Balgarianovinite.com Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev presented the agency’s opportunities for distributing news from Chicago’s oldest and largest Bulgarian schools and the two Bulgarian Orthodox churches. On Sunday, Valchev visited Chicago and greeted the Bulgarian community in the city during the fifth Bulgarian Parade, organized to mark May 24, the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture, and Slavic Literature.
Valchev visited the first Bulgarian school in Chicago, St Sophia Bulgarian School, which was founded in 1976 and is marking its 50th anniversary this year. He met with the school’s principal, Daniela Mihaylova. He also met with the Little Bulgarian School principal Zhivka Petrova, Little Bulgaria Center Artistic Director Konstantin Marinov, and Bulgarian Sunday School Parents Council Chair Zhaneta Lukov.
Valchev also visited the two Bulgarian Orthodox churches in Chicago. At St John of Rila Bulgarian Orthodox Church, he met with Father Kiril Kirilov, and at St Sophia Bulgarian Orthodox Church, with Father Ivan Malinov.
Bulgaria’s Consul General in Chicago Svetoslav Stankov also took part in the meetings.
“Bulgaria wants to know more about the success of Bulgarians in America, because it has many reasons to be proud of them. That is why I am in Chicago not only to greet the Bulgarian Parade for May 24, but also to urge Bulgarians to provide even more information about their life there. Bulgaria is, in fact, learning more and more about Bulgarians in Chicago, the largest ‘Bulgarian’ city outside Bulgaria, with likely around 100,000 Bulgarians, who account for one third of all Bulgarians in the US,” Valchev said at the Bulgarian Parade.
He said that in the five years since Bulgaria’s national news agency set up its special section for Bulgarians abroad, BG World, in 2021, BTA has published 3,063 news items about Bulgarians in the US. Of these, 1,363 (nearly 45%) were about Bulgarians in Chicago. “This means that every day in Bulgaria we have at least one news item about Bulgarians in Chicago, which is actually the source of every third news item about Bulgarians in the US. We gather this news from their associations, Sunday schools, churches, folklore groups and prominent figures. The Consulate General of Bulgaria in Chicago is also a valuable source of information about Bulgarians in the city,” Valchev said.
He stressed that Bulgarians in America help Bulgaria even without living there. “They also made a major contribution to DARA’s Eurovision victory and proved that Bulgarians around the world can be a great force, because Bulgaria received the highest number of 12 points from audiences in countries which do not participate in Eurovision but have the right to vote. Thus, Bulgaria’s song won by the largest margin over the runner-up in the history of the contest,” the BTA Director General said.
Valchev recalled that exactly 20 years ago, for May 24, BTA, on the initiative of Director General Maxim Minchev, brought together in Chicago 30 Bulgarian media outlets from 14 countries for the Second World Meeting of Bulgarian Media. In 2025, these meetings reached their 20th edition, when 70 Bulgarian-language media outlets from 25 countries met in Sofia. They are also an important source of news about Bulgarians around the world. BTA Director General Presents Opportunities for News Distribution from Bulgarian Schools, Churches in Chicago 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-20 05:42:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law