Mummer's Festival - Pernik

Mummer's Festival - Pernik - The International Festival of Masquerade Games "Surva" in Pernik is the most authoritative in Bulgaria and the Balkans manifestation of traditional folk games and customs with masks. He popularizes extant variants of ancient bachelor rituals, part of the Bulgarian folklore tradition. With its competition program, the festival is a meeting and competition of its living bearers, the most popular with the names "survakari" and "kukeri".

The festival has been organized by the Municipality of Pernik since 1966. Since 1985 it has had international status. In 1995 Pernik was accepted as a member of the Federation of European Carnival Cities. On June 26, 2009, during a solemn session of the Municipal Council in Pernik, the President of FEKG Henry van der Kroon declared Pernik the European Capital of Survakar and Mummer Traditions. The decision was made in the town of Kotor. Since 2008, the International Festival of Masquerade Games is held annually on the last Saturday and Sunday of January. Its most attractive accent is the two-day competitive parade of masquerade groups from the country and abroad.

Traditionally, the festival competition is attended by about 6,000 people in about 100 masquerade groups from all ethnographic regions of Bulgaria and guests from Europe, Asia and Africa.

The participants come to Pernik for a competition, for the emotion, for the fun, for the recognition that they have participated.

Spectators from Pernik and the whole country, guests from abroad, come to share the magic of the game, to see and touch the masks, to feel renewed, to wish each other health and luck.