PC 20th Birthday in Bulgaria, 50th Anniversary, Park Design Contest Nikopol

May 23, 2011

The Peace Corps has been in existence for 50 years as of 2011, and has been in Bulgaria for 20 years. Earlier this summer, there were events to celebrate this fact in Sofia. The US Ambassador to Bulgaria and the Mayor of Sofia gave short speeches, along with the directors of PC Bulgaria. There was also a large cake.

As volunteers, we were invited to attend these events, and we were able to bring some of our coworkers. This was a great experience for us, as we got a free glass of champaign, and a great experience for our coworkers, as they also got a free glass of champaign. Additionally, it was great to see the recognition of our organization on such a large scale, and it was great to tell stories about having our picture taken with the US Ambassador James Warlick to the other coworkers. Also, it was great to get a chance to further share US culture with the coworkers by bringing them to Dunkin’ Donuts. Seriously – it was really fun.

To celebrate the 20th Birthday of Peace Corps Bulgaria, volunteers are doing 20 special events around Bulgaria in their respective towns in 2011. In fact, volunteers often do events in their towns throughout the year, but now we have an excuse to give out special t-shirts, do some quality PR for the Peace Corps, and take more pictures than usual. There are also a limited number of “20th Birthday signs” and photographers from the PC Office to capture the event.

In Nikopol, we held a “Park Design Contest” where kids drew or painted pictures of park renovations and new ideas for a park. We held an exhibition in the park and the town public voted for the best ideas. We had 37 entries broken into two groups – Under 10, and 10 and Over. We also had one 3D model of skatepark, which was great – it won the award for Most Creative Entry. There was also a great stock pile of US style baked goods, thanks to some visiting volunteers and their great cooking skills.

Pictures of the event are below.

Picture highlights: