Hundreds of Mummers Parade in Blagoevgrad during Masquerade Games Festival

Momchil Rusev, BTA correspondent Desislava Velkova

Masquerade Games Festival, Blagoevgrad, January 4, 2026 (BTA Photo/Desislava Velkova)

Blagoevgrad, Southwest Bulgaria,

04.01.2026 16:34

(BTA)

Hundreds of mummers paraded through the streets of Blagoevgrad during this year’s Masquerade Games Festival on Sunday. Groups from almost all settlements in the municipality, along with a visiting group from Petrich, recreated the colourful kukeri traditions of the Pirin region.

Each group presented a custom characteristic of the past. A three-member jury comprising Pavlina Solachka, Chief Assistant in Ethnology and Balkan Studies Faculty at Neofit Rilski South-West University, Kristian Balabanov, Chair of the local branch of the Union of Bulgarian Artists, and Borislav Mutafchiyski, an ethnographer at the Regional History Museum, assessed the colourfulness, the authenticity of the traditions presented, and the innovations introduced by the participants.

The groups showcased a wide variety of characters, while the larger ensembles formed long horo dances that filled almost the entire central square of Blagoevgrad.

“Among the mandatory characters in the survakar games in the Pirin region are the bride and groom, bears and bear-handlers, figures dressed in animal skins – known locally as babugeri – as well as people in traditional costumes performing festive horo dances,” Mutafchiyski told the Bulgarian News Agency. He noted that while it is important for groups to adhere as closely as possible to established traditional practices, the jury also values innovation.

Tradition is something that evolves, folklore changes as well, but it is important that people engage with it from the heart, Mutafchiyski said. According to him, the most essential element of these customs is the people who recreate them. “They are the ones who return to their past and pass the traditions on to the younger generation. Bulgarians respect and cherish their traditions, especially masquerade rituals, but also songs and dances – something that can only make us glad,” the ethnographer added.

The sound of cowbells echoed throughout central Blagoevgrad all day as each group took part in the procession. The pedestrian shopping street was filled not only with survakari, but also with festival spectators. The most striking figures each year are the babugeri, dressed in heavy animal skins and wearing bells weighing dozens of kilograms. This year, as in previous ones, not only men but also many women and children took part in the festivities wearing the traditional skins. Once again, the kukeri of Blagoevgrad demonstrated the continuity of the tradition, with hundreds of children from across the municipality participating in the survakar rituals. Some of them were only a few months old, the organizers noted.

/MR/