The “Festival of Rich Harvest” marks the successful beginning of autumn in the city of Kyustendil and declares again that as a city it is “The mother of fruit-growing”. Ancient autonomous Paultalia coins are witnesses to that with their engraved images. Konstantin Irechek in “Travels through Bulgaria”, in the beginning of the 1880s described the Kyustendil region as follows:
“… The Kyustendil field is the garden of plums, large yellow pears, massive juicy apples, both sweet and sour cherries, little yellow plums, peaches, medlar trees, mulberry trees, walnut trees and many more. On the hills wonderful vineyards are visible, and the local wine is excellent. In the summer months the old walnut bark, the dark green of the gardens and vineyards and the golden fields, together with the meadows and forests and the fields on the mountains, and the character of the famous southern territory is intensified by daily heat and loud singing of crickets on warm, starry nights.
The fruit-growers’ traditions in the Kyustendil region have lived through every age and have been transferred as experience and culture from generation to generation, from family to family.
This autumn holiday of abundance is a legacy from the First National Fruit Growers Competition in 1896, registered by the Municipality of Kyustendil, lead under the patronage of the Ministry of Trade and Agriculture (then), and is the first and only holiday of its kind in the country.
Artistically arranged tables with fruit and vegetables amuse visitors. The fall days of rich harvest are pursued by scientific sessions of the Institute for Agriculture, Investment Forums, Carnival of Rich Harvest and Attractions. The Festival of Rich Harvest has a competitive characteristic with awards for the best and most attractive presentation of the participants which encourages the growers. At the end of the festival a rich artistic program is organized by the Municipality of Kyustendil which includes a holiday concert with participants from ensembles from Bulgaria, Serbia and Macedonia.
Each year the municipality partners with the Institute of Agriculture – Kyustendil. Its director is Prof. Dr. Dimitar Domozetov who, as chairman of the committee, evaluates and awards the winners in the competition.
The epilogue to the rich artistic program was organized by the Municipality of Kyustendil holiday concert featuring bands from Bulgaria, Serbia and Macedonia.
With “The Festival of Rich Harvest” the cycle of holidays is officially concluded. So after the tender first steps of spring, the rich harvest of summer and the rich harvest of autumn, the nature in the Kyustendil region is given a well-deserved winter rest…, and afterwards, when the first “Snowdrop” flower appears, nature gets ready for new hope in expectation of the spring, when once again nature comes to life.