Surva Festivali

Balkans

International Enthusiasm at Surva Festival

The 31st Surva International Masked Games Festival was held in the city of Pernik in western Bulgaria.

Pernik Mayor Stanislav Vladimirov told reporters that more than 12 thousand demonstrators and spectators attended the 3-day festival, which has been held in the last week of January since 1966.

Vladimirov explained that the Surva Festival and its associated masked feast traditions gained an international dimension after being included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2015.

In the international program part of the festival, 25 guests from Italy, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro and Spain held a fashion show in the central streets of Pernik.

The first Surva Festival was held in Bulgaria in 1966, as part of the efforts to preserve and promote local traditional customs, with participants wearing masks called “Kukeri” and carrying large bells. Over time, the festival grew into an international event with the participation of groups from different countries and became one of the most important cultural events in the Balkans.

Participants of the festival, whose main idea is to present old traditions about repelling evil forces and ensuring abundance and prosperity in the new year, wear colorful costumes and masks, creating an atmosphere that transports the audience to the world of Bulgarian folk mythology.