Regional Library Petko R. Slaveykov

On April 29 in Veliko Tarnovo, we are launching a unique student tournament—a competition that combines logic, culture, and teamwork. Under the patronage of Regional Governor Valentin Mihaylov, students from schools across the municipality will participate in a team puzzle-solving challenge inspired by the building of the P. R. Slaveykov Regional Library and the figure of Petko R. Slaveykov.

The meeting with journalist Mira Dobreva, who arrived in Veliko Tarnovo to present her new collection of documentary stories, *The Centenarians 2: The Mystery of Longevity* (published by Knigomania), was both moving and rich in wisdom, experience, and meaning.

Prof. Dr. Hitko Vachev, an archaeologist and recipient of the Ministry of Culture’s “Golden Age” Award, opened the exhibition “A Wreath of Memory and Faith” in the Art Department of the P. R. Slaveykov National Library.

Students from Bacho Kiro Primary School and Vladimir Komarov Secondary School, together with artists Stefan Stefanov and Zhivko Brchkov, presented paintings of beautiful Bulgarian churches and monasteries from the region.

The exhibition “102 Years of Etar Football Club,” dedicated to the legendary goal-scorer Dimitar Tsekov, brought together fans of football and the history of Veliko Tarnovo sports for an emotional and inspiring event. The gathering was moderated by sports journalist Anatoli Petrov.

The event with Rene Karabash, held in the Reading Room of the P. R. Slaveykov Regional Library as part of the program for the eleventh edition of the 2026 Book Signing Foyer, took place amid great interest and in front of a large audience.

During the evening, the author presented her novel "Ostanitsa" - a book that poses profound questions about identity, freedom, and choice as well as her latest poetry collection, *Someone Calls Me by Name*—an intimate poetic narrative about intimacy, love, and the struggle to remain true to oneself.

The event began with a musical performance by Stefan Ivanov from Prof. Srebra Mihaleva’s class at St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo, which created a special atmosphere for the literary gathering.

The conversation, moderated by Nikolay Venkov, covered topics such as literature, freedom, the creative process, and the courage to write authentically.

The event concluded with a long line for autographs and personal conversations with the author—further proof of the powerful impact of her words.

On April 28, the "Slaveiche" Children's Information Center turned into a true Land of Words, where the young guests from the two fourth-grade groups, "Zvezdichki" and "Fruits" at the "Ivanka Boteva" Kindergarten immersed themselves in the magical world of the book "Chatterbox in the Land of Words" by Valeria Mineva-Lira (Potayniche Publishing House).

On April 27, 2026, a meeting with the writer Veselina Kozhuharova was held at the P. R. Slaveykov – 1920 Community Center in Veliko Tarnovo. She is the author of the books *To the Fourth Knee*, *Kera*, *Coals*, *Look Over Your Shoulder*, *Between the Stars and Dawn*, *Semla’s Tear*, and others.

Today, the third-grade students at Hristo Botev Elementary School met with author Petar Patsov, who writes for both children and adults. Biserka Dzivoderova from the “Nadezhda – 1869” Community Center moderated the event and presented a brief biography of the author.

On April 23, 2026 (World Book and Copyright Day), the first competition of the preliminary round of the Second Inter-school Geography Quiz “The Traveling Classroom” was held at Vela Blagoeva Secondary School in Veliko Tarnovo.

The event was part of the 11th “Autographed Book Foyer,” held under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and with the financial support of the Municipality of Veliko Tarnovo.

As is tradition, three teams participated in the geography quiz, each consisting of three contestants from different grades at Vela Blagoeva Secondary School.

The young participants answered 30 geography questions organized into three areas of knowledge: “World,” “Bulgaria,” and “Veliko Tarnovo Region.”

The contestants faced questions of varying difficulty, such as:

- The panda is a species of bear found in China. The grizzly is a brown bear inhabiting North America. What is the name of the bear that lives in South America?

- Which of the listed EU countries borders only other EU member states?

- In how many places is the Stara Planina mountain range crossed by railway lines?

- Which river crosses our national border twice?

- Which of the listed municipalities borders only one municipality each from the regions of Veliko Tarnovo, Lovech, and Gabrovo?

- Which statesman’s name did the village of Gradina bear until December 19, 2025?

The first two rounds of the quiz were evenly matched, with the third round (dedicated to the Veliko Tarnovo region) proving decisive, as the contestants gave the most correct answers there.

The final standings were decided after a "penalty shootout" between the two teams competing for second place.

Following a hard-fought contest, the final standings were as follows:

The honorable third place went to the “Cockroaches” team, consisting of: Ivana Dimitrova from 12th grade, Viktoria Angelova from 7th grade, and Rostislav Hristov from 6th grade;

Second place went to the “Chimpanzees” team, consisting of: Mihail Vasilev from 9th grade, Nikolay Raikov from 7th grade, and Aleksandar Aleksiev from 6th grade;

The winner was the “Cavers” team, consisting of Nikola Hristov from class VIb, Aleksandra Kordimitrova from class XIa, and Boyan Matanov from class VIIa.

For their successful performance, each student received certificates and books (donated by “Faber Publishing”), and the winning team will participate in the final round in May. In that round, the teams that won the other two preliminary rounds (the “Angel Popov” Vocational High School of Construction, Architecture, and Geodesy and the “Dr. Vasil Beron” Vocational High School of Tourism) will compete.

The final standings were decided after a "penalty shootout" between the two teams competing for second place.

Following a hard-fought contest, the final standings were as follows:

The honorable third place went to the “Cockroaches” team, consisting of: Ivana Dimitrova from 12th grade, Viktoria Angelova from 7th grade, and Rostislav Hristov from 6th grade;

Second place went to the “Chimpanzees” team, consisting of: Mihail Vasilev from 9th grade, Nikolay Raikov from 7th grade, and Aleksandar Aleksiev from 6th grade;

The winner was the “Cavers” team, consisting of Nikola Hristov from class VIb, Aleksandra Kordimitrova from class XIa, and Boyan Matanov from class VIIa.

For their successful performance, each student received certificates and books (donated by “Faber Publishing”), and the winning team will participate in the final round in May. In that round, the teams that won the other two preliminary rounds (the “Angel Popov” Vocational High School of Construction, Architecture, and Geodesy and the “Dr. Vasil Beron” Vocational High School of Tourism) will compete.

On April 23, the Digital Club at the BIC "Slaveiche" hosted an intimate gathering with Ivelina Radionova and her collection of poems, *Mom’s Breath*.