We went to the town of Pernik (a stoneвЂ™s throw away fromВ Sofia). Until lastВ year, when I finally managed to visit one. redВ representing fertility, sun and fire EachВ costume also has a leather belt worn around the waist with huge copper bells (chanove) attachedВ to it.Photo: PetarChe Pictures Where is Kukeri festival held?I had heard a lot about the Kukeri festival but had never actually witnessed it myself. TheyВ come in different colors as well, with every one of them having its own meaning: It is doubtful that anyone in the California wine industry has a more colorful background than the owner of Kukeri Wines, one Petar Kirilov.Winery Notes: Juicy and delicious, our 2016 Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir is silky in texture and complex in flavor, with black cherry, cranberry and rose petal.The costumes consist of big masks made of fur, leather and wood, sometimes takingВ animalistic forms, or otherwise materializing monsters, born of the creatorвЂ™s imagination.

Apart fromВ Bulgarian participants, youвЂ™ll also see representatives from all over Europe, Asia and Africa. You shouldnвЂ™t miss itвЂ¦Happen to be in Bulgaria at the end of January? DonвЂ™t hesitate to catch the train or bus toВ Pernik and see the Surva Festival, an international festival of masquerade games. Onlookers take photos with the kukeri, dance traditional Bulgarian dances with them, eatВ some delicious national dishes and have the time of their lives. The ancient religious idea of scaring away the evil spirits and invoking goodВ luck, fortune and health to the whole town and its residents is also mixed with an air of carpeВ diem.