Skopje, 4 July 2025 (MIA) - Liljana Mihajloska and Jovan Filiposki will be the bride and groom at the 2025 Galichnik Wedding, a traditional event to be held on July 11-13 in the village of Galicnik on Mount Bistra. 

This year's lucky couple, Jovan Filiposki - who is part of a well-known Galichnik family Filiposki, a long-time participant of the Galichnik Wedding events, and Liljana Mihajloska, say that participating in the event is fulfilment of a lifelong dream for them.

"Since I was very little, I dreamed of being the groom at the Galichnik Wedding, a tradition that needs to be cherished, which was passed down to me from my grandparents, and then from my parents who are part of the tradition every year. The honour is immense, and I hope that as many visitors as possible will attend and see this beautiful tradition," said Filiposki. 

Mihajloska said it is a great honour, but also a responsibility to carry on the tradition.

"As Jovan said, it is a great honour and pleasure to be chosen as the bride and groom at this year's wedding event. We feel happy and proud, at the same time it is a great responsibility to carry on this tradition, but we believe that everything will go well," said Mihajloska. 

President of the Galichnik local community, Ognen Karagjozovski, expressed satisfaction that there is still interest among young people to be part of this event.

"This year we have a rich program. The festival starts on Friday, and we decided to premiere a monodrama in honour of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Gjorgjija Puleski's Trilingual, which will be performed in the Mijak dialect. Later on Friday, after the performance, there will be a party for young people with a DJ set, and then on Saturday we will start with the wedding customs," said Karagjozovski.

The organizer said special traffic rules will be in place during the Galichnik Wedding event, and appealed for responsible behaviour, especially regarding alcohol consumption and care for the environment. 

The patron of the wedding festival is President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the Ministry of Culture is one of the traditional supporters of the event, and Pivara Skopje has been a partner in organizing the event for 50 years.

Photo: MIA