinks for the participants in the wedding ceremony. dk/nn/