Strumica, 15 July 2025 (MIA) — The 14th Strumica Open Festival begins Tuesday evening with a traditional song and dance performance by Folklorna niza, a folk song and dance ensemble from Strumica. Under the slogan “Mosaic of Emotions,” the festival will run through Aug. 13, MIA’s Strumica correspondent reports.

This year’s festival will offer a series of cultural and entertainment events spread over 10 evenings at various venues in Strumica. They include poetry readings, writing workshops and theater plays, organizers told a press conference Monday.

Music acts include the Bitola Chamber Orchestra with their MTV project, Vasko Pilichev and his guitar students, Tamara Todevska and Karolina Gocheva, organizers said.

“It is especially important to stress that only Macedonian performers will take part in the festival,” said Strumica’s Deputy Mayor Elena Magjerovska Palikarova.

She said the festival lineup reflected the organizers’ dedication to promoting the local art and music scene.

According to organizers, the Strumica Open Festival guitar summer school as of this year will bear the name of Dzhoko Gjorgjiev, a Strumica musician who died in the tragic March 16 fire in Kochani. Strumica Open Festival is supported by the Municipality of Strumica.