Bitola, 10 July 2026 (MIA) -- American, Chinese, Dutch, Greek, Puerto Rican, Slovak, Swedish, Venezuelan and 23 Macedonian folk song and dance ensembles will perform at the 56th Ilinden Days Festival of Folk Songs and Dances taking place in Bitola between July 14 and 31, MIA's Bitola correspondent reports.

The 56th festival's motto is "A Point of Connection," Bitola's Cultural Center director Sasho Ilkovski told a press conference Thursday.

Ilkovski said the motto was inspired by the dandelion plant. "Its seeds are carried away by the wind to different places and create their own roots, similar to what the Ilinden Days festival does by connecting many people and traditions, putting down its roots everywhere," he said.

This year's festival begins with a concert by Ningbo Symphony Orchestra from China, made possible by the support of the Chinese Embassy.

"This is of particular importance for us because Ningbo is Bitola's sister city," Ilkovski said.

This year's Ilinden Days will gather 1,300 participants, performing as part of 35 different folk ensembles over the festival's 18 days. The program consists of over 70 events held at various venues in Bitola.

Valentin Soklevski, the festival's artistic director and director of programming, said the program connected "the past with the present, the root with the flower, today to tomorrow."

"Our story is similar to that of the dandelion," Soklevski said. "Many have tried to alter our tradition or to take it away from us, but we hold on to it tight, it grows and is handed down to future generations."

"This tradition is our past, our present and our wish for the future, and the dandelion is a wish flower," he stressed.

The Ilinden Days Republic Festival of Folk Songs and Dances was first held from July 30 through Aug. 2, 1971, in Bitola, featuring 20 folk song and dance ensembles from all over Macedonia. mr/