RONNIE JAMES DIO: Official Statue Unveiling To Be Held This Saturday In Kavarna

October 20, 2010

The official unveiling of the monument dedicated to legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio in the Bulgarian Black-sea coastal town of Kavarna will take place on October 23 at 2 p.m. (GMT+2 - local time). Dio's road manager Steve Mignardi and DIO drummer Simon Wright (who also previously played with AC/DC) are expected to attend the event. Sculptors Alexander Petrov and Krasimir Krastev - Lomsky spent two months working on the project, which will be more than two meters in height (approximately six-and-a-half feet) and will be combined with large stones taken from the sea. The statue, which was funded entirely through donations, will be placed in the city's central park, as part of the soon-to-be built "Alley Of Rock," a project approved by the City Council four years ago.

According to Radio Bulgaria, the decision to erect the monument was taken by the municipal administration, with the most active proponents being Kavarna Mayor Tzonko Tzonev as well as leading journalists, musicians and singers.

A replica of the monument was displayed during the three-day Kavarna Rock Fest in July and a plaster model of the statue has since been created, marking the final stage of the preparation for its construction.

Dio was reportedly one of the very first heavy rock icons to play Kavarna. In fact, he performed in Bulgaria no less than five times and took an active part in the campaign for liberating the Bulgarian nurses held in prison in Libya for eight years.

According to Standart News, the mayor of Kavarna, Tzonko Tzonev, has managed to turn his life-long hobby — rock music — into a successful and profitable project and thus pours funds into the treasury of Kavarna Municipality. Thanks to Tzonev's efforts, some of the greatest rock musicians of all time have come and performed in the small coastal town of Kavarna.

Ronnie James Dio was one of rock's most respected and talented frontmen, renowned for his instantly recognizable vocals, lyrics and stagecraft. On May 16, 2010, Ronnie succumbed to stomach cancer at the age of 67 and the world of hard rock lost one of its greatest talents.

Image below courtesy of Pro-Rock:

Replica of Ronnie James Dio statue - as displayed during Kavarna Rock Fest in July (photo courtesy of Tangra Mega Rock)

Plaster model of Ronnie James Dio statue (photos courtesy of Tzonko Tzonev's official web site)

(Thanks: Svetoslav Georgiev of D.B.M.R. Agency)

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).