September 2017

September 2017

Newsletter

of the International Women’s Club in Sofia

First 2017 Charity Bazaar Stallholders Meeting

Sofia Opera Perpericon – Sacred Cliff City

Happy Independence Day Bulgaria!

Dear Ladies, I would like to welcome all the returning members and the new ones, hoping you all enjoyed the sunny days with your family and friends.

September marks the IWC new calendar year with renewing memberships, welcoming new members, reaching out to the International Community, planning a calendar of monthly events and preparing for the 23rd Charity Bazaar. I would like to thank Mrs. Raluca Čšigău, the Romanian Ambassador's wife for hosting the 23rd Charity Bazaar 1st. Stall-holders meeting at their embassy on the 26th of September.

Our membership year is off to fun filled busy start. Many new activities such as outings to the Opera, the Ballet, Museums, Exhibitions, Archeological sites, Movie nights, and many more.

Good news ladies: August 25th, I held the first meeting with Diana Michaels-Christopher,Ph.D. and Maya Metodieva who are our new 1st & 2nd Vice-presidents. On the 28th, I was welcomed Mary Gullet as our new Treasurer. Welcome to the Executive Board ladies!

Additional ladies are needed to assist the Treasurer, the Charity Chairman and the Bazaar Coordinator. Many volunteers are needed to help with the Website, Facebook, Taking Photos, Sponsoring newcomers, Childrens group leader, Support group leaders (visiting & assisting members), Events Assistants, Movie & Dinner Group leaders, and a Bazaar team.

Our 1st meeting is on September 11th, a day that we all can not forget. Prayers go to the hundreds of families that lost their loved ones due to terrorist attacks in the U.S. and internationally. Prayers go to all the ones in Texas that lost their lives and to the ones that lost their homes due to Hurricane Harvey. Devastating disasters teach us the value of Unity.

Two important official holidays this month, Unification Day on the 6th and Independence Day on the 22nd. Wishing every Bulgarian member and their families a very Happy Independence Day ! May God Blessing Be with you all.

As the president of IWC Sofia, I ask you all to join me this year so we all work together in order to make a social and an educational impact in this beautiful Country.

Looking forward to a fun and successful year.

Lilly White

In friendship,

President 2017-2018

Cover image by https://blazingbulgaria.wordpress.com/

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IWC Executive Board 2017-2018 President Lilly White 0879 119 152 0883 221 961 president@iwc-sofia.org First Vice-President Diana Michaels-Christopher vicepresident@iwc-sofia.org

Treasurer Mary Gullet 0879 506 800 treasurer@iwc-sofia.org

Charity Chairperson Iliana Zlatareva 0893 357585 charity@iwc-sofia.org

Office Manager/ Membership Coordinator Zarina Benoun-Takova 0895 571 813 admin@iwc-sofia.org

Second Vice-President Maya Metodieva secondvicepresident@iwc-sofia.org

Bazaar Coordinator Mihaela Dobre 0879 506 799 c.iwcbazaar@gmail.com

International Women’s Club 67A Postoyanstvo st., 1111 Sofia tel: 02 951 6117 “Like” IWC on Facebook and check our website www.iwc-sofia.org

Club policy Smoking Please note that all IWC Coffee Mornings are non-smoking.

Free monthly events are free to guests. Events costing under 20BGN, there is an additional charge of 5BGN.

Language Don’t let a lack of fluency in English keep you from attending the monthly coffee mornings and other club activities. Many of our members speak other languages. Remember, we are an international club, and we are here to support you. You’re welcome at any time.

Events costing 21BGN or more, there is an additional charge of 50%.

Suggestion Box The suggestion box is always available at the members’ sign-in table. Feel free to write your ideas, concerns, complaints, and suggestions to the IWC Board and drop them in the box. Because you’re important to us, we want to hear from you.

IWC Visitors Policy The IWC doors are open to visitors throughout the year. Visitors are welcome to attend up to two coffee mornings and two activities prior to applying for membership. A 15 BGN fee is payable upon registration at the sign-in table during the coffee morning. For more information, please contact the Member-ship Coordinator at office@iwc-sofia.org.

Monthly Activity Groups Monthly activity groups are free and any charge for guests will be at the discretion of the organiser of the group, a charge may be added for instance if a guest regularly frequents one of these activities without becoming a member.

Event

IWC Member

Guest

Free Monthly Event

Free

Free

Free Activity Group Event

Free

Paid*

Paid Monthly Event

5-20BGN

+5BGN

Paid Monthly Event

21BGN+

+50%

Member only Event

Open

Closed

Events Charges All events are available to fully paid up members of the IWC. Where there is a cost involved, it will be kept to the very minimum.

Guests will be able to attend the events that are specified at the time. Not all events will be open to guests. Events that are open to guests will also carry a ‘guest’ surcharge as follows:

A deposit is required from all members and guests attending an event with a cost involved. This deposit will be forfeited in the case of non attendance. *Charge for guests at the discretion of the activity group organiser with a min. sum of 10 BGN.

Monthly Events

Use of IWC Logo The Board has established the following policy for the use of the IWC logo and brand name. In order to prevent any misuse.

1.Written Permission must be requested from the Board a minimum of 2 weeks prior to event; 2. The partnering organisation/company should be in good standing in the community; 3. The event should seek to pursue the goals of the IWC; 4. No third-party usage will be permitted. An agreement will be signed between IWC and partner organisation; 5. The Logo may be used only for the agreed event and for specified time period.

Guidelines for Paid Advertisement 1. Priority for any vacant advertising spaces will be given first to IWC members, then to outside advertisers.

2. Advertisers are welcome to run or extend their advertisements for a period of six months. After that time, if there is a waiting list for advertisements of that size, the situation will be reviewed, and priority for available spaces will be given to (a) IWC members; (b) new advertisers; (c) existing advertisers. The same order of priority will apply to smaller ad space that may become available.

3. There is no waiting list for advertisements of a given size, the current advertiser may extend their advertisement for the contract period of their choice.

4. These guidelines may be revised at any time with the agreement of the IWC Board.

5. Paid advertisers are not endorsed by the IWC.

Rules For Announcements From Members 1. Advertisements will be run in two consecutive issues. If the member sends a request to run the advertisement again, it will be extended for a further two issues. After that, the advertisement will be removed. If the member still wishes to include the advertisement after that time, the request will be considered, but placement is not guaranteed.

2. Advertisements must be submitted by members. Members may not submit ads for non-members (e.g., for a friend who is selling a car, etc.).

3. Members may not submit recommendations for businesses. These recommendations may be submitted to the IWC Go To Guide. Businesses are also welcome to purchase advertising in the newsletter.

4.Recommendations for individuals engaged in business (e.g., dentists, hairdressers, etc.) will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Board.

5. Final discretion as to whether to include an announcement rests with the Newsletter Editor.

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We ask members to send all announcements for the newsletter via e-mail. The size of ads should not exceed a single paragraph of five lines. The IWC board is not responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in these announcements.

Please send your contributions to office@iwc-sofia.org not later than the 15th of the month.

23rd IWC Charity Bazaar

Dear Ladies, Hope finding you in good health after enjoying the summer.

Lilly & I started the preparations for the 23rd IWC Charity Bazaar. We are happy to inform you that our first Charity Bazaar"s Stall-holders meeting will be held at the

Romanian Embassy, on Tuesday, 26th of September at 11:00 am.

We ask you all to join the Bazaar team and contribute your time helping us making with year Bazaar a success.

We can guarantee you lot of work, meetings, calls and e-mails.. etc. and the enormous selfsatisfaction to participate in an event intended to land support to other organizations helping people from Bulgaria.

Do not hesitate to e-mail us your suggestions, concerns & questions ASAP in order for us to address them at the upcoming meeting.

If you are planning to attend the 1st Stall-holders meeting do RSVP to Mihaela Dobre at c.iwcbazaar@gmail.com or to our office at office@iwc-sofia.org.

Let's all work together as one team!

Thank you,

Mihaela Dobre IWC 23rd Charity Bazaar co-ordinator International Women's Club mobile: +359 879 506799 e-mail: c.iwcbazaar@gmail.com web: www.iwc-sofia.org

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Charity update Dear ladies,

reference about the great summer days. Just a quick ing hav are s ilie fam r you and you I hope re, Anne Petersen, Vivi – ting and we all – me, Mihaela Dob exi so was It an.

Rom to t visi charity and the work of Albena Maso impressed from what we saw e wer rea And sia, one Ind of sy eive one meal a day, cofEmbas ple from Roman, where they rec peo erly eld for e hom a is ere Th itta foundation. The sectova. been totally renovated from Tab has g ldin bui The ts. tac con ial 4 -18. The children fee, soc home and disabled children age no h wit n ldre chi 50 for is g ldin There was a group of ond bui ch, played with us and more …. lun ple sim a us ved ser us, h wit danced weeks with the children e every year and spend about two com y the d, lan Hol from s eer volunt there. for us eager to perform us there, obviously they waited e hav to py hap so e wer n ldre The chi the Roman BBQ next year. their dances. I will definetly join Iliana Zlatareva Best regards,

I have had the pleasure to join the Roman Barbecue a couple of times already and see how the kids react every time we are there visiting...

This time, one of the older boys wanted me to teach him English and it was all my pleasure. Then he was the one who taught me Bulgarian words and that seemed to be his pleasure.

Some of the kids are waiting for hugs, so we were hugged a lot.

Try to see for yourselves next time.

Anne Pedersen

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IWC September Outings Sofia Bread House

Happening in Sofia

Monday 18 September at 10:30am

SOFIA RESTAURANT WEEK 103, Ulitsa Ekzarh Yosif Cost: 15 Leva Sandra Topalska will be hosting "No one is bigger than bread. Bread in Bulgarians' life."

We will learn all about the importance of bread in the Bulgarian culture.

The Bread Houses Network activities include bread art-therapy for people with disabilities, children and youngsters at risk and with family issues, refugees and others. The bread therapy uses the phases of bread making and the metaphors related to them in order to achieve socialization, individual development & overcoming the differences as well as for social skills and fine motor skills improvement.

Sandra will invite us to participate in the Theatre of Crumbs which will include drawing in flower and bread kneading.

We'll get to enjoy: - Fresh bread from the bakery with spices - Honey cake with einkorn flour - Homemade lemonade with mint and honey

10-16 September 2017 The 30 participating restaurants offer a 3 course set menu for the fixed price of 25 leva.

Restaurants have been chosen not only for the high quality of their food, but also based on excellence in service and more. www.restaurantweek.bg Once you select English you'll be able to select & view the list of participating restaurants, menus and wine.

South park fest From 15-17 of September at 11:00am Location: Sofia Spark Cost: Free of charge Adults & kids can enjoy different activities.

Food and drinks available on site.

The evening events: September 15th: Poli Genova and The Voice of Bulgaria stars September 16th: Beloslava, Milenita & Rut trio September 17th: Maria Ilieva (the singer)

La Prima Osteria Thursday 21 September at 12:30pm ul.Hristo Belchev 32, Sofia Cost: Ă€ la carte This is Maya's choice for our monthly Luncheon outing. This Italian restaurant has an excellent variety of choices from Pasta, Risotto, Pizza, Salads.. Weather permits, we'll enjoy a garden luncheonđ&#x;˜Š

Concerts in Sofia

Night Out in Town

Next MCM 3rd October

STING 16 September 2017 at 20:00 (8:00pm) Location: Arena Armeec Sofia Asen Yordanov Blvd.

Cost: 70 BGN - 140 BGN

Thursday 28 September at 20:30 (8:30pm)

Location: Capella Restaurant, Sofia Park Center

Thursday 28 September at 20:30 (8:30pm) Cost: À la carte We will enjoy dinner or just a cocktail & music .

Spouses/Friends are welcome to join.

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Sofia Opera and Ballet Address: 1, Ulitsa Vrabcha 1. Gala Concert XVII International Master Class of Raina Kabaivanska Sunday 24 September at 19:00

2. CONCERTS FOR BABIES

3. THE THRE E PIGGIES

Friday 29 September at 19:00

Music by Alexandar Raichev Saturday 30 September at 11:00 Price for Tickets 10 Leva

Participants: soloists and orchestra.

Conductor Boris Spasov Director Yulia Krasteva

4. WINNIE-THE-POOH Musical for children by Andrey Drenikov Sunday 1 October at 11:00 Price for Tickets 10 Leva

Because of the huge interest, tickets for “Concerts for Bebotsi” are on sale with advanced reservation or online in the site of Sofia Opera and Ballet www.operasofia.bg. You can make a reservation for these concerts also on Tel. +359 2 8006266, or on the e-mail address reservations@operasofia.bg.

The concerts are organized every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 11.00 h and every Thursday and Friday – at 17.00 h at Sofia Opera and Ballet & Tickets at the Ticket office inside.

Ticket prices between 12 & 20 Leva (e.g. 1 adult + 1 child up to 3 years and 1 child over 3 years pay 15 Leva) 8

Ongoing activities Book Club

teachers/ tutors are all wonderful Bulgarian friends from IWC who you respect and know.

Don't be afraid! Come join us! Zapovyaday!!

Contact Jane by e mail: janeaewing@gmail.com.

Members read one book a month, and then get together to discuss the book (discussions are in English and are usually very fun and lively). We read a variety of fiction and non-fiction books from writers of all nationalities. There is a morning meeting once a month on Friday. For more information contact: Sonya Petrova: andsonya@yahoo.com.

Hiking Club The hiking group is an energetic group of dedicated hikers who head up to Vitosha and the surrounding mountains every Friday. We usually meet at 9 am at Fantastico in Dragelevtsi. An email is sent to all hikers every Wednesday with more specific plans and this often includes different meeting points. A typical hike will bring us back to our meeting point at 2 or 3. For more information please write to Bistra Karakoleva (biskarakoleva@gmail.com)** NEW

Bridge The bridge group is renewing its playing sessions once a week starting from April as the private bridge club ”King of clubs” is not open during morning hours any more. Interested members are invited to play bridge with us. A place of the meeting will be fixed for each session. There is an English-speaking group and a French-speaking group. For more information contact Diana Kolarova: dianakolarova@yahoo.com, 0888 423 150 or Marieta Neykova: neykova-mp@dir.bg, 0889 84 93 54.

Tennis A group of members are starting to regularly play tennis together. We are of mixed ability and if you wish to join us or get on the regular emailing list then please contact Teodora Petrova on 0888495066 or her email on teodora_p@yahoo.com

English Conversation Group We are five native English speakers who take it in turns to lead a weekly conversation group every Thursday from 10:30 AM–12:30 PM. Different venues and topics are chosen every week. All members and all levels are welcome. Please enquire at CM to see who is leading this group, as there were changes.

Tuesday Playgroup Mums and dads with babies, toddlers and small children, please come along to our weekly playgroup! We meet every Wednesday at 10am, at someone's home or in a park or play centre. It's a great opportunity to meet new people (some of us have lived in Sofia for many years so are great sources of advice and information too), and for the children to make friends. It's totally free and there is no obligation to host, so please do come and join us! For more information or to be added to the mailing list, please email Stephanie.Karaolis@gmail.com.

Spanish Conversation Group Everybody who wants to practice and improve her Spanish is welcome to our weekly meetings. Also, if you are already fluent in Spanish or if you are a native speaker and you would like to participate, please contact Sory Jan by e-mail: jansory1@yahoo.fr.

Bulgarian Conversation Group (NEW!!)

Five Native Bulgarian speakers joined to form a conversation group by special request - - just for you to grow and increase and to practice your B U L G A R I A N! Weekly at 10.30 every Tuesday -we meet.

Please contact Jane Ewing for location - the 9

When in Bulgaria Perpericon

PERPERICON, or PERPEREK as the Thracians called it, located some 15 km outside Kurdjali, in the eastern Rhodopes mountains of southern Bulgaria, is a massive archaeological site, a sacred cliff city, first built some 8,000 years ago during the period when the late stone age gave way to the early discovery of melting ore. And so these long ago Thracians carved out their Temple, which became one of the Three famous Oracles in ancient times. The high Priestesses, the Bessies, foretold the future, by flaming the wine they produced in a huge bowl carved out of the cliff. If the flames immediately burst high up, than success was assured for the supplicant. That bowl is still there, a little over a decade ago when it was uncovered, the sooth from the flames around its edges was still visible, but with the rain and sun. .. it is now pristine...

Their temple measured 100 sq. meters, on several levels in height. The high priestesses had a throne, a nearly triangular shape carved out of the rock which can be seen...as is their baths...Next to the ancient temple a vibrant city emerged which lasted until the Ottoman invasion, when it was sacked and abandoned. Early Christian churches were recently uncovered as the Thracians had converted to Christianity after the first century AD. Some of the High Priestesses Prophesies were recorded. Before Alexander the Great began his campaigns Eastward, he consulted with the Oracle's high priestess, who foretold of his success. Then the Governor of Roman Macedonia, asked the high Priestess' prophecy for his newborn son. He was shocked to be told that the boy would grow up to become Emperor. This was written down by the Roman historian Seutonius in his history, commonly known as "The Twelve Caesars". The boy in question was called Gaius Octavius, who became known as Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, and Julius Caesar's heir. This is one truly amazing site worth a visit. Tour guides can be hired, and there should be some knowledgeable ones who speak English. It should be noted that Perpericon is still an active archaeological site during the summer months, so one can expect more discoveries....

Diana Michaels-Christopher 10

Unification Day 6 September On the 6th September of 1885, the citizens of Goliamo Konare (Suedinenie), surrounded the Governor's palace in Plovdiv, demanding the reunification of Bulgaria for whose independence they had fought during the Russian-Turkish War of 1876-7, and which the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, had split, returning Southern Bulgaria, renamed as Eastern Rumelia, to the Ottoman Empire. With this act the, the Unification of Bulgaria as a principality was declared

by Alexander I, Battenburg. Thus after nearly 500 years, Bulgaria return on the political

Independence Day 22 September During 1908, on the 22nd of September, before the Medieval Royal Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs, Kniaz (Prince) Ferdinand, declared Bulgarian Independence from Ottoman Suzerainity, establishing the Third Bulgarian Kingdom, and granting himself the title of Tzar of the Bulgarians, thus becoming Tzar Ferdinand Ist.

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Recommended by Members

Yazovir Vacha I would like to recommend a place I stopped by while on my way back to Sofia from Devin.

The pictures you see were made by me with the phone. The breathtaking view is over the yazovir Vacha (яз. Въча) from complex Chilingira (http://www.hotel-chilingira.com).

We had time to have our dinner at their restaurant which serves delicious food and dessert.

The complex and the restaurant are on the main street and there is a parking area. There is a possibility to get accommodation on the houses builded right on the lake, at Guest House "Pri Bat Gena" (При бат Гена) http://batgena.com.

This are only 2 hours away from Sofia going by high way to Plovdiv and then heading to Devin town.

Mihaela Dobre

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August Monthly Coee Morning Members sharing their experience about our events.

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Members Announcements

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It’s a BOY!

The IWC Sofia would like to congratulate our member ThÊrèsa FÊghali and her family Welcome Baby Michel!

Anglo-American School Welcome Back BBQ The IWC table at the Anglo-American School Welcome Back BBQ and Info Market. A big thank you goes to the school's PTO who invited us to participate in this annual event that took place on Saturday 26 Aug. between 12:00 and 15:00. I made sure to meet and greet all the new and returning families and invited them to our September general meeting. Several new ladies showed great interest, left their contacts and want to join our club.

Thank you to Zarina, our office manager, for your assistance throughout the event. Your help us highly appreciated.

Lilly White President

September birthdays Kelsa Smith-Mouskourova, 1st September Angelina Alexieva, 2nd September Vivi Patricia Anis, 3rd September Ernesta Kazlauskaite-Tsakona, 6th September Annamaria Giannakos, 12th September

July birthday girls 14

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