Bulgarian artist Lydia van den Berg uses her distinct artistic style to transform images of our hectic modern world into something serene and cheerful. In an approach she has named ‘Magical-Poetic-Realism,’ van den Berg showcases elements of the real world that are reconfigured in a context of poetic freedom and fantasy. Here the magic of imagination always dominates, pointedly ignoring conventions of realism and the classic perspectives of space and time. Rather, her images reflect an instinctive harmony of color and intensity, and balanced compositions of geometric forms. Using clear precise lines, two-dimensional images, and bright, contrasting colors, van den Berg provides a window into a half-forgotten world of innocence and wonder, re-exploring the boundaries of what might be called home and the terrains of daily life. For van den Berg, “My wish is that my images can move people to search and look further than the four lines within a square.”

Lydia van den Berg lives and works near Zurich, Switzerland.

Lydia van den Berg’s work may be seen on http://www.agora-gallery.com/soloannouncement/lydia_5_12_2011.aspx

However, the Bulgarian TV channel BTV claimed that the Holywood Bad Boy Johnny Depp has never been to Bulgaria, thus denying the widely spreading rumours that the US star has been seen in one of Bulgaria’s cities along the Black Sea coast.

According to the broadcast, a Bulgarian actor with a striking resemblance to Depp had been the person photographed on the balcony of hotel “Primorets” in Bulgaria’s southern coastal city of Burgas.

The TV broadcast showed a person with astonishing resemblance to Johnny Depp, who was enjoying the view from the balcony of hotel “Primorets” in the city of Burgas.

“Johnny Depp has not been here and there was no person registered here under this name, neither is one at the present” told the hotel owner to the TV guy. “Those pictures are obviously taken with a cell phone, but we are not aware of their origin.”

It came out later, according to the TV channel already mentioned, that supposed Johnny Depp was a 23-year-old actor from the new generation of Bulgaria’s talents. The man – actually named Georgi Velizarov – admitted that he had been impersonating his Hollywood counterpart for a while, but was unwilling to share more detailed information on the whole affair.

The whole deal was a clever PR activity, carried out by a marketing agency and intended to use Velizarov’s appearance to gather some attention. Speculations go around, claiming it was the owner choosing a more creative way to promote his business. By the way, the hotel had just underwent a major renovation.

The final solution to the whole “Johnny Depp in Bulgaria” affair came later, after photos appeared in the media showing the Hollywood star in Hawaii, accompanied by his partner in life, French actress and musician Vanessa Paradis. Those photos were taken at nearly the same time as the claimed appearance of Johnny Depp at hotel balcony in Burgas.

A nice try, one must admit. Anyway, hotels in nearby Sunny Beach were almost fully occupied at that time …

A concert with the motto “The youth of Bansko dances and sings” began at 12 o’clock at the city square Nikola Vaptsarov. A cheerleader team, ensembles for sport and traditional dances, a child orchestra, vocal and instrumental performers and many others participated in the event.

The ceremony for the Day of Bansko took place later that day, at 18 o’clock, again at the city square. The ensemble “Pirin” performed as the main event of the evening.

Tomorrow the celebrations continue with an exhibition and a presentation of the book of Konstantin Ikonomov in the ceremonial hall of the community center “Nikola Vaptsarov”.

The stars of the National theatre “Ivan Vazov” – Zahari Baharov, Vlado Karamazov, Valentin Tanev, Reni Vrangova and Valentin Ganev – joined and supported the initiative. Their blood pressure and cholesterol were measured by the team of prof. Asen Gudev – the future chairman of the Union of cardiologists of Bulgaria.

The musician Dani Milev, Miss Bulgaria 2000 Magdalina Valchanova and the actress Iskra Radeva were also among the people that tested the health of their hearts, along with numerous citizens of Sofia.

Other famous Bulgarians – Ivan Garelov, Radoslav Yankulov and Nikolai Georgiev – assisted the mobile station in front of the National palace of culture. The data for the host of show “Seers” was excellent, but the former long-time host of “Panorama” Garelov had to promise to lower his blood pressure, which was slightly above the norm.

The biggest such forum in South-eastern Europe will present the latest achievements of the international leaders of machine building, automobiles, transport, information technologies, software, electronics, construction, chemistry, energy, ecology and others.

More than 1900 companies from 44 countries will participate in the fair. They will present 15 completely new products and 72 products that are new for the Bulgarian market.

Hungary is the country-partner of the 65th technical fair. Their motto for this year’s fair is “Innovation and creativity”.

Ambassador Williams congratulated minister Rashidov for his post in the Bulgarian government and for the election of Irina Bokova as the new President of UNESCO. He also presented the long schedule of the British council in Bulgaria and their intensive cultural activities.

Minister Rashidov thanked the ambassador for the support of British experts in the formation of cultural politics in Bulgaria during the pre-EU period and the active and varied co-operation between Bulgarian and British culture institutions.

The minister emphasized that the introduction of their respective cultures is integral in the development of the relations between the two countries, and expressed his hope that the British public will have a chance to acquaint itself with both the ancient and the modern Bulgarian culture. A vital step forward would be the opening of the new Bulgarian cultural institute in London in 2010, added minister Rashidov.

On September 22nd 1908, in this very same church, ministers from the government of Alexander Malinov, national representatives, clergy and regular citizens of Veliko Tarnovo witnessed knjaz (prince) Ferdinand’s announcement of Bulgaria’s Independence and his ascension to the title “tsar”.

The anniversary celebration took place on the hill Tsarevets. The ritual involved the rising of the national flag, a speech by the mayor and laying of wreathes in front of the “Pyramid” monument, erected in honor of the Independence.

The parade went from Tsarevets down the main street of the city, carrying a colorful garland to the monument “Mother Bulgaria”. The day ended with the audio-visual spectacle “Sound and light”.

The Bulgarian army enters the city Tutrakan after Krayov’s traty, which removes Southern Dobrudja from Romanian possession. This part of Bulgaria was temporarily Romanian due to Bulgaria’s defeat in World War I.

A decision of the Municipality council of Tutrakan from September 1993 defines September 21st as the holiday of the city.

“Dear muslims, I greet you for your holiday Eid ul-Fitr on behalf of the Bulgarian government. I wish you a lot of love, success and harmony and I sincerely hope that this traditional muslim holiday will bring peace and health to your families”, states Borisov in his greeting for the muslim community.

“I’ve always considered tolerance and understanding between religions and cultures to be characteristic for Bulgarians. This is reality due to the efforts of each Bulgarian citizen and our unity as a nation with common goals that we reach together”, adds Boiko Borisov.

“I firmly believe that we’ll keep the religious and cultural variety of Bulgaria as a highly-regarded value in our society in the future. The successful development of the country as a proud European nation will be the product of the efforts of each of us.

So be healthy and follow the testaments of your religion for the greater good of our common home – Bulgaria”, concludes the prime minister.

The event ended with the patients and doctors lining up to form the letter “Y” – the symbol of the campaign. This year’s motto of the campaign is “Catch the future”.

The celebration of the International day of struggle with lymphoma took place in front of the hotel ‘Radisson”. The actress Maria Kavardjikova hosted the event. The patients talked about their illness with dr. Atanas Stanchev, vice-chairman of the Bulgarian union of lymphoma patients and docent Georgi Mihailov – hematology consultant.

Bulgaria doesn’t have a well-established tradition of celebrating the International day of struggle with lymphoma. It was celebrated for the first time in 2006, but the organizers are ambitious to turn it into an annual, informative event.