Local products and festivals

Local products and festivals The tourism perspective Ilinka Terziyska

SWU “Neofit Rilski” Publishing House, Blagoevgrad, 2015 ISBN:

Reviewed by: Assoc. Prof. Preslav Dimitrov, PhD Prof. Georgi Georgiev, PhD The research was performed within the project “LOcal products Festivals and Tourism development in cross-border cooperation Greece-Bulgaria”, funded under the European Territorial Cooperation Programme Greece – Bulgaria 2007-2013, Subsidy Contract No. B2.12.03/03.06.201

Local products and festivals The tourism perspective Table of Contents Local products and festivals The tourism perspective .............. 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 7 LOCAL PRODUCTS AND TRADITIONS ........................... 10 Significance and classification of local products as cultural assets for festivals ................................................................ 10 Local products in the district of Blagoevgrad ..................... 22 Local products in the Rhodope region (districts of Smolyan, Kardzhali and Haskovo) ...................................................... 35 FESTIVALS AND TOURISM ............................................... 52 Conceptualization of festivals ............................................. 52 Event tourism ...................................................................... 60 Best practices ....................................................................... 65 THE FESTIVAL INDUSTRY IN THE DISTRICTS OF BLAGOEVGRAD, SMOLYAN, HASKOVO AND KARDZHALI ......................................................................... 79 A snapshot from the perspective of organizers ................... 79 Thematic and scope structure of local festivals................... 96 Overview of selected festivals ........................................... 106 CONCLUSION ..................................................................... 114 REFERENCES...................................................................... 117 Appendix 1: Programme of Wild Flowers Festival – Rhodope 2015....................................................................................... 126 Apendix 2: Volunteering programme of the Transfiguration festival ................................................................................... 130

Local products and festivals The tourism perspective List of figures: Figure 1. Assessment of perceived benefits ........................................ 85 Figure 2. Distribution of festivals according to origin of participants . 86 Figure 3. Distribution of events according to type of visitors ............. 87 Figure 4. Distribution of events by presence of regular participants ... 88 Figure 5. Funding sources ................................................................... 89 Figure 6. Preferences for event duration.............................................. 89 Figure 7. Major difficulties in holding the event ................................. 90 Figure 8. Assessment of authentic representation of local products/traditions ............................................................................... 91 Figure 9. Assessment of event characteristics ..................................... 92 Figure 10. Advertising channels .......................................................... 93 Figure 11. Research on visitors’ and participants’ attitudes performed by organizers ....................................................................................... 94 Figure 12. Distribution of festivals on local products by theme .......... 99 Figure 13. Distribution of festivals on local products by duration .... 102 Figure 14. Distribution of festivals on local products by scope ........ 103 Figure 15. Distribution of festivals in the district of Blagoevgrad by topic ................................................................................................... 107 Figure 16. Distribution of festivals in the administrative district of Smolyan by topic ............................................................................... 110 Figure 17. Distribution of festivals in the administrative district of Kardzhali by topic ............................................................................. 111 Figure 18. Distribution of festivals in the administrative district of Haskovo by topic ............................................................................... 112

Local products and festivals The tourism perspective List of tables: Table 1. Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Blagoevgrad ......................................................................................... 25 Table 2. Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Smolyan .. 36 Table 3. Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Kardzhali. 39 Table 4 Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Haskovo ... 40 Table 5. Types of festivals................................................................... 56 Table 6. The international EMBOK model ......................................... 66 Table 7. Reasons for organizing the event .......................................... 84

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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION In ancient times a festival was usually a day or a sequence of days dedicated to the worship of a god or a commemoration of events of the mythical or historical past. It involved “the performance of specific ritual actions, which were connected with its religious, social, and cultural function and gave a festival its distinct profile”1. Nowadays, festivals have changed their nature by shifting the focus to entertainment; yet, the theme around which they are organized largely determines their appearance and impact. This is even truer for festivals whose subject is local products; in addition to the purely economic considerations, they are maybe the closest type to the original form where the event is deeply rooted in the community social and cultural fiber. At the heart of every festival stands a specific topic - the core around which all the elements of its program are built. This book is dedicated to festivals whose central theme is local products and its focus is laid on a region in South Bulgaria, consisting of four administrative districts – the ones of Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Kardzhali, and Haskovo. Festivals are an important part of the community social life and a factor for preserving local traditions. In the last few decades, however, they are almost equally important for the tourism development in destinations. As Greg Richards points out, festivals and events have become “part of the wider capital

1

Chaniotis, A. (2011) Thesaurus Cultus et Rituum Antiquorum VII: Festivals and Contests, Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum

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INTRODUCTION

accumulation system of the modern city”2. The multifaceted effect of special events is well described in Cape Town Major Events Marketing Strategy, which says: “Events play a significant role in the context of destination planning, enhancing and linking tourism and commerce. Some aspects of this role include: events as image makers, economic impact generators, tourist attractions, overcoming seasonality, contributing to the development of local communities and businesses and supporting key industrial sectors.”3 The first chapter is devoted to local products as a resource for the development of festival tourism. It starts with a typology of local products, based on the classification of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, which is supplemented by two categories, in accordance with the specifics of the subject. The text goes on with an inventory of local products in the selected districts. The second chapter discusses theoretical issues related to the conceptualization of the festival tourism and includes review of the scientific literature on the subject. The chapter ends with a description of the factors that define best practices 2

Richards, G. and R. Palmer (2010). Eventful Cities: Cultural Management and Urban Revitalization, Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. 3 City of Cape Town (2001), cited in Richards, G. and R. Palmer (2010). Eventful Cities: Cultural Management and Urban Revitalization, Oxford: Elsevier Ltd., p. 9

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INTRODUCTION

in the festival area, and identifies three best practices from the region. The third chapter is based on studies conducted by the author within the project "LOcal products Festivals and Tourism development in cross-border cooperation GreeceBulgaria" (LOFT), funded by the European Territorial Cooperation Programme Greece - Bulgaria 2007-2013. The methods used are online survey and desk analysis. The results shed light on the state of the festival industry in the region and identify the key problems that organizers are facing.

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LOCAL PRODUCTS AND TRADITIONS

LOCAL PRODUCTS AND TRADITIONS Significance and classification of local products as cultural assets for festivals Since it first appeared as a distinct product category in the 80s of last century, cultural tourism has gone through several stages in both supply and demand perspective. The initial interest in the symbolic cultural attractions and world capitals resulted in a phenomenon which Richards called “serial reproduction of culture” or in other words, a practice associated with direct recreation (mimicking) of successful models, often associated with a large amount of expenses. The changing nature of tourism demand, however, and particularly in cultural tourism is at variance with this trend. Increasingly, attention focuses on personalized tourist experience, authentic atmosphere, specific character of the place visited, with predominance of intangible elements of cultural offerings (traditions, way of life) over the tangible ones. Over the past decade tourism businesses have attempted to meet this new demand by focusing on local products that have the potential to become a unique selling proposition (USP). A typical example is Italy, which has been well established as a gourmet destination, relying mainly on the local specifics of traditional cuisine and lifestyle; many developing countries also focus their tourism policy on local culture, thus giving rise to the so called ethno tourism. One of the first steps in the planning process in tourism – be it destination development, a new product development or

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launching an event is inventorying of resources. One of the ways to do it is cultural mapping - "a systematic approach to the identification, documentation, classification and analysis of the cultural resources of a community" that can be used for planning purposes and for economic and cultural development. It can also be used for the purposes of mining resources and themes for setting a new festival. Cultural resources of the community, which are usually subject to study, fall into two broad groups - tangible and intangible; according to the purposes of this study, our focus will be on intangible as they are an asset which is most often used for organizing festivals. At the same time, we should not ignore the fact that tangible and intangible heritage are interrelated and it is often more appropriate to consider them in their unity. Besides the tourism business, a number of international organizations recognize the importance of intangible heritage and undertake steps towards its preservation. The most important document in this respect is the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO adopted in 2003, which is currently ratified by 157 member countries and includes 314 elements of intangible cultural heritage in the Representative List4. According to this convention, “The “intangible cultural heritage” means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated 4

As of 08 June 2015

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therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.” 5 One of the important important clarifications in the Convention is that heritage is seen as "living culture", i.e. its scope covers only practices and phenomena that are still vital today; those who have vanished are regarded as "cultural history". Furthermore, the criteria for inscription (as opposed to tangible heritage) do not include requirements for outstanding universal value and unique character. The five categories of intangible cultural heritage are:  oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;  performing arts;  social practices, rituals and festive events;  knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;  traditional craftsmanship. 5

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) retrieved on 23.12.2013 http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/convention

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Traditional cuisine is not present as a separate category. This does not however mean that it is not recognized as cultural heritage – there are many instances of food and culinary practices and traditions which were inscribed in the list: Viennese Coffee House Culture; Gingerbread from northern Croatia (Licitar), Georgian winemaking in Kvevri; The Mediterranean diet; Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year; Traditional Mexican cuisine - ancestral, ongoing community culture, the Michoacán paradigm; Turkish coffee culture and tradition. UNESCO does not specify the category (see above mentioned list) into which traditional cuisine falls; in the Bulgarian national nomenclature of living human treasures, on the other hand, it is included in the category of traditional crafts and home-made products. Another initiative of UNESCO, directly related to the protection of intangible heritage is the "Living Human Treasures". It seeks to protect specific knowledge and skills by encouraging holders of intangible cultural heritage not only to continue to practice their activities, but also to transmit their skills and knowledge to the next generations. The program is implemented at three levels - global, national and regional, by identifying, registration and support of the activities of the bearers of intangible heritage – the living human treasures. Bulgaria is listed by UNESCO as a good practice in the inventory of ICH, primarily due to the National Representative list and the Regional Nomenclature which were introduced in

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2008. According to the national nomenclature of Bulgaria, living human treasures may fall into the following groups6:      

Traditional rites and feasts Traditional singing and music playing Traditional dances and children`s games Traditional narration Traditional crafts and traditional production of homemade objects or products Traditional medicine

Traditional cuisine is not in a separate category and belongs to domestic activities. The elements of intangible cultural heritage can serve as a good basis for defining and particularly for the classification of local products seen as a resource for sustainable development of the tourist destination. By itself, the term "local product" does not appear in the scientific literature; in everyday speech local products usually mean local cuisine or local food products. As far as tourism is concerned, local cuisine is indeed one of the most widely-used tools for tourism development. Other popular elements of ICH enhancing the attractiveness of the destination and diversifying the tourism supply are traditional crafts, social practices, rituals and festive events, and performing arts. Oral history and knowledge, and skills concerning nature and the universe remain underrated. The 6

Живи човешки съкровища - България (кол.). С., АИ "Марин Дринов", 2004 / Living Human Treasures – Bulgaria. S., Academic Publishing House "Marin Drinov", 2004

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question that needs to be clarified, however, is whether we have reason to treat the elements of ICH as local products. The Oxford dictionary defines "local" as "relating or restricted to a particular area or one’s neighbourhood”7. In this sense, the category of "local" covers the elements of intangible heritage as they perform at least one of two conditions - relate to a given location and very often their manifestation is limited to its scope. According to definition of product adopted in the marketing theory, namely: "everything that can be offered to a market for attention, utilization, use or consumption and can satisfy a need or necessity" 8, each of the elements of the intangible heritage could become a product. Speaking of local products as part of the intangible heritage of a community, the most common term that is used to describe the different categories which constitute it is traditional – traditional crafts, traditional food, etc. “…things which have been for a long time related to aspects of the broader social and cultural life of the people concerned. They have meaning to the life and thought of the people themselves, and are not merely 'turned out' as a commodity for the consumption of others. The functions of these objects, the way in which people use them and relate to them, as well as the tools, materials and methods used, are the

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“local” (2013) Oxforddictionaries.com, retrieved 21.12.2013 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/local 8 Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2005). Marketing: An introduction (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice-Hall, стр. 223

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things which bind them to the people and place of origin, give them their distinctiveness, make them traditional.”9 Although it is a stable basis for the classification of local products in relation to their use for tourism purposes, the classification of intangible heritage still has its drawbacks. One of them is the broad scope of the category of traditional crafts, to which Bulgarian nomenclature has added domestic activities and livelihoods. A reference in the website Living Human Treasures of Bulgaria, for example, shows that it includes 17 subcategories, ranging from "Processing of clay" through "Using the old technology of extraction and processing of agricultural products" to "Making traditional dishes". Moreover, the language of ethnography is not always appropriate for marketing purposes. In an attempt to find a balance between scientific classifications and the logic of the market, we can offer the following classification of local products as a resource for tourism development and organizing events: Traditional crafts have long been part of the tourist offer - they are also the element of intangible heritage, which initially formed the basis of the so called creative tourism. According to the Oxford dictionary, craft is “An activity involving skill in making things by hand”10.

9

Ewins, R. (1980) Traditional craft in developing countries: living fossil or living art?, Retrieved from http://www.justpacific.com/pacific/papers/fossil~art.pdf on 12.06.2015 10 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/craft

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According to the Law for Crafts in Bulgaria “craft is an activity the manufacture of products and / or services by handicraft methods”11. An enterprise for the production of products or provision of services is considered to be organized in a handicraft manner when it meets the following requirements: 1. Its activities are included in the official list of crafts (provided in Appendix 1 of the Law for Crafts); 2. The work was done by hand or using manual tools or other instruments specific to the craft; the final product or service are similar to others of the same kind or unique 3. To perform the company activities relevant knowledge, technical and practical skills acquired in craft education and training, vocational training in secondary and higher education, or qualification courses are needed; 4. The activity is carried out by craftsmen - selfemployed or united in companies under the Obligations and Contracts Act.12 Because the economic characteristics of crafts have changed through time it is difficult to give a precise definition of the concept. Many of the household activities that were once performed by women at home (to satisfy household needs) are 11

Закон за занаятите, Обн. ДВ. бр.42 от 27 Април 2001г., изм. ДВ. бр.112 от 29 Декември 2001г., изм. ДВ. бр.56 от 7 Юни 2002г., изм. ДВ. бр.99 от 9 Декември 2005г., изм. ДВ. бр.105 от 29 Декември 2005г., изм. ДВ. бр.10от 31 Януари 2006г., изм. ДВ. бр.30 от 11 Април 2006г., изм. ДВ. бр.34 от 25 Април 2006г., изм. ДВ. бр.81 от 6 Октомври 2006г., изм. ДВ. бр.19 от 13 Март 2009г., изм. ДВ. бр.82 от 16 Октомври 2009г., изм. ДВ. бр.15 от 23 Февруари 2010г., изм. ДВ. бр.28 от 5 Април 2011г., изм. ДВ. бр.68 от 2 Август 2013г. 12 Ibid.

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now practiced as a commercial activity and defined as crafts. In addition, the word has acquired a broader meaning of something skillfully done by hand and not necessarily connected with tradition. In the strict sense of the word (taking into account the historical background of the phenomenon), a craft is an activity where:   

The work is mainly manual; Requires knowledge of the traditional technological process, which is transmitted through training; The final product is marketed.

Crafts which are traditional for Bulgaria include: pottery, blacksmithing, coppery, tinkering, sheep and cattle smithering, bell making, goldsmithery, stonework, spoon-making, weaving, cooperage, shepherd and high carving, leather processing, shoemaking, saddlery, fishing nets, dyeing yarns and fabrics with natural dyes, stamping by old technologies, making felt; braiding; homespinning; carpet making (Chiprovski, Kotel carpets, etc.) making traditional clothing, traditional embroidery and lace ornaments, cutlery, production and maintenance of antique clocks; processing of horns; making jewels and ornaments with beads, making toys, showy dolls, folk musical instruments, painting with ancient techniques and natural dyes, etc.13 The category also includes a number of household activities that do not meet the definition of traditional craft but have commercial potential (these are for 13

http://www.treasuresbulgaria.com/main.php?act=features_nac&rec=5

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example embroidery and felt making which are typically female household activities). Traditional cuisine. Attempts to define the concept of traditional food in scientific literature are limited. One of the definitions describes it as “a coherent tradition of food preparation that rises from the daily lives and kitchens of a people over an extended period in a specific region of a country, or a specific country, and which, when localized, has notable distinctions from the cuisine of the country as a whole.”14. Drawing from this definition, the concept seems to be based on three main pillars: sustainable continuity in time, rootedness in the everyday life of a community, and distinctiveness. The term is often used interchangeably with local food, though the latter rather focuses on origin of produce, usually limited in terms of geographical distance (e.g. grown or raised within 50 km) or administratively (produced within the boundaries of the same administrative unit, usually a district).15 Traditional cuisine is usually in direct relation with the geographic and climatic characteristics of the region, which, together with the historical development, determine the crops and livelihoods of local people. This category combines cuisine and livelihoods due to the apparent causal relationship between them. Within the range of traditional livelihood also 14

The American Food Revolutions: Cuisines in America (n.d.). Retrieved on 24.12.2013 http://www.eldrbarry.net/hatr/eldrcuis.htm 15

Ivanova, L., Terziyska, I. & Trifonova, J. (2014). Characteristics of traditional food – the viewpoint of the tourism business. University of Szczecin Scientific Journal, No. 820. Service Management, 14 (3): 1–8.

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fall practices which are interesting not only because of their final product, but also because of the specificity of traditional technology (e.g. traditional winemaking). This group includes dishes prepared by a traditional recipe with local products, ancient technology in breeding of domestic animals and production of animal products, as well as the harvesting and processing of agricultural products (viticulture, rose growing, making rakia and other alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, etc.). Performing arts. This category includes folk vocal and instrumental music, folk dances, various traditional forms of theater and narrative singing (the last ones are not typical for Bulgaria). Traditional rites and feasts. This includes family, calendar and work-related rites, as well as village and city feasts and fairs. Calendar rituals and celebrations - Christmas, Easter, St. Trifon's Day, St. George’s Day, Lazaritsa, Midsummer (Enyovden), horse races of St. Todor’s Day, etc. are among the events that hold the greatest potential especially in tourism. Some domestic and work-related rituals such as birth, wedding, bee etc. can also be used in the tourism offering. Traditional medicine. Defined as "a combination of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures that regardless of whether explicable or not, used for maintaining health and in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of

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physical and mental illness“16. In general, traditional medicine in Bulgaria includes healing rituals, healing practices and healing potions. Until recently neglected traditional medicine in Bulgaria also began to find its place in the tourist supply June 22 on the eve of Midsummer the first festival of the herbs took place in the village of Mladen, Sevlievo. There are many cases in which it is difficult to discern in which category a product falls as it may share characteristics of more than one category. An example is martenitsi and the dying of Easter eggs by old technology (crafts/household activities or traditional rites?), ritual breads and ritual cuisine in general, etc. In this sense, the above proposed classification should be regarded rather as a guide and each case must be approached individually in accordance with its specifics.

16

World Health Organization (2000) General Guidelines for Methodologies on Research and Evaluation of Traditional Medicine, retrieved from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2000/WHO_EDM_TRM_2000.1.pdf

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Local products in the district of Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad falls within the ethnographic region of Pirin Macedonia, which largely determines the characteristics of the local traditions and folklore. The terrain is mainly mountainous and semi- mountainous with some valleys, in which the big cities are concentrated, and two major rivers (Struma and Mesta). Given the small area, the climatic diversity is great: in the north - an area with a continental climate, transitional Mediterranean climate in the south, and mountainous climate in the high mountain parts. Despite the prevalence of traditions and products which are common to the whole area, in each of the municipalities, and sometimes in certain towns, one can find specific cultural and natural assets suitable for tourism development and the organization of local festivals. Folk music and dances Nowadays folk songs and dances are maintained largely thanks to cultural community centers and folk groups and ensembles. It is the most popular and widespread element of intangible heritage - only in the municipality of Blagoevgrad, for example, there are over 22 folk groups (dance, vocal, instrumental and mixed). Undoubtedly the most important of them is the Pirin ensemble, established in 1954 with the aim of tracing and creative evocation of Bulgarian folklore. The Nevrokop ensemble for folk songs and dances is also one of the most renowned institutions in Bulgaria, being the first amateur group of its kind in the country. Since its

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establishment in 1946 the ensemble has given a total of 3500 concerts, including tours in Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, Greece, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Egypt and Germany.17 Two institutions from the district have received recognition by being included in the National Living Human Treasures list for Bulgaria: the Female group "High voice singing" and the Children group for "High voice singing" from Satovcha, and the Dobarsko babi (the Grandmothers of Dobarsko) from the Community Cultural Center "Prosveta – 1927” in the village of Dobarsko, Municipality of Razlog. The most popular folk dance in the region is horo (from Greek – to dance). Some popular dances from the district include Shirto, Maleshevsko horo, Ispayche, Arap, Ginka, Aidarovo horo, Dzhanguritsa, Satovchansko horo. The most popular musical instruments in the region are the drum, the tambura and the zurna (Oriental wind instrument). Folk music and dances are not only the most frequent cultural assets around which festivals are organized, but it is also an element of almost all local events. It can make the visitor experience more active and inclusive by offering the chance for a crash course on folk dances or singing, or organizing amateur contests. Traditional crafts 17

Самодейни състави. Портален сайт на читалищата (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.chitalishte.bg/pageview.php?pageid=2292&gopopup=0&name

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Once one of the pillars of economic and social life of communities, nowadays traditional crafts have almost vanished. In the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century they were gradually pushed away by industrialization and unfortunately no proper mechanisms were employed to preserve them. In addition to legislative, financial and administrative policies at national and municipal levels aimed at encourage artisanal activities (tax reduction or exemption, low rents of premises etc.), tourism, including events, is one of the main tools for economic and cultural revival in this sphere. While heritage in the form of artifacts and practices, even if extinct, can find its manifestation in ethnographic collections and museums, only active craftsmen can be used as a cultural asset for organizing or taking part in festivals and fairs. In the last few decades, some efforts have been put to revive traditional crafts in Bulgaria. There are several schools which provide training – mainly in woodcarving and pottery (in the district of Blagoevgrad the only school of this type is the Professional High School of Forestry "N.Vaptsarov" – Bansko). Attempts have also been made to preserve the institution which was of greatest importance for the operation of craftsmanship – the guild. In 1967, the National Association "Fellowship of Masters of Folk & Art Crafts" (called zadruga in Bulgarian) was established. Currently, it is the oldest acting crafts union in Republic of Bulgaria. The other similar association at a national level is the National Chamber of Skilled Crafts (NCSC), established in 2002 under the Crafts Act. It is authorized to issue master's certificates (through the

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Regional Chambers of Skilled Crafts), which are legitimate documents acknowledged with no exception by all EU countries and worldwide. At present, there are 26 regional Chambers of Crafts and 9 National Trade Associations of Crafts18. Despite this network of institutions dedicated to preserving crafts, the number of active registered craftsmen constantly is decreasing and information on registered artisans is publicly inaccessible. Table 1presents a list of craftsmen in the district of Blagoevgrad, which was composed using data from the website of the Fellowship of Masters of Folk & Art Crafts and author’s own online research. Table 1. Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Blagoevgrad No Name 1 2 3 4

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Vasil Georgiev Mitov Georgi Stoyanov Georgiev Mehmed Mustafa Porey Adile Mehmed Kadi

Place

Craft

Gotse Delchev

pottery/ceramics

Sandanski

jewelry

Village of Breznitsa Village of Breznitsa

woodcarving weaving

Crafts in Bulgaria, retrieved from http://www.regiocrafts.eu/index.php/crafts-industry/craft-in-bulgaria on 17.09.2013

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5 6 7


Zaineb Mehmed Bektash Nafie Yusein Kosin Yulian Kalaydzhiev

Village of Breznitsa Village of Breznitsa Blagoevgrad

weaving weaving woodcarving

Village of woodcarving Banya Village of artistic processing 9 Todor Dapev Dabnitsa of leather Source: Fellowship of Masters of Folk & Art Crafts and author’s own research 8

Emil Stiptsov

There are also a lot of traditional house activities typically performed by women, which hold potential as resources for festivals on local traditions – be it as a main theme or simply as a product to be presented as part of the display or demonstrations. One of these is weaving – some people in the villages Breznitsa, Lujnitsa, Ablanitsa, Ribnovo, Skrebatno, Dolno Drianovo, Satovcha, Dolen, Kochan and many others still have looms and use them to make their daughter's dowry - woven rugs, carpets, aprons and towels, etc. Other woven products typical for the region include rugs, carpets, tufted rugs (resnachi and kozyatsi).19 Another popular house activity is knitting – mainly socks, but also sweaters and cardigans. Some of the community centres are also trying to preserve the traditions by organizing workshops in which traditional techniques are preserved and passed from one 19

http://gotsedelchevmuseum.bg/bg/etnografska.html

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generation to another (a good practice in this respect is the community centre in the village of Banichan). Traditional embroidery is also a skill that a lot of old women in the villages still keep. One of the most impressive local cultural assets is folk costumes. Within the Pirin ethnographical region several subtypes can be distinguished – Nevrokop folk costume, Razlog folk costume, Melnik folk costume etc. Unfortunately no contemporary makers of folk costumes were identified. Other traditional household activities which might be of interest are traditional soap making techniques and dying with natural materials, as they are in line with the emerging trend for a healthier living close to nature. Traditional celebrations, rites and rituals The region offers panoply of traditional celebrations, rites and rituals, connected with personal or family events, work, or the year cycle. The ones that are most suitable for organizing public events/festivals are Kukeri (Babugeri), Trifon Zarezan, Sirnitsa (the Sunday before Lent), Enyovden (the Feast Day of St John the Baptist), and Predoy. Kukeri (or babugeri, as they are more popular in Southwest Bulgaria) is an ancient pagan mummers play, connected with the New Year coming. Once it was practiced in the “dirty days” between Christmas and 6th January (Epiphany); now the kukeri put on their masks and go out on the 1st January (Surva). The group traditionally consists only of men (though in recent years some women are involved too)

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who walk the streets, dressed in fur costumes made of goat’s skin, with scary masks on their heads and large bells on their belts. They would enter each house on their way scaring the evil away and would then go to the town square to perform ritual actions for fertility. In the region of Petrich there are also groups of stanchinari, who are dressed in white clothes instead of the common fur costumes. The ritual is very suitable for organizing festivals and a lot of towns have taken advantage of this (e.g. Razlog, Petrich, Simitli, Blagoevgrad). Trifon Zarezan is a feast connected with viticulture and the approaching spring, and is celebrated on the 1st February and sometimes on 14th February (old calendar style). The celebration begins with a ritual cutting of vines and continues with common feast where the tsar (king) of wine is elected20. The holiday is celebrated in its complete form mainly in the viticulture regions of the country but is also widely known throughout Bulgaria as the Day of Wine. In recent years an increasing number of municipalities include the celebration in their cultural calendar. The Sunday before Lent (Sirni Zagovezni, Forgiveness Sunday) is another celebration in which the whole community takes part. It is an Orthodox Christian holiday, which however still preserves a lot of pagan elements – in Slavic mythology it is associated with the end of winter. The day is connected with visits to relatives to ask for forgiveness. The feast table includes cheese pastry (banitsa), cheese, eggs, and walnuts and 20

Шарланова, В. (2010). Традиционни празници и обичаи, Sofia. Enthusiast, p. 32

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is actually the last day when dairy products can be consumed before the Great lent has started. A popular custom is the so called “hamkane” – a boiled egg or a piece of white halva is tied to a red thread and tied to a beam on the ceiling. All the family members, especially the children, would then try to catch the egg with their mouths and whoever succeeds in doing so will be healthy throughout the year. Another custom with potential for attracting tourists is burning of stakes (sirnitsi) and jumping over them. This is an event in which the whole community takes part believing that this will bring health and fertility. Enyovden (the Feast Day of St John the Baptist) is celebrated on 24th June and is connected with the Summer Solstice. As legend has it, on this day the Sun “bathes” in the water before setting off to the winter; hence the belief that water has magical properties at sunrise (in many parts of Bulgaria people would bathe in rivers and lakes before sunrise in order to be healthy). Herbs are also believed to have stronger qualities if picked before dawn and the day is celebrated as a holiday of herbs, which gives the opportunity for organizing events dedicated to herbs and traditional medicine. A celebration which is still not very popular but has the potential for organizing tourist events is Predoy (Praydoy). It celebrated by shepherds at the end of May and is connected with separating the lambs from the sheep and the first milking. Though it in some ways resembles St. George’s Day, the thing that sets it apart is the measuring of the milk that each of the sheep gives. In the district of Blagoevgrad, it is still practiced

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in some villages near Satovcha (Valkosel, Zhizhevo, Slashten, Godeshevo). All traditional celebrations which include the participation of the whole community are potentially suitable for staging a festival and attracting tourists. Special attention should however be paid to preserving their authenticity. Traditional cuisine and agricultural products This section is dedicated to food and agricultural products which are traditional for the region with a focus on those characterized by local specificity and uniqueness. Generally, local products in this group may be distributed into 5 main subgroups: meat products (sausages and dried meat), dishes, rite food, drinks and agricultural products. Some of the most typical agricultural products for the district of Blagoevgrad are peanuts, sesame (in the region of Melnik, Sandanski and Petrich), grapes (Shiroka Melnishka Loza in the region of Melnik and Keratsuda in the region of Kresna and Strumyani), figs (in the southern parts of the district), honey, meat and milk, a local variety of onion (the Banichan onion), and a local variety of beans (Byal Lencho, in the region of Gotse Delchev). The latter two are included in the Slow Food Ark of Taste. These raw products form the basis of the dishes and processed products which may be used in festivals. In the region of Melnik, where viticulture is most developed, we can see some local products based on grapes. By far, the most

31


famous of them is Melnik wine, which is produced only here. There are also two desserts made of grape must (called shira in Bulgarian), one of them is a kind of pudding made of grape must and the other one is the so called balsudguk - a string of nuts, which are immersed in grape must cream, and then dried. Grape is also used to make pickles in the villages near Melnik (e.g. the village of Katuntsi), by putting a layer of grapes in a pot, followed by a layer of mustard seeds, then again grapes, and when the last layer of mustard seeds is put, the pot is filled with grape must, salt, vinegar and sugar are added, and the lid is tightly closed. Sesame seeds are used for making tahini – a paste also seen in Greece, Turkey, North Africa and the Middle East. Another product made from sesame seeds is sesame oil. Peanuts also are ground to produce peanut butter – locally known as traun. Sometimes sesame seeds and peanuts are combined, or a paste is made by walnuts. Unfortunately, both peanuts and especially sesame growing is gradually decreasing and there’s only one machine for grinding left in the region, which has led to this practice become almost extinct. The most popular local preserves are made of figs, strawberries, grapes, hips (marmalade), and treacle (thickened grape must with pieces of pumpkin or apples). Yufka is a type of phyllo dough, which is left to dry up and then broken into pieces. It is a popular base product for many dishes in the Balkan countries. Other pasta product that is traditional for the region is trahana. The dough for trahana is made from vegetables and flour which are blended together

32


and after rising, the flour is left to dry and ground. The final product can be used all year round. Another traditional product is still made in the village of Breznitsa- maize couscous, which is included in the Ark of Taste of the Slow Food movement. In the more mountainous areas, stock breeding has provided the necessary material to meat and dairy products. A region, especially rich in meat products is Bansko, Razlog and the neighbouring villages. One of the most famous is the raw dried sausage meurche, or nafpavok. It is a Slow Food Presidium registered at the village of Gorno Draglishte. The nafpavok is made by encasing pork and veal meat in a pig’s bladder and hanging it to dry, the harsh winter weather making it possible do this without smoking. In the warmer spring and summer months it is preserved in ashes. Due to the laborious process of the traditional technology it is almost extinct and is presently made only at home in a decreasingly small number of households. The product is also known as Banski Starets and is offered at almost all restaurants and taverns in Bansko, but this version is usually industrially produced. Another popular sausage in the region is black pudding (karvavitsa in Bulgarian), which in Bulgaria is usually is made from pig's blood, meat, offal (lung, throat, heart, liver), onion, salt, pepper, and various spices, which are crammed into pig or bovine intestine. Some interesting local recipes are: kapama (pork, black pudding, sausages, spices and sauerkraut cooket in a pot), pig ears with peas (sui chushchi s uo), beans with beetroot (bob s chekanye), rice with freshwater crayfish (the region around the

33


village of Kolarovo), beans in trousers (beans cooked without the pods removed), chomlek (veal with carrots, potatoes, spices and wine cooked in a pot), tseluvarchi (a dish made from beetroot and garlic), and many others. The Karakachan sheep is an indigenous breed, the most typical and most primitive representative of the “tzakel” coarse wool sheep in Bulgaria. By the end of the 1950s it had been bred by Karakachans and Aromanians (ancient Bulgarian ethnic groups) who practiced nomadic sheep breeding. Due to the thoughtless policy of the Bulgarian government in the years that followed the number of Karakachan sheep fell dramatically – from 500 000 in the beginning of the twentieth century to no more than 9000 in 2013, most of them with questionable purity.21 The breed is appreciated because of the high quality of the dairy products made from the milk and the attractive long fleece. The best preserved flock of Karakachan sheep is kept near the village of Vlahi, in the Centre for Rare Breeds, along with the Karakachan dog, the Karakachan horse and the Kalofer goat. In the centre, various organic dairy products can be bought. A popular drink, made from goat’s, sheep’s or cow’s milk is buttermilk, called matenitsa in Bulgarian. It is a side product from churning butter from fresh milk.

21 Karakachan sheep. Slowfoodfoundation.com (n.d.) Retrieved on

29.12.2013 http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/presidia/details/1336/kar akachan-sheep

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Rite food is best presented by different breads and pitas, usually ornamented with symbolic figures and patterns. In the Pomak villages near Gotse Delchev, there is a special dessert, called ashure (or Noah’s pudding), made from grains, fruits and nuts. It is served on the day of Ashure, the tenth day of the first month of the Islamic calendar. Natural resources Natural resources can be divided into two main groups biotic (obtained from the biosphere) and abiotic (non-living material). Examples of biotic resources are animals, plants, birds, while abiotic ones include water, ores, minerals etc. While both the flora and the fauna in the region are rich, there are certain plants that are particularly suitable for organizing festivals. The largest wild-growing chestnut woods on the Balkan Peninsula are in the Belasitsa Mountain. Chestnuts are used as an ingredient for some dishes; chestnut honey is also produced. The region is also rich in wild mushrooms: Wood blewit (обикновена виолетка), Penny bun, Field mushroom, Agrocybe cylindracea, Sheep polypore, Pine spikecap, Common funnel cap, etc. The mountains in the district are rich in herbs: mountian tea, thyme, oregano, St. John's wort, coltsfoot, marjoram, plantain and many others. In recent years, mountain tea (Sideritis Scardica) has gained increasing popularity. It is a

35


Balkan endemic species and can be found in middle and southern Pirin, the Mursalski part of the Rhodopes, the Rjana Mountain and the Slavianka (Alibotush) Mountain at an altitude of 1400 to 2200 meters. The southwest region is rich in deposits of industrial minerals (barite, feldspar, fluorite, limestone, marble, granite, montsoniti, aggregates in river sediments, etc.). Among these, the extraction of marble is of primary economic importance. Several deposits in Pirin are run, the main ones being in Ilindentsi (Strumiani municipality) in the municipality of Gotse Delchev22. In the region of Gotse Delchev gneiss is traditionally used for hewing special stone plates (tikli) that are subsequently used for roofing and cladding of buildings. The region is also rich in mineral waters with the main centers being Sandanski and the village of Ognyanovo. Local products in the Rhodope region (districts of Smolyan, Kardzhali and Haskovo)

The districts of Smolyan, Kardzhali and Haskovo fall into the Rhodope ethnographic area. This, along with their common geographical location and features (with the exception of Haskovo district, part of which is situated on the Thracian Valley) has preconditioned the similarities between their traditions, natural resources and the typical local products. 22

Добив и орбаботка на скално облицоваъчни материали (n.d.). Retrieved from http://jump-cb.eu/bg/

36


Traditional crafts Some of the crafts that are traditional for the three districts include: woodcarving, masonry, coppersmith, saddlery, stone hewing, tinkering, cooperage, weaving, and knitting. The Rhodopean woven slippers – terlitsi are maybe the most emblematic local product. They are made of homespun woolen fabric called aba and are richly ornamented with braids and fine embroidery. Other traditional woven products are bags, tablecloths, blankets, rugs, etc. Knitting woolen socks are also part of the traditional skills of Rhodopean women. In each of the three districts there is a regional chamber of skilled crafts. Compared to the district of Blagoevgrad, more active craftsmen were identified (see Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4). Table 2. Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Smolyan No

Name

Place

Craft

1

Sevdalina Pavlova

Devin

weaving

2

Stefan Getov

Smolyan

weaving

3

Hristo Topchiev

Smolyan

musical instruments

4

Todor Kokudev

Smolyan

coppersmith

5

Gergana Boteva

Zlatograd

pottery

37


6

Velin Hashamov

Zlatograd

pottery

7

Ivan Mitushev

Zlatograd

cutlery

8

Stefan Arshinev

Zlatograd

braiding

9

Petar Lazarov

Zlatograd

10

Nina Cholakova

Zlatograd

woodcarving, musical instruments weaving

11

Mincho Minchev

cooperage

12

Ilko Velinov

13 14

Krasimira Belcheva Chavdar Dostov

Village of Mogilitsa Village of Smilyan Village of Oryahovec Smolyan

15

Lilia Delibasheva

Weaving (terlitsi)

16

Atanas Dichev

Village of Barutin Smolyan

17

Smolyan

weaving

18

Angelina Dalgacheva Albena Hadzhieva

Smilyan

20

Sevda Velinova

Smilyan

21

Rozka Korkuteva

Mogilitsa

22

Bilyana Kolaksazova Asya Todorova

Mogilitsa

woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi)

23

Mogilitsa

woodcarving weaving (rugs) engraving

cast iron

38


24

Asya Bashova

Mogilitsa

25

Rusa Rachkova

Arda

26

Emine Uzunska

Arda

27

Asinya Koseva

Gorna Arda

28

Stoykite

29

Vasilka Malkocheva Rayna Haradinova

30

Velichka Raycheva

Shiroka Laka

31

Zlatka Belakova

Shiroka Laka

32

Sirma Razeva

Smolyan

33

Minka Iskrenova

Rudozem

34

Rumen Merichev

Zlatograd

woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) woven slippers (terlitsi) Saddler

35

Rositsa Kehayova

Ostritsa

Crochet

36

Savina Karova

Ostritsa

37

Savka Karova

Ostritsa

woven slippers (terlitsi) weaving

38

Slavi Kadiev

Smolyan

feltmaking

Sokolovtsi

Source: Fellowship of Masters of Folk & Art Crafts and author’s own research

39


The above list includes masters who are registered at the Fellowship of Masters of Folk & Art Crafts or at the Regional Chamber of Skilled Crafts – Smolyan, or have in some way publicly declared they are actively involved with crafts (internet sites, regional and national media, online crafts/souvenir shops, etc.). We should however bear in mind that there are hundreds more who would practice knitting or weaving as a household activity without considering it a craft. When organizing a festival all this potential could be used to involve a larger part of the local community. The list of active craftsmen in the administrative district of Kardzhali is quite shorter – this is to a great extent explained by the fact that the Regional Chamber of Skilled Crafts did not provide the requested information (Table 3). Table 3. Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Kardzhali. No

Name

Place

Craft

1

Rusi Zapryanov

Kardzhali

jewelry

2

Ivan Hristozov

Kardzhali

jewelry

3

Petya katsarova

Kardzhali

jewelry

4

Ridvan Yusuf

Kardzhali

woodcarving

5

Ekaterina Sadula

Momchilgrad feltmaking

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Source: Fellowship of Masters of Folk & Art Crafts and author’s own research It is evident that the more traditional crafts such as coppersmith, masonry, or tinkering have been replaced by the more commercial hand-made jewelry, weaving and woodcarving, perhaps due to the fact that the latter provide more opportunities for sales, both on the wider consumer market and to tourist (as souvenirs). As far as jewelry is concerned, the most typical type for the Rhodope Mountains is beaded jewelry, which in the past was an integral part of the traditional clothing of Rhodope Bulgarians. Beads were used to decorate belts, to make bracelets, necklaces and ornaments for hats worn by young girls and brides. Men’s watchbands were also ornamented with beads and were called " kyustetsi"23. Felt (plasti in Bulgarian) is a non-woven textile which is made by matting, condensing and pressing wool together. Feltmaking is one of the oldest means of creating fabrics with outstanding thermal insulation and moisture-resistant qualities. In the district of Haskovo 19 active craftsmen were identified, practicing a variety of crafts (knitting, stone cutting, jewelry, musical instruments, etc.). Table 4 Active craftsmen in the administrative district of Haskovo

23

Йорданова, В. (n.d.) Мънистата в миналото и днес, Оренда. Retrieved from http://www.orendabg.com/zanayati/274-manistata-v-minaloto-idnes.html

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No

Name

Place

Craft

1

Anka Kazakova

Haskovo

knitting

2

Gospodinka Pavlova

Haskovo

knitting

3

Tatyana Ganeva

Haskovo

knitting

4

Georgi Kabaivanov

Haskovo

5

Magda Milcheva

Haskovo

Musical instruments knitting

6 7

Slav Angelov Beysim Mestan

8

Grozdan Grozev

Topolovgrad Stone-cutting Village of Stone-cutting Kozlets Dimitrovgrad jewelry

9

Хасkово

10

Valentin Hadzhidobrev Zdravko Georgiev

11

Mihail Vlashev

Dimitrovgrad jewelry

12

Hristo Minkov

Haskovo

basketry

13

Ruska Ilcheva

Topolovgrad

Glass craft

14

Stoycho Krastev

Topolovgrad

woodcarving

15

Nikolay Bobotilov

Harmanli

woodcarving

16

Yanko Rusev

Topolovgrad

Woodcarving

17

Georgi Georgiev Dimitrovgrad

Dimitrovgrad woodcarving

Dimitrovgrad jewelry

42


18

Jaklin Tonguryan

Haskovo

knitting

19

Vasil Bachev

Madzharovo

jewelry

Source: Fellowship of Masters of Folk & Art Crafts and author’s own research In addition to these traditional crafts, some typical household activities such as churning butter, dying textiles with natural materials, making soap and candles could also be used in tourism. Traditional food and agricultural products The Rhodopean cuisine is perhaps the most popular regional cuisine in Bulgaria. Among of the most typical dishes are patatnik (dish with grated potatoes), klin (pie with rice and cheese or spinach), katmi (dough product similar to pancakes). Besides these, however, we can list a number of other products that are typical for the region and have rich potential to enrich the tourist product. The main means of livelihood of the predominantly mountainous districts of Smolyan, Kardzhali and Haskovo is livestock breeding. In addition to the common breeds of cattle and sheep seen throughout the country, the region still preserves some rare autochthonic breeds. Rhodopean Shorthorn cattle is a primitive form of Bos Taurus Brachyceros, left unchanged since the Neolithic age until today. Widespread in the past, today it is preserved only in the Eastern Rhodopes, with the most numerous herds

43


being bred in the region of Madzharovo, Haskovo municipality24. Another local breed is the Bulgarian grey cattle, which is still bred in the region of Madzharovo, the village of Gorno Pole, Malko Popovo, Malki Voden. The Karakachan sheep is one of the endangered autochthonic breeds on the Balkans. In the Rhodopes, representatives can be seen in the in the village of Topolovo, the village of Razhenovo in the Madzharovo municipality, the village of Nanovitsa in the municipality of Momchilgrad, the village of Odrintsi in the Ivaylovgrad municipality or the village of Makedontsi in the municipality of Kardzhali25. The Karakachan horse is the only surviving native Bulgarian horse but is population dramatically decreased in 1960s and is now preserved in limited numbers in alpine mountain pastures of Rila, Pirin, central part of Stara planina, and the Rhodopes26. One of the herds that includes representatives of the breed is established under the project "The New Thracian gold" in IBA Byala reka near Kostilkovo village in the municipality of Ivaylovgrad27. With livestock breeding being the main means of livelihood, it is no surprise that the region is very rich in dairy products. One of the most ancient kinds of cheese in the region 24

http://newthraciangold.eu/cmspage.php?id=157&lng=en http://newthraciangold.eu/cmspage.php?id=159&lng=en 26 Kugler, V. (2009) Rare Breeds and Varieties of the Balkan. Synonyms, Occurrence, Description of Rare Breeds in the Balkan Region. Retrieved from http://www.save-foundation.net/pdf/BreedatlasBalkan.pdf 27 http://newthraciangold.eu/cmspage.php?id=161&lng=en 25

44


is the so called tulumsko cheese. The milk is filtered through 10-12 cheesecloth strainers and then boiled at water bath at 95 ° C for 3-4 hours. After cooling to 30°C, yeast and salt are added and it is immediately poured into special well-washed containers (specially treated skins of sheep or goats). The cheese matures at 8-10°C for 30 days and is then stored for about 6 months at a temperature of 2 to 6°C. Another kind of cheese typical for the Rhodope Mountains is the Rhodopean “whipped” cheese. It is made from sheep's or cow's milk. The milk, heated to 32°C, is coagulated with rennet. After 30 minutes it is churned well with borilka in a special vessel to separate the butter. The whey is then warmed to 35-40 ° C, then removed from heat and stirred with a wooden blade in the same direction. The cheese is drained in a bag for a couple of days, and some salt and curd are added. Another popular dairy product is the so called katak, or krokmach. It is made by slowly boiling sheep’s milk (for about 4 hours), which as a result becomes much thicker and is after that mixed with some cheese and stored in jars for a month. Before consumption, roasted red peppers are usually added. Another way of making it is by draining yoghurt to very thick consistency and blending it with cheese. Barkanitsa is a drink typical for the Phodope mountains, which is sometimes mistaken with matenitsa (see local products of Blagoevgrad district). The difference between them is that while matenitsa is made by churning fresh milk, barkanitsa is made by churning yoghurt.

45


The Smilyan beans are produced in limited quantity along the upper Arda valley in Smilyan and the nearby villages. It is grown in a traditional way, combining it with potatoes and maize, which allows using only natural fertilizers. The main factors contributing to its specific qualities are the higher humidity and lack of high day temperatures. Attempts to grow it elsewhere have proved unsuccessful28. A lot of traditional meals in the region are based on this variety of beans, including trahana (stew of beans and corn), bean stew in a pumpkin, and various salads. Lyuto, or langyur is a drink made from wild fruits – berries, pears, damsons, wild cherries, which can be used solely or in combination. The drink is prepared without thermal processing and is quite durable – it can be stored as long as 5-6 months. Wild fruits, especially raspberries and blackcurrants are also used to make a variety of jams. Agricultural products that are typical for the Rhodopes and may be used as the main theme for a festival are potatoes and nutmegs. The former is actually one of the main means of livelihood in the region and the major ingredient in a lot of local recipes, including patatnik. Viticulture is widespread in the district of Haskovo, with several well-established wineries and of home producers. The most popular local varieties are Mavrud and Pamid. 28

Krasteva, L., Tsvetelina Stoilova, Kana Varbanova and Stefan Neykov (2009) Bulgarian Landrace Inventory – Significance and Use), in European landraces: on-land conservation, management and use, M. Vetelainen, V. Negri and N. Maxted (Eds), Bioversity International

46


International varieties in the region include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir. In the mountainous areas of the Central Rhodopes, where the cold climate does not allow for viticulture, very aromatic wine is made of raspberries. Beekeeping is another activity that has deep roots in local communities and honey could also be used for displays in local festivals or as a main theme. The district of Haskovo is the largest producer of sesame in Bulgaria. The three most popular products made of sesame seeds are sesame oil, tahini, and tahini halva. Apart from the industrial production there are several small tahini factories, including ones that still use the traditional method. Einkorn wheat is one of the most ancient types of domesticated wheat. Evidence traces the roots of wild einkorn wheat to Karacadag in southeast Turkey29. The plant is highly appreciated for its nutrition qualities. One of the biggest einkorn wheat farms is in the village of Rabovo. The administrative district of Haskovo was once among the main centres of sericulture and following a period of decline this traditional manufacturing is showing signs of revival. Folk singing and dances

29

Nesbit, M. (n.d.) Wheat evolution: integrating archaeological and biological evidence, Retrieved from http://www.kew.org/science/ecbot/papers/nesbitt2001wheat.pdf on 10.07.2014

47


Although we find only two registered folklore groups from the Smolyan administrative district in the national Register of Bulgarian Folklore Ensembles (“Anton Radichev” in the village of Gela and “Orpheus” in Smolyan)30, the folklore heritage of the Rhodope Mountains is one of its greatest treasures. Suffice it to mention world-famous folk singers such as Valya Balkanska, whose song “Izlel e Delyo haydutin” was sent to space, the Vievska folk group, the “100 kaba bagpipes orchestra” and many others. In 2008, the Traditional singing and music playing (two part women’s or man’s folk singing) from the town of Nedelino and from Nedelino region was inscribed in the National Living Human Treasures list, which is an evidence for the outstanding cultural value of local folklore and a recognition for the efforts of local cultural institutions and numerous amateur groups for authentic folklore to preserve it. The folk dances in the Rhodope region are characterized by slower and smooth movements. The round dances (horo) are the most typical and are usually men’s or women’s. When mixed, men and women either hold each other by the hand or use a handkerchief. The most popular dances are Yenino horo, Mitrino horo, Svornato horo and Chukano horo. The most popular musical instrument is the bagpipe. Traditional celebrations, rites and rituals

30

Регистър на бългсрските фолкорни ансамбли (n.d.). Retrieved from http://folklore-bulgaria.com/ensembles/?n=&o=21&ord= on 05.06.2014

48


The calendar of traditional celebrations in the districts of Smolyan, Kardzhali and Haskovo does not much differ from the rest of the country; yet, there are certain regional specifics. The traditional calendar of the Rhodopean population is divided into two great periods of holidays, St. Demetrius Day /Kasam for the Muslims/ and St. George’s Day /Adralez for the Muslims/. The first one marks the beginning of winter, while the second – its end and the beginning of summer. January is also called Galema. It starts with survakane groups of young boys go round the houses and call for health and prosperity. Epiphany and “mid winter” are two other celebrations in January. Grandmother’s day (Babinden) is a holiday dedicated to midwives, celebrated on 8th January. All the women would celebrate together, men are usually excluded. After a festive lunch, the “grandmother” (the midwife) is boarded a cart decorated with dry peppers, popcorn and tow and brought to a nearby river for a ritual bath. Each man the group encounters is the subject of jokes – they pinch it down his cap and ask for ransom to give it back, the ransom is most often wine or raki. In February the greatest holiday is Trizon Zarezan – the ritual trimming of vines. Unlike Blagoevgrad district, in the Rhodopes it is not so widespread due to the fact that viticulture is practiced only in several regions, mainly in the administrative district of Haskovo (Haskovo, Lyubimets, Ivaylovgrad, Svilengrad, etc.).

49


Cheesefare (sirnitsa in Bulgarian) is celebrated on the day before the start of the Great Lent. In addition to the custom of burning stake and jumping over them for healthiness, in the Rhodopes this is the time of the mummers’ games. Another ritual on this day is shooting of flaming arrows to the house of the girl that a young man likes. Nevruz is the Muslim celebration of the vernal equinox (21 March). On this day, a big fire is lit and everyone would try to leap over it. The Dzhamal ritual is performed – a mummers’ game for banishing evil forces. The holiday which marks the start of the summer cycle of agricultural activities is St. George’s Day and Aderlez for Muslim Bulgarians. St. George’s Day is celebrated as the holiday of shepherds, while Aderlez is connected with an ancient legend of two brothers – Hızır and İlyas – who meet only in once in the year – on Aderlez. The holiday is associated with gathering of herbs and ritual bathing31. Pryadoy (end of May, beginning of June) is a Rhodopean holiday with pagan roots celebrated by shepherds and includes rituals of milking sheep, measurement of milk with a wooden stick ràbosh (chetàl). Lavish tables are laid with mutton, roast lamb, pies, milk specialties. Enyovden (the Day of St. John the Baptist) is celebrated on the 24 of March and is widely known as the day

31

Балъкчи, Е., Ф. Балъкчъ-Оджак и М. Алев (2012) Езикът, вярата и фолклорът на турците в България, Смолян, Принта Ком

50


of herbs, which are believed to possess greater healing properties if picked before dawn. Midsummer is a holiday which marks the middle of summer; it is believed that this is the day when the sun goes down to bathe in the water, puts on his fur coat and sets off to winter riding to the sky with his fiery chariot32. It is celebrated in a limited number of villages, among which Mugla and Trigrad. Natural resources The Eastern Rhodopes (the administrative districts of Karzhali and Haskovo) are known as the richest deposit of minerals in Bulgaria. Some of the most typical ones are amethyst, carnelian, opal, mountain crystal, garnet, obsidian. There are also deposits of jasper and agate, which are highly valued in jewelry33. The Rhodopes are rich in medical herbs: belladonna, thyme, yarrow, dittany, white oregano, St. John's wort, peony etc. Haberlea rhodopensis, also known as the Flower of Orpheus, is a relict species preserved since the late Tertiary, endemic to Bulgaria and Greece and is found in northeastern Greece, the Central Balkan Mountains and Thracian plain, and

32

http://www.bgfermer.bg/Article.asp?ArticleId=2194482 Отдел „Природа”. www.rim-kardzhali.bg/ (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.rimkardzhali.bg/index.php/page/%D0%9E%D1%82%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0% BB%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0.html 33

51


Rhodope Mountains34. One of the unique features of this plant is its ability to fall in anabiosis (fake death), to stay in this state for a long time (as long as 30 years) and placed under appropriate conditions to fully recover its vital functions. Wild mushrooms are also found throughout the region as well as a variety of wild fruits such as wild rose, wild plum, nutmegs, wild pear, hawthorn, medlar, blackthorn, cornels, raspberries, wild strawberries, blueberries, blackcurrants and others. Mineral water is one of the treasures of the Rhodope Mountains. The major deposits are in the region of Devin, the Village of Banite, and Haskovo.

34

“Haberlea Rhodopensis”. The IUCN List of Threatened Species (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/165162/0

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FESTIVALS AND TOURISM

FESTIVALS AND TOURISM Conceptualization of festivals Festivals are a millennium-old phenomenon; yet their character changes through the years. In ancient times, through the Middle Ages and till Modernity most festivals were based on cults and religion, or the agrarian cycle (harvest festivals), even the etymology of the word can be traced back to the Medieval Latin festivalis, meaning “of a church holiday”35. In modern times, festivals are more associated with leisure time and even if they are based on a traditional ritual, the focus shifts towards entertainment. There are numerous definitions in academic literature. Janiskee states that festivals can be perceived as “formal periods or programs of pleasurable activities, entertainment or events having a festive character and publicly celebrating some concept, happening or fact”36. Another frequently cited definition is the one of Fallasi, who describes festivals as: “a periodically recurrent, social occasion in which, through a multiplicity of forms and a series of coordinated events, participate directly or indirectly and to various degrees, all members of a whole community, united by ethnic, linguistic, religious, historical bonds, and sharing a worldview. Both the 35

Harper, D. (n.d.). festival (n.). retrieved from Online Etymology Dictionary: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=festival 36

Janiskee, R. (1980). South Carolina's Harvest Festivals: Rural Delights for Day Tripping Urbanites. Journal of Cultural Geography, 1, 96-104.

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social function and the symbolic meaning of the festival are closely related to a series of overt values that the community recognizes as essential to its ideology and worldview, to its social identity, its historical continuity, and to its physical survival, which is ultimately what festival celebrates”.37 Summarizing the above mentioned and some other definitions, the following characteristic features of festivals can be drawn: 1. Festivals are social events. 2. Local people are (though to various degrees) involved. 3. They are recurrent events. 4. Festivals are limited in time and space. 5. Festivals are rooted in the host community social and cultural life. 6. Festivals have a symbolic meaning related to the host community. 7. Entertainment is one of the prevailing elements. It should be however noted that in contemporary practice some of these often sound more like recommendations rather than characteristic features. There are examples of festivals held with the main reason of attracting tourists, in which the host community is almost completely ignored (i.e. the Apollonia Festival of Arts in Sozopol, Bulgaria, where the 37

Falassi, A. (1987). Festival definition and morphology. От A. Falassi, Time out of Time: Essays on the Festival (стр. 1-12). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press

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first participant from the host town was registered only a few years ago, or the Jazz Festival in Bansko). It also evident that there is no widely accepted definition of festivals which determine if a given event is a festival or not. This study has adopted the broadest sense of the word and has included some events which are not explicitly marketed as festivals but conform to the above mentioned features. Going beyond definitions, festival studies are often based on examining the important attributes of events. One of the most comprehensive models of festival attributes, which can also be used as a basis for event typology is the one elaborated by Silvers38. It includes seven attributes, described as follows: 





38

Nature of the event – can be used to predict behavior and event intensity; includes the purpose of the event, its emotional qualities, if it’s predominantly participatory or spectator, etc. Attendance volume – important in terms of capacity and services requirement; describes crowd size and density; can be managed through admittance criteria – free, purchased or by invitation only; Audience profile – predicts expected behavior; includes demographics, travel distance, familiarity with event or venue, solitary or in a group, affiliation to certain groups;

Silvers, J. (2007) Analysis of the International EMBOK Model as a Classification System, Paper presented at the 2007 Las Vegas International Hospitality & Convention Summit

55










Event timing – predicts impact on demand for services and infrastructure; describes starting and ending times, daylight or night, peak traffic times, seasonal / weather factors; Event duration – predicts levels of service requirements, including availability of on-site welfare services, accommodation, etc.; Event location – predicts capacity and infrastructure requirements; describes geographic location, indoor/outdoor, urban/rural/remote, on-road/off-road; Event frequency – predicts organize familiarity/experience; first time/one time/recurring in the same locale; recurring in different locales; rate of recurrence.39

Festivals can take different forms; the most usual classifications are based on scope and theme. Mc Donnell et al (1999) distinguish four types of event according to their size: local community-based events, major events (e.g. national folk festivals), hallmark events and mega-events. In terms of theme the diversity is greater: arts festivals, harvest festivals, food festivals, music festivals, theatre festivals, storytelling festivals etc. Another typology which takes a different perspective is the one proposed by O’Sullivan and Jackson40 (see Table 5). Rather than grouping festivals according to theme, duration or 39

Ibid. O’Sullivan, D.O., & Jackson, M.J. (2002). Festival Tourism; A Contributor to Sustainable Local Economic Development. Journal of Sustainable tourism, 10 (4), 325-342. 40

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number of visitors, they identify three groups based on a mix of features ranging from benefits sought to expected/targeted attendees. Table 5. Types of festivals

Size by Population Spatial Geography Major Theme Organizing Drivers Key Management Group Primary Purpose for Holding a Festival

Festival Type 1 “Home Grown”

Festival Type 2 “Tourist Tempter”

Festival Type 3 “Big Bang”

small

medium

large

Rural / semi-rural

Urban / urban fringe Arts / culture / entertainment Local authorities

Urban

Local authority driven

Partnership driven

Economic development via tourism

Economic development for partners/ cultural and entertainment benefits for local and visitors

Arts / culture / entertainment Community led / Public and private sector support Voluntary sector

Cultural and/ or entertainment; benefits for local people and visitors

Arts / culture / entertainment Public / private / voluntary sector

Source: O’Sullivan, D.O., & Jackson, M.J. (2002). Festival Tourism; A Contributor to Sustainable Local Economic Development. Journal of Sustainable tourism, 10 (4), 325-342 Of course, the model is simplified and generalized – there are, for example, some festivals of the second type that take place in smaller towns (the Festival of Folk Costume in Zheravna attracts more than 15000 attendees in a small village

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with a population of only 450 inhabitants), there are also many events that are a blend of the first and second type. Yet, it is the only one that takes into consideration the motives for holding the event. This book examines festivals of traditional local products. Thus, it will exclude festivals based on modern art, theatre or music, and will instead focus on intangible heritage in all its manifestations: oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; traditional craftsmanship and livelihood; and traditional food. In the marketing theory a product is "everything that can be offered to a market for attention, utilization, use or consumption and can satisfy a need or necessity" (Armstrong & Kotler, 2005, p. 223). Each of the elements of intangible heritage could become a product and therefore be marketed through a festival after undergoing various degrees of commoditization. Festivals and events are also seen as a constituent element of place-marketing strategies in the face of increasing competition among cities41. To remain competitive, “cities are turning to strategies that focus on their own innate resources –

41

Quinn, B. (2009). Festivals, Events, and Tourism. От T. Jamal, & M. Robinson, The SAGE Handbook of Tourism Studies (стр. 483-503). London: SAGE Publications Ltd., p. 486

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their histories, spaces, creative energy and talents”42 Thus, the number of events based on local products has seen a boom in recent years; yet, academic literature seems to be focused on large-scale festivals and sports events.43 Some authors make distinctions in the characteristics of festival with broader themes (e.g. music festivals, arts festivals etc) and more specific ones. Festivals based on specific themes are often characterized as follows44: 1) They often have their departure in hobbies; 2) |They involve volunteering; 3) They can grow from being local to becoming regional, national, international and global; 4) they often combine non-profit and profit business, 5) many of them are open air events. In addition this type of festivals usually follows a specific managerial pattern – in the beginning the event is managed by people whose sphere of expertise coincides with the festival theme and “it is not until they grow to a certain size 42

Richards, G., & Palmer, R. (2010). Eventful cities : Cultural management and urban regeneretion. Oxford: Elsevier Ltd., p. 2 43 Kostopoulou, S., Vagionis, N., & Kourkouridis, D. (2013). Cultural festivals and regional economic development : perceptions of key interest groups. Quantitative methods in tourism economics , 175-194. 44 Lyck, L., Ph. Long and A. X. Grige (2012)Tourism, festivals and cultural events in times of crisis, Copenhagen Business School Publications

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that they begin to make use of professional management skills, and consider a systematical data collection”45. As a consequence, information on the economic impact of many small or mid-size festivals is scarce.

45

Ibid.

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Event tourism Festivals are often seen as a category within the broader term of special events. From the perspective of tourism, special events are seen as “short localized tourist attractions that are organized once or (more often) periodically to derive concrete benefits from the host community. Their effect is most often associated with the acquisition of reputation or raising the positive image as well as the political, economic and cultural prosperity by attracting participants and visitors in the area or tourist site."46 The expected benefits from event tourism also include visitor satisfaction, creation of memorable experiences, preservation of the authentic ambience of the destination, and commitment of local communities to the safeguarding of their heritage47. Another important function of special events is overcoming seasonality. This was actually one of the first roles assigned by Ritchie in 1974 who stated described events as instruments of strategy to solve the seasonality problem. He went on to add that the type of event, be it one-off or periodic

46

Нешков, М., „Събитийният туризъм – ниша или стратегическа конкурентна позиция на дестинация България”, сборник „Специализирани туристически продукти на България”, Славена, Варна, 2002 47 Алексиева, Соня (2011) Специални събития и атракции в културния туризъм. In: Предизвикателства пред туризма през XXI век : юбилейна научна конференция с международно участие, София, 11.11.2011 г. : сборник с научни доклади : Т. 1. Авангард Прима, София, pp. 120-127. ISBN 9789543239054

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did not much affect this feature.48 This motive for holding a festival has however somehow lost its leading role with the changing global economic and cultural environment. Special events have become a critical component of urban development rather than being a tool to handle an isolated issue. Scientific research on festivals seems to be focused on several topics. Economic impact of events seems to be dominant, with abounding theoretical models and empirical studies49. There are also a number of studies that emphasize social influence of festivals, including building pride in the local community50, strengthening group and place identity51. One of the seminal works in this aspect is the one of Delamere, who identified two main groups of factors: social benefits and social costs, with the most influential benefits being enhanced image of community, community identity, uniqueness of local community and festivals as showcase of new ideas, and major costs: disruption of normal routines, intrusion into lives of residents, over crowdedness and overuse of recreational

48

Ritchie, J.R.B., and Beliveau, D. (1974). "Hallmark events: An evaluation of a strategic response to seasonality in the travel market", Journal of Travel Research, 13(2), pp. 14-20. 49 Crompron, J. L., Lee, S., & Shuster, T. J. (August 2001 r.). A Guide for Undertaking Economic Impact Studies: The Springfest Example. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 40, 79-87. 50 Gibson, C., & Davidson, D. (2004). Tamworth, Australia's country music capital : Place marketing, rurality and resident reactions. Journal of rural studies, 20 (4), 387-404. 51 Bres, K. D., & J.Davis. (2001). Celebrating group and place identity : Case study of a new regional festival. Tourism Geographies 3(3), 326-337.

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facilities52. In important focus on social impacts is community involvement. Anastasiadou and Rogers propose a framework consisting of three indicators to help event planners enhance involvement of local people: involvement of schools; volunteering opportunities; participation in decision making; accessibility; and business cooperation53. The predominant part of literature is focused on the perceptions of visitors. A significant number of studies is dedicated to visitors’ motivation54, segmentation of visitors55, visitors’ satisfaction56 etc. Understanding the motives of event visitors is important for at least two reasons. First, it is the key prerequisite for to designing visitor-targeted offers that correspond customer needs. needs of different (types of) visitors. Identification of the needs of different types of visitorsis is crucial for effective development of the programming elements, services, and 52

Delamere, T. (2001). Development of a scale to measure local residents perceptions of community festivals, Part II. Verification of the scale. Event Management 7 (3), 25-38. 53 Rogers, P., & Anastasiadou, C. (2011). Community Involvement in Festivals: Exploring Ways of Increasing Local Participation. Event Management, Vol. 15, 387-399. 54 Backman, K., Backman, S., & Uysal, M. &. (1995). Event tourism and examination of motivations and activities. Festival Management and Events Tourism, 3, 15-24. 55 Formica, S., & Uysal, M. (1996). A market segmentation of festival visitors: Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Festival Management & Event Tourism, 3, 16-24. 56 Cole, S. T., & Chancellor, H. C. (2009). Examining the festival attributes that impact visitor experience, satisfaction and re-visit intention. Journal of vacation marketing, vol. 15 no. 4, 232-233.

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marketing. Another reason lies in the close relationship between motives and ultimate satisfaction rating.57 Leading motivations for visiting festivals as identified in numerous studies include: socialization, entertainment, cultural exploration, family togetherness, novelty/uniqueness, excitement, escape. A small part of these however investigate festivals of local/traditional products; a recent addition is a study on a Slow Food festival, which finds festival programme, amenities and entertainment to all have impact on visitor satisfaction, while revisit intentions are mostly influenced by food and amenities58. While most studies are focused on on-site visitor experience, a few ones examine behaviour change and level of engagement. Recent research by Organ et al suggests that festivals and food festivals in particular may be used by authorities as a tool for implementing policies aimed at changing food choices. Engagement with food at the festival was found to be a strong predictor of subsequent purchases, which provides an important value added aspect59. The number of studies that focus on organizers perceptions is limited. The first to explore how special events impact the local community from the organizers’ perspective 57

Lyck, L., Ph. Long and A. X. Grige (2012)Tourism, festivals and cultural events in times of crisis, Copenhagen Business School Publications 58 Jung, T., Ineson, E. M., Kim, M., & Yap, M. H. (2015). Influence of festival attribute qualities on Slow Food tourists' experience, satisfaction level and revisit intention: The case of the Mold Slow Food festival. Journal of Vacation Marketing. 59 Organ, K., Koenig-Lewis, N., Palmer, A., & Probert, J. (2015). Festivals as agents for behaviour change: A study of food festival engagement and subsequent food choices. Tourism Management, 48, 84-99. p.93

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were Kim and Uysal60. The findings revealed that perceived economic impacts had four main domains: Community Cohesiveness, Economic Benefits, Social Costs and Social Incentives. Their work was extended and validated by Gursoy, Kim and Uysal61. Almost ten years later, Kostopoulou et al enhanced the research in this aspect by including other key stakeholder groups: in their study they assessed the perceptions of festival organizers, local authorities and tourism market in terms of the economic impact of regional cultural festivals on host communities62. A recent study based on in-depth interviews with festival leaders has elicited four areas that most significantly relate to sustainability of festivals the event subject focus, leadership, funding, and the organizational culture63.

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Kim, K., & Uysal, M. (2003). Perceived Socio-Economic Impacts of Festivals and Events Among Organizers. Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing, Volume 10, Issue 3-4, 2003, 159-171. 61 Gursoy, D., Kim, K., & Uysal, M. (2004). Perceived impacts of festivals and special events by organizers: an extension and validation. Tourism Management, Volume 25, Number 2, 171-181. 62 Kostopoulou, S., Vagionis, N., & Kourkouridis, D. (2013). Cultural festivals and regional economic development : perceptions of key interest groups. Quantitative methods in tourism economics , 175-194. 63 Ensor, J., Robertson, M., & Ali-Knight, J. (2011). Eliciting the Dynamics of Leading a Sustainable Event: Key Informant Responses. Event Management, Vol. 15, 315-327.

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Best practices The study of best practices in a particular area is intended to provide a model for development and to identify the success factors which have remained outside the scope of previous studies. It is generally considered that “best practices dictate that a set of guidelines exists to determine how to handle events”.64 In events management, the prevailing share of literature on best practices consists of guides. These are most often provided by business organizations or public tourist bodies and there scope can largely vary. Fáilte Ireland’s Festivals & Events Best Practice Guide, for example, covers five broad aspects: festival and event management, finance, production, marketing and innovation65. The Special Event Best Practice Guide66 of StopWaste (a public agency responsible for reducing the waste stream in Alameda County) on the other hand focuses on ecological issues related with waste reduction planning, which is complemented by stakeholder analysis, legislative framework, staff and volunteer education, event timeline etc. the guide also provides examples of best practices which is actually the other form of presenting best practices – the descriptive one. Case studies to some 64

Bhe, T., Peter Glasmacher, Jacqueline Meckwood, Guilherme Pereira and Michael Wallace (2004) Event Management and best practices, retrieved from http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg246094.pdf on 21.06.2015 65 Fáilte Ireland (n.d.) Festivals & Events Best Practice Guide, retrieved from http://www.aoifeonline.com/uplds/best_practice_guide07.pdf on 21.06.2015 66 StopWaste.Org. (2007) Are you ready :reduce waste at special events by simply planning ahead – Special event best practice guide, retrieved from http://stopwaste.org/docs/specialevents-swp.pdf on 21.06.2015

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extent blend the prescriptive nature of guides with description and analysis. If best practice guides are to be complete, they should take into account all domains of event management. A good point of reference can be the international EMBOK (Event Management Body of Knowledge) model. The project was initiated in 1999 by William O'Toole as part of his PhD thesis and represents a three dimensional (Processes, Phases, Core Values) description of the knowledge and skills needed to create, develop and deliver an event. The term 'event' is used in its broad sense and refers to conferences, exhibitions, festivals, special events, civic events, sports events etc. Table 6. The international EMBOK model Processes Assessment Selection Monitoring Communication Documentation

Phases Initiation Planning Implementation The Event Closure

Core values Creativity Strategic thinking Continuous improvement Ethics Integration Knowledge domains

Administration

Design

Marketing

Operations

Risk

Financial management Human resources Information management Procurement management Stakeholder management Systems management

Catering Content Entertainment Environment Production Programme Theme

Marketing plan Materials management Merchandise Management Promotion management Public relations management

Attendees management Communications management Infrastructure management Logistics management Participant management Site management

Compliance management Decision management Emergency management Insurance management Health&safety management Legal

67 Time management

FESTIVALS AND TOURISM Sales management Sponsorship management

Technical management

management Security management

Source: EMBOK model, retrieved from http://www.embok.org/index.php/embok-model-page As best practices are most often connected to event management, an appropriate starting point for defining the dimensions of a best practice are the characteristics of the policies and strategies that contribute to the economic success and the sustainability of a given event. Getz has identified eight guiding principles of event management policies that could be taken into consideration when developing a framework for events and festivals best practices: 1. 2.

3.

4. 5. 6. 7.

Minimalisation of negative economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts; Generation of greater economic benefits for local people and enhancement of the wellbeing of host communities; Contribution to improvement in the working conditions of the festival environment and opportunities for generation of further employment; Inclusion of local people in decisionmaking; Preservation of natural and cultural heritage; Creation of meaningful experiences by enabling visitors to connect with residents; Provision of access for physically challenged people;

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8.

FESTIVALS AND TOURISM Being culturally sensitive, encouraging respect between visitors and hosts, building local pride and confidence.67

Of course, setting a one-fits-all model for studying good practices is not possible because of the different nature of events (great variances in terms of scope, theme etc.) and the access to information that a researcher will have. The model suggested below takes into account festivals that take place in rural settings (in relatively small towns or villages) and are based on local products. As far as the catchment area is concerned they could range from community based events such as town feasts or traditional celebrations to festivals that attract wider audience, including international ones. If we refer to O’Sullivan’s classification68, these will be festivals of Type I and II – “Home-grown” and “Tourist tempter”, or rather – a blend of the two. The elements that form the best practice in the local festival industry can be broadly defined as pertaining to two separate yet interrelated groups – attractiveness and sustainability. The division is only superficial because attractiveness refers to the more visible outcomes and the extent to which these correspond to visitor preferences and expectations, while 67

Getz, D. (2009). Policy for sustainable and responsible festivals and events:institutionalization of a new paradigm. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 1(1), 61-78. 68

O’Sullivan, D.O., & Jackson, M.J. (2002). Festival Tourism; A Contributor to Sustainable Local Economic Development. Journal of Sustainable tourism, 10 (4), 325-342

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sustainability is expanded to include the antecedents and consequences of these features. Partnership – One of the problems faced by the festival industry in Bulgaria is that the majority of events are organized by the local authorities and the community centres. Larger partnerships including various stakeholders would highly increase the quality of events. Theming is important for at least two reasons – on the one hand, it determines the target audience and on the other (especially in the case of festivals for local products) it affects the authenticity of the event. Management of carrying capacity. Because festivals can concentrate large numbers of visitors and activities within a limited time and in limited space, carrying capacity management is often of crucial importance – not only in terms of preventing negative impact on the destination, but also in order to provide a satisfying visitor experience. Several ways of managing visitor numbers and behavior exist: introducing a visitor fee, Event timing – events that span over a longer period of time are more beneficial for the local community, because they bring greater income, at the same time reducing the risk of overcrowding and negative environmental impact. Programming is one of the most important factors for visitor satisfaction. The last trends here are to provide engaging experiences for the visitor.

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Promotion is also crucial for attracting visitors. The use of advertising channels should conform to the target groups. The most common ones are social media, TV and radio. Local community empowerment. This is one of the most important prerequisites for sustainability, especially when the festival is based on local products and traditions. Local people should be involved in the decision-making process and have the opportunity to take active role in the festival activities. A framework to help event planners enhance involvement of local people might consist of: involvement of schools; volunteering opportunities; participation in decision making; accessibility; and business cooperation69. Best practices in the administrative districts of Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Haskovo and Kardzhali The Festival of Wild Flowers The festival takes place annually and its first edition was in 2013. Unlike most festivals in Bulgaria, it is not organized by local authorities of community centres but by an association – Environmental Organization Rhodope. The first edition of the Festival of wild flowers was held from 21 to 30 June 2013 in five villages in the municipality of Smolyan: Momchilovtsi, Smilyan, Mogilitsa Sivino, Gorna Arda and Arda.

69

Rogers, P., & Anastasiadou, C. (2011). Community Involvement in Festivals: Exploring Ways of Increasing Local Participation. Event Management, Vol. 15, 387-399.

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The event is part of the network of Festivals of wild flowers in Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and the UK within the project "Wildflower Europe" under the auspices of PlantLife International and the main support of the "Culture" Programme of the EU70. The festival is organized by the Environmental Organization Rhodope. Over the past ten years, the organization has implemented several projects to support the development of sustainable tourism in the region of the Middle Rhodope Mountains, including: inventory of opportunities for accommodation and eco-tourism attractions, hotels and training of volunteers to join in offering tourist services residents, designation of tourist routes; creation of tourist and environmental information centers, information services for tourists (issuance of maps, guides, brochures, multimedia, etc.), marketing and promotion of the tourist product of the area (mediation with tour operators, participation in national and international markets, maintenance of website, etc.)71. The Festival of Wild Flowers is implemented in partnership with the Smolyan Municipality and the active participation of the community centers and town halls in the villages of Smilyan, Mogilitsa, Sivino, Arda and Gorna Arda. The large scope of this partnership is one of the prerequisites for the success of the event.

70 71

http://wildflowereurope.org/bg/about/ http://www.rhodopeflowersfestival.org/eo-rhodope

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The festival organizers have set the following objectives72:    



Preserving the rich plant diversity of the Rhodope Mountain; Supporting the development of eco and rural tourism in the municipality of Smolyan; Sustainable development of the region; To inspire and nurture interest in wild plants and encourage local communities to maintain their natural home; Promotion of art, culture and traditions of local communities associated with wild flowers.

The central theme of the festival is wild flowers, which is a good choice for at least two main reasons: firstly, festivals in Bulgaria are predominantly folklore ones and natural heritage is highly underrated, and secondly – the theme of wild flowers corresponds to the identity of the place – the Rhodope mountains are appreciated (among all other) for their beautiful and well-preserved nature. In addition, it is a theme that easily lends itself to interpretations – be it environmental, creative or educational. The time when the event takes place is also linked to the theme – around the 24th June, Enyovden, which is the holiday of herbs. As the event takes place in an area of small villages, managing carrying capacity is of primary concern – both in 72

http://www.rhodopeflowersfestival.org/festival-divicvetia/%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5

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terms of preventing crowding and on the other hand – providing accommodation. Taking into account these, the organizers have decided to hold the event at several places simultaneously, and to prolong its duration to one week. Apart from solving capacity problems, this also brings greater benefits to local communities by distributing visitor spending in smaller villages and prolonging overnight stays in accommodations. The promotion of the festival is well-organized and uses various media – social networks such as Facebook, a website, regional media. The festival programme is well-structured and includes activities of different kind, most of which are highly participatory (see Appendix 1). Most of them have a strong educational and environmental element, while keeping the entertainment aspect. Different types of tourism are included such as adventure tourism, eco tourism etc. The Terlik Festival Another event which can serve as an example of a good practice is the Terlik Festival (Festival of Slippers), which will is held annually in the village of Dazhdovnitsa. The festival itself lasts for a day, but is preceded by a rich programme of accompanying events that starts a month earlier, including a series of art schools, art workshop with artists from across the country, short films and more, which attract artists, photographers, filmmakers, poets, artists and translators to the

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village.73 In contrast to most festivals of this type, the focus here is not on complementing one aspect of tradition with other ones of similar nature (traditional agricultural activities with traditional cuisine, crafts, music), but in creating a link between the traditional and the modern. The festival also benefits from the rich Thracian heritage of the region. The event is an example of good practices in terms of partnership of NGOs and local authorities – it is organized by KRUG Youth Center / Art movement KRUG, which is licensed by the Ministry of Culture as a cultural operator in public benefit. Since 2001, the Krug movement operates in the municipality of Kardzhali to cooperate with local authorities and public bodies on youth issues, cultural innovation, cultural diversity and the rights of minorities. In 2012, Krug received a diploma from the MEET successful partnership with the municipality of Kardzhali to integrate local cultural traditions in new policies for the development of successful models for cultural tourism. The project that is most closely related to the Terlika Festival is the EUROPEAN CULTURAL YOUTH HOUSE (ECYH), in the village of Duzhdovnitsa, Kardzhali region. In 2004 KRUG renovated the building of the collapsed primary school (former Muslim school) in the Turkish village of Duzhdovnitsa and restored it to artist-in-residency programs. Since 2004 this center has been organizing local and European art schools and an annual international cultural program “Art Horizons”; in addition, since 2005 the centre is the inspiration and organizer of the local Festival of the Terlik. Authors from 73

Terlik Festival (n.d.) Retrieved from http://evros-smolyan.eu/node/364 on 20.03.2014

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several countries have taken part in the residential programs conducted so far, including: USA, Israel, Japan, Hungary, The Netherlands, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and Bulgaria. There are several reasons for identifying this event as a good practice: 1. The theme is well-chosen and represents a product that is typical for the whole region. At the same time, the there is scarcity of festivals with similar themes both in the region, and in Bulgaria as a whole. 2. The event timing and programming are in conformity with the carrying capacity of destination so as not to allow overcrowding and to maximize benefits for the local community. 3. The event takes place in a remote place which is not known as a tourist destination and the effect on the image and future development of the village are significant. 4. The local product and traditions are presented in an authentic and at the same time attractive way. 5. The local population is actively engaged and not only temporary income, but also permanent jobs are created. The only element of that needs improvement is promotion. There is a well-developed network of partners which however refers mainly to participants in the festival and the accompanying events. The event could attract more visitors if it had a website or a page in the social media.

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The Transfiguration Festival The Transfiguration Festival "Beyond the Threshold" is the newest addition to the festival scene of South Bulgaria. It is held from 6th to 9th August in the village of Dolen, its beginning coinciding with the orthodox feast Transfiguration – hence its name. Its aim is to encourage visitors to leave their usual environment and the urban vanity to touch the spiritual, to merge with the purity of the mountain, “seeking those moments, when seeing leads to understanding, when touch leads to awareness, when stepping through the threshold leads to a transfiguration within us and we rise above the average, every-day life”74. Unlike most festivals included in this book, it does not have a specific theme; its organizers define it as a multi-genre one. Two scenes host the performances – a large amphitheater and a smaller one, located at each end of the village, over the Bezimenna River. The scenes are made of natural materials - wood, stone, clay, in order to fit the natural environment of the village, which is an architectural reserve. There will be separate dining areas, stands with alcoholic and soft drinks, a children's playground. There is also a camping area for tents and parking which is free for ticket holders. The festival program includes music sessions, workshops and movies. Among the musicians are groups and DJs from Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece, and artists such as Theodosiy 74

http://transfiguration-festival.com/en/

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Spasov with the electro-ethno machine Balkansky, the ambient-ethnic group Isihia, the alternative rock performers Smallman, "Villagers of Ioannina City" (Greece), the magical Irfan and the ethno project "Kaino Yesno Slontse".75 Ateliers and workshops include Robotev, Ivaylo Petrov, ASEM (masters of harmonious construction) and others. Taking into account the limited number of accommodation establishments, the festival organizers provide the option of lodging in nearby villages in the municipality Satovcha. Special shuttle buses transport visitors for free. There are also a guarded camping and parking, free for ticket holders. There are also free transfers from the nearby town of Gotse Delchev. The organizers of the festivals are a group of people with different professional backgrounds. The beginning was set by Vesselin Mitev (Isihia, Kayno Yesno Slonce) who laid the foundations of the architecture in his property in the village of Dolen in the Rhodope Mountains in the Spring of 2014. Late in the autumn of the same year the full team was formed in the face of Tzvetan Hadjiyski (smallman), Stefan Parisov (ASEM) and Ivaylo Alexandrov (Rawk'n'Roll). The project managed to include a wide array of partners for the first edition including the Municipality of Satovcha, the Bulgarian Music Association, Mixtape (a music club), Stenata (outdoor equipment retailer), and Photo Synthesis. The media 75

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coverage is ensured by the 17 media partners among which radio, TV and online media. Visitors are encouraged to explore the surroundings of the village by offering bikes for rent. One of the strongest points about this festival is the preceding volunteering programme. It is divided in three stages and includes a plethora of learning activities (see Appendix 2). In addition to the volunteering activities, there are also some paid-for workshops that precede the festival days. In 2015 the workshop took place between 8-22 July and was lead by Smilja Ignjatovic, a master of fine arts from the Belgrade University who taught land art and permaculture construction.

THE FESTIVAL INDUSTRY IN THE DISTRICTS OF BLAGOEVGRAD, SMOLYAN, HASKOVO AND 79 KARDZHALI

THE FESTIVAL INDUSTRY IN THE DISTRICTS OF BLAGOEVGRAD, SMOLYAN, HASKOVO AND KARDZHALI This chapter sheds light on the current state of the festival industry in four administrative districts in the southern part of Bulgaria - Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Haskovo and Kardzhali. It presents the results of two studies – a survey to organizers of local festivals which aims to identify the problems these organizations are facing and a desk analysis of the thematic and scope structure of the festivals in the area under review. A snapshot from the perspective of organizers In order to study current problems in the festival industry an online survey among festivals and local events organizers in the administrative districts of Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Haskovo and Kardzhali was conducted. The statistical population of respondents includes organizers of events for presenting of local products in the regions of Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Haskovo and Kardzhali of Bulgaria. The comprehensive list of respondents was drawn following an extensive on-line research resulting in a data-base of all festivals on local products held in the area, along with contact details of their organizers. The identification of festivals was performed by applying a three-step approach: 1. Initial data collection and elaboration of a full list of events for each of the surveyed area. At this stage the secondary data collection method was applied, using the official sites of local authorities, the official site of the Ministry of


Culture of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian specialized web site for cultural events (http://www.sabori.bg/). 2. Elaboration of a set of criteria for inclusion in the final list. The first condition for inclusion was “the central theme represents a local/traditional product”. Local/traditional products were defined as both “specific to a given area” and “longestablished” and could include folklore, traditional food/cuisine, traditional ritual/celebration, agricultural products, natural resources, cultural/historical heritage. The second condition was the scope – events which were limited only to the settlement they were held in were excluded, unless they had the potential to further develop and attract tourists (e.g. the event presents a rare/unique product, the town is a tourist destination, etc.). 3. Filtering the initial list by applying the above criteria. The final list consists of 107 festivals on local products: district of Blagoevgrad – 44, district of Smolyan – 20, district of Haskovo – 30, district of Kardzhali – 12. The statistical population of the survey consists of 53 organizations and institutions that organize festivals for local products in the area. The number is almost half less than the number of identified festivals, because a lot of the organizations are responsible for holding more than one event. The questionnaires were sent to all units of the statistical population (53) in the period 12.01.2013 - 05.01.2013. Twenty-one completed valid questionnaires were received, forming a response rate of 39.6%. The festivals that are subject to the study were chosen on the basis of their theme and fall in the following groups:


1. Folklore festivals - one of the most common types, based on folk dance and music. To this group we can also add storytelling festivals. Some of the most popular storytelling festivals are The Scottish storytelling festival, the Welsh Festival "Beyond Boundaries," the USA National Storytelling Festival of and many others. Although storytelling is not a very popular topic in Bulgaria, for several years now there has been a similar event in the country too – Skratska Academy (village of Skrat, Bulgaria). 2. Festivals based on traditional rites / rituals - the most popular festival in Bulgaria of this type is the Festival of the Masquerade Games in Pernik. Most festivals of this type are based on ancient traditions connected with the year cycle. 3. Food/culinary festivals – these are events that have food as their central theme. The most renowned ones on a world scale are: Napa Truffle Festival, Madrid Fusión, South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, etc. In the surveyed area, several such festivals were identified, including a joint event of the Belasitsa Nature Park Diractorate and Slow Food Bulgaria. 4. Festivals dedicated to local agricultural products "Festival of the Potato" (Ravnogor, Bulgaria), "Feast of beans" (Smilyan, Bulgaria) and others. Although the obvious topic in most of these is agriculture, the focus is


often on traditional food (meals prepared from the product). 5. Festivals of traditional crafts. Events of this type are in two varieties – focus on crafts as a whole, or on a particular craft (wood-carving Festival in North Carolina). 6. Festivals based on gifts of nature/natural resources – these include herb festivals (Herbsfest – Ottawa, Canada), festivals of wild plants (chestnut festival – village of Kolarovo, Bulgaria) and others. 7. Festivals based on cultural / historical heritage (tangible and intangible). In the surveyed area these form the least numerous group. The questionnaire contains 28 closed questions which can be grouped in several modules: demographic profile of respondents, benefits sought, profile of visitors and participants of festivals, funding, marketing and advertising, event duration and feedback from visitors. Special emphasis is laid on perceived authenticity of product/tradition representation. The first module of the questionnaire has a profiling character, and the obtained results are as follows: Demographic profile. The predominant share of respondents is between 45 and 60 years old, which corresponds to the actual state in the sectors under review. 91% of respondents are women, and 9% are men, which again reflects the current ratio of employees in local authorities and cultural community centres. As far as educational level is concerned, 82


% hold a university degree, while 18 % have completed secondary education. Type of organization. Respondents are employed in four types of organizations/institutions: local authorities, cultural institutions (community centres), NGOs and governmental institutions. Local authorities form the largest share of festival organizers in the region, accounting for 48% of the total, followed by cultural institutions – 38%. By cultural institutions in this case we mean cultural community centres (chitalishta in Bulgarian), a type of institution which was established in the Bulgarian National Revival Period (18-19 century) and whose main activity at present is associated with preserving local traditions. The share of NGOs is relatively small – only 10% and governmental institutions account for only 5% . This distribution of respondents reflects the actual situation identified through the exhaustive research conducted prior to the survey. The predominant share of respondents occupies expert positions (64%), followed by “secretary” (27%) and members of the management board (9%). One of the questions to which this study aims to answer concerns the reasons for organizing festivals on local products. The importance of predefined variables was assessed by using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). Table 7 displays the findings by dividing the factors in three main groups where as very important were rated items that received a mean above 3.5, items rated between 2.5 and 3.5 fall in the second group (of average importance) and items with a mean lower than 2.5 are described as not important.


Table 7. Reasons for organizing the event Very important

Of average importance

Not important

To raise the prestige of the place

To inform the public

Religious reasons

To increase the popularity of a local product

Economic reasons

Historical reasons

Tourism growth

Contacts with leaders of public opinion

To create a brand in the festival sphere

Contacts with sponsors, advertisers etc.

Opportunities for entertainment

Source: author’s research The reasons that play the least important role in organizing festivals on local products are the ones related to history and religion. In a second group of reasons that have relatively higher significance we can cite those related to making contacts (with advertisers and sponsors, as well as public opinion leaders), and economic factors. The most important role in motivation is played by promotion (of both place and product), attracting tourists, creating a brand, and last but not least - providing entertainment. These to some extent resonate with the social benefits identified by Delamere (Delamere, 2001), coupled with an emphasis on economic benefits. The results once again show the major role that tourism


plays in the organization of festivals and other special events. While only a few decades ago cultural institutions focused their attention on the preservation and promotion of local culture, today an important part of their motives is related to the increase of tourism flow in the destination. The above mentioned goals, however, are not always fully achieved (See Figure 1). 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1

Figure 1. Assessment of perceived benefits Source: author’s research To assess perceived benefits, again a Likert scale ranging from "Poor" (1) to "Excellent" (5) was used. It was found out that organizers did not achieve their goal with respect to two of the main reasons for organizing festivals: attracting tourists and


promoting local production - they were assessed below average. The lowest evaluated benefit was increase of municipal revenues, which is somewhat understandable, since they are not among the important reasons for holding a festival for local products. Benefits associated with local businesses and the local communities are higher than average, but still do not reach a very good assessment. The opportunities for entertainment and sharing experience and culture are the top ranking benefits according to organizers. Three of the questions are devoted to determining the scope of the festival activities. The results suggest that 64% of the respondents held between two and five events related to local culture per year and a significantly lower share (34% of all respondents) - over 4. The territorial scope of the attracted participants and visitors is depicted in Figure 2 and Figure 3. The participants in the event come from: 10%

10% 20%

60%

the region the region and the country the country and the neighboring countries some of them come from countries outside the Balkan region

Figure 2. Distribution of festivals according to origin of participants Source: author’s research


More than half of the organizers (60%) manage to attract participants from both the country and from neighboring countries. 20% of the events feature participants from the country, and a relatively small share of events re held only with participants from the region (10%). However, the share of those that attract participants from outside the Balkan region is quite small- only 10%. Some differences are observed in the ratio between the types of visitors (Figure 3). The proportion of visitors from abroad is significantly smaller compared to foreign participants (27% compared to 70% of participants from outside the country). The main share of events (46%) attract visitors from across the country, 18% are limited within the region, and 9% are visited only by residents and their friends and relatives. The event is visited by: 27%

9%

18%

46%

local people, friends/relatives of local people local people, friends/relatives of local people, visitors from the region people from across the country foreigners

Figure 3. Distribution of events according to type of visitors Source: author’s research


A large percentage of organized events (36%) have no permanent participants, 46% have some, and 18% say that almost all their participants are regular ones (Figure 4). The large proportion of organizers who fail to attract regular participation in the event could be explained by the fact that there are several festivals taking place only since a few years ago; it could, however, also be the result of inefficient management. The proportion of events that attract the same participants each year is also of concern as it indicates a lack of development. Do you have regular participants? 18% 36%

46%

no yes, some of them

yes, almost all of them

Figure 4. Distribution of events by presence of regular participants Source: author’s research Figure 5 shows the most common sources of funding. The largest share of funds comes from the municipal budget, sponsorships and donations, used by 82% and 73% of respondents respectively. Almost half of respondents rely on own revenues and less than a third – financing from European projects. Overall, the results indicate untapped potential for funding from national and European programs.

THE FESTIVAL INDUSTRY IN THE DISTRICTS OF BLAGOEVGRAD, SMOLYAN, HASKOVO AND 89 KARDZHALI 100%

82%

73%

80% 60%

45%

40%

27%

20% 0% municipal budget

sponsorship

own means

European programmes

Figure 5. Funding sources Source: author’s research The most preferred event duration is two days, followed by 3 days (30%) and a negligible share of 10% of respondents express preference for 1 and 4-7 days (See Figure 6). 10%

10% 1 day

30%

2 days 50%

3 days 4-7 days

Figure 6. Preferences for event duration Source: author’s research


When asked about the main difficulties they are facing, respondents place high importance on insufficient funds, followed by lack of popularity of the event, lack of interest by the local population, lack of interest by businesses and poor tourism infrastructure. In the "Other" section some of the respondents indicate the underdeveloped volunteer activity. Assessment is based on five Likert scale ranging from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). 5 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1

Figure 7. Major difficulties in holding the event Source: author’s research Regardless of the stated difficulty in securing the necessary financial resources, however, the majority of the organizers do not consider it necessary to introduce fees for participation.


When traditions are used for tourist purposes, it is essential that they be interpreted and presented authentically so as to avoid a negative impact on the culture of the local community. Although almost all respondents said that they have good knowledge of traditions and typical local products, the survey results show a disturbing trend of neglecting authentic representation - 18% of respondents believe that they carry out events which rather do not present local tradition in an authentic way; another 18% believe that this is done only partially (Figure 8). Do you think that the event you hold represents authentically local products/traditions?

18%

I'd rather say no

46% 18% 18%

To some extent I'd rather say yes Yes

Figure 8. Assessment of authentic representation of local products/traditions Source: author’s research A number of other characteristics of events on local products were also self-assessed by organizers (Figure 9). A five-point Likert scale was used, ranging from Poor (1) to


Excellent (5). The lowest rating was assigned to technical equipment and advertising campaign, which directly corresponds to the main difficulties mentioned above. Above average are rated the entertainment program and the accompanying events, and the highest rating was received by transport provision and access to the venue, organization, and time and place of holding the event. 5 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1

Figure 9. Assessment of event characteristics Source: author’s research Advertising and promotion of events is done through the employment of various channels, the most popular of which are regional media (indicated by all respondents). The Internet ranks


second (91%), national media are used by 64 % of respondents, almost half of them rely on personal contacts, and a relatively small share used email lists, brochures and printed media.

regional media

100%

internet

91%

national media

64%

personal contacts

45%

e-mail lists

27%

leaflets, brochures

27%

specialized printed media

9% 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100% 120%

Figure 10. Advertising channels Source: author’s research The majority of the organizers study the opinion of participants and visitors (Figure 11), mainly by following the positive comments and complaints (60% of respondents) and assessment of the program, the time and venue of the event.

THE FESTIVAL INDUSTRY IN THE DISTRICTS OF BLAGOEVGRAD, SMOLYAN, HASKOVO AND 94 KARDZHALI 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% positive comments and complaints

event programme

time and place no research so of conduct far

Figure 11. Research on visitors’ and participants’ attitudes performed by organizers Source: author’s research In conclusion, the study reveals that in terms of organizations involved, the festival industry in the surveyed area is dominated by local authorities and cultural community centres. In contrast, all three best practices identified in the previous chapter were held in partnership of NGOs and local authorities, where the NGO has the leading role. The most important hindrances to successful implementation were found to be insufficient funding, insufficient popularity of event, lack of interest on the part of local community and local businesses, and poor tourism infrastructure. The latter is a common problem of festivals held in small settlement that are still not well developed as tourism


destinations. These could be overcome by introducing temporary accommodation (camping grounds), and/or splitting the festival venues in several settlements. On the other hand, special events can encourage starting a new business in the accommodation sector in the long run by popularizing the place and creating demand. The main reasons for organizing local festivals in the region are connected with raising the prestige of the place, promoting local product, tourism development and entertainment. Economic reasons fall into the group of factors of average importance, which could be explained by the fact that organizers are usually local authorities and community centres.


Thematic and scope structure of local festivals Knowing the types of festivals that are held in a given area as well as the ratio of the different categories can give a more comprehensive picture of the condition of the festival industry and at the same time enable certain drawbacks and opportunities related to the launching of new and enhancing the existing events. To perform such a study, it is of course necessary to have complete data of existing events. The identification of festivals in the four districts was performed by applying a three-step approach: 1. Initial data collection and elaboration of a full list of local events for each of the eligible districts, by municipality. At this stage the secondary data collection method was applied, using the official sites of local authorities, the official site of the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian specialized web site for cultural events http://www.sabori.bg/ . 2. Elaboration of a set of criteria for inclusion in the final list. The first condition for inclusion was “the central theme represents a local/traditional product”. Local/traditional products were defined as both “specific to a given area” and “longestablished” and could include folklore, traditional food/cuisine, traditional ritual/celebration, agricultural products, natural resources, cultural/historical heritage. The second condition was the scope – events which were limited only to the settlement they were held in were excluded, unless they had the potential to


further develop and attract tourists (e.g. the event presents a rare/unique product, the town is a tourist destination, etc.). 3. Filtering the initial list by applying the above criteria. The final list for the Bulgarian part of the eligible area consists of 107 festivals on local products: district of Blagoevgrad – 44, district of Smolyan – 20, district of Haskovo – 30, district of Kardzhali – 12. Based on the collected data, festivals on local products were divided into groups under the following criteria: central theme, duration, and scope. The distribution was performed for each administrative district in the Bulgarian border region (Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Kardzhali, and Haskovo) with the aim of enabling comparative analysis and consequent recommendations. a.) Distribution of festivals according to their central theme A review on the themes on which festivals for local products around the world are based leads to the identification of the following major groups: 1. Folklore festivals - one of the most common types, based on folk dance and music. To this group we can also add storytelling festivals. Some of the most popular storytelling festivals are The Scottish storytelling festival, the Welsh Festival "Beyond Boundaries," the USA National Storytelling Festival of and many others. Although storytelling is not a very popular topic in Bulgaria, for several years now there has been a similar


event in the country too – Skratska Academy (village of Skrat, Bulgaria). 2. Food/culinary festivals – these are events that have food as their central theme. The most renowned ones are: Napa Truffle Festival, Madrid Fusión, South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, etc. 3. Festivals dedicated to local agricultural products "Festival of the Potato" (Ravnogor, Bulgaria), "Feast of beans" (Smilyan, Bulgaria) and others. Although the obvious topic in most of these is agriculture, the focus is often on traditional food (meals prepared from the product). 4. Festivals of traditional crafts. Events of this type are in two varieties – focus on crafts as a whole, or on a particular craft (wood-carving Festival in North Carolina). 5. Festivals on traditional rites / rituals - the most popular festival in Bulgaria of this type is the Festival of the Masquerade Games in Pernik. 6. Festivals on gifts of nature/natural resources – these include herb festivals (Herbsfest – Ottawa, Canada), festivals of wild plants (chestnut festival – village of Kolarovo, Bulgaria) and others. 7. Festivals based on cultural / historical heritage (tangible and intangible).


In the four Bulgarian administrative districts there are festivals on local products of all seven types; yet the prevalence of folklore once is obvious. In addition, even if it’s not the central theme, folk music and/or dances are a key component of each of the events organized in the regions under review. 70% 60% 50% 40% 30%

20% 10% 0%

Blagoevgra d

Smolyan

Kardzhali

Haskovo

folklore

33%

53%

18%

53%

traditional cuisine

19%

16%

0%

13%

historical heritage

2%

0%

9%

0%

agriculture

9%

0%

0%

10%

traditional ritual

33%

21%

64%

10%

crafts

2%

5%

9%

3%

natural resources

2%

5%

0%

10%

Figure 12. Distribution of festivals on local products by theme Source: Author’s own research In the district of Blagoevgrad, the most numerous types of festivals are the folklore ones and the events that represent a


traditional ritual or celebration (each of them holding a share of 33%). Some of the latter are not festivals in the strictest sense of the term, but have been included in the study for two reasons: 1) they are public events that involve a considerable part of the local community, and 2) they hold significant potential for attracting tourists. The two rituals that are best presented not only in this region, but also in the other three are Mummer’s games (Kukeri), and Trifon Zarezan (a holiday, connected to ritual trimming of vines). Festivals on traditional cuisine form 19% of the total number, while agricultural, historical, natural resources and crafts events are very poorly represented (2% each). In the district of Smolyan more than half of the festivals on local products are dedicated to folk music and dances, which is quite natural, given the popularity of Rhodopean music and the fact that one of the best high schools for folk music (the one in Shiroka Laka) is located there. Traditional rituals are the central theme of 21% of the events in the district, followed by festivals on crafts and natural resources (5% each). The district of Kardzhali shows a clear difference from the trend seen in the other three regions. The most numerous events are the ones based on traditional rituals (64% of the total number), followed by a significantly lower share of folklore festivals (18%), and an equal share of crafts and historical festivals (9% each). It is the district with the lowest absolute number of festivals on local products (only 12 identified in this study).


The administrative district of Haskovo continues the trend of folklore festivals being the most numerous group (53% of the total number). Festivals based on traditional cuisine, agricultural products, traditional rituals and natural resources are almost equally presented (a share of about 10% for each of them), and there is no event festival dedicated to the historical heritage of the region. The total number of festivals on local products in the district included in this study is 31. b.) Distribution of festivals according to their duration In all four districts the predominant share (more than 62 % in the administrative district of Haskovo and 70 % or more in the districts of Blagoevgrad, Smolyan and Kardzhali) of festivals are one-day events (Error! Reference source not found. 3). In the district of Blagoevgrad, only 17 % of festivals take place for two days and the share of three-day events is even smaller – 7%. There are no festivals on local products with duration of 5 or 7 days. The district of Smolyan shows almost the same distribution, with a slightly higher share of two-day events, and a lower proportion of one-day events. One-day events strongly predominate in the district of Kardzhali too; there are however a few festivals which last for three and five days (8% of the total number for each of the two groups). Haskovo is the administrative district that displays the best distribution. The number of one-day events is relatively lower compared to the other three districts, coupled with higher


proportion of two-day events. It is the only district in which a week-long festival on local products was identified.

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Blagoevgrad

Smolyan

Kardzhali

Haskovo

1 day

76%

70%

75%

62%

2 days

17%

20%

8%

21%

3 days

7%

10%

8%

7%

5 days

0%

0%

8%

7%

7 days

0%

0%

0%

3%

Figure 13. Distribution of festivals on local products by duration Source: author’s own research While it is quite explicable for one-day events to form the prevalent share of festivals in a given region, the distribution in the four districts under review is highly uneven. In addition to this festivals lasting for more than three days are entirely missing in the districts of Blagoevgrad and Smolyan. Festivals in the district of Kardzhali there are two 5-day events and one festival, which along with its accompanying events lasts for almost a month. The district of Haskovo is the only one where there a week-long festival is held.


c.) Distribution of festivals according to their central scope According to their scope, festivals in the four districts are divided into four groups – local, regional, national and international (Error! Reference source not found.). Clearly, egional festivals are highly prevalent (reaching as much as 76% of the total number in the district of Smolyan), with the only exception of the administrative district of Kardzhali, where local ones are the most numerous. 80% 70% 60% 50% 40%

30% 20% 10% 0%

administrati ve district administrati administrati administrati ve district ve district ve district of Blagoevgra of Smolyan of Kardzhali of Haskovo d

local

20%

10%

42%

21%

regional

64%

76%

17%

52%

national

4%

5%

25%

24%

international

11%

10%

17%

3%

Figure 14. Distribution of festivals on local products by scope Source: author’s own research


More than half of the festivals on local products in the district of Blagoevgrad are of regional importance, followed by local ones (20%). There are two national and five international events, forming 4% and 11% of the total number. An enormous share of 76% of the 21 festivals in the district of Smolyan are regional in scope, followed by a significantly smaller number of local and international ones (10% each), and only one national event, forming a share of 5%. The administrative district of Kardzhali displays the most even distribution in terms of scope. Almost half of the events are local, one-quarter are national and an equal share of 17% is held by regional and national events. There are no great extremes in the district of Haskovo either, where more than half of the events are regional, followed by an almost equal number of local and national festivals (21 and 24 per cent respectively), and a small share of international ones (only 3%). It should be taken into consideration that despite the small percentage of international events in this district, absolute numbers are similar to the other three districts, with the only exception of the district of Blagoevgrad, where there are 5 international festivals, which is more than double the number in the districts of Smolyan and Kardzhali and five times more than the district of Haskovo. In the Bulgarian part of the cross-border region a total of 107 festivals on local/traditional products were identified, distributed unevenly among the four administrative districts, with the district of Blagoevgrad being the one with the largest


number (44), followed by Haskovo (31), Smolyan (20) and Kardzhali (12). In terms of festival topic, there is a clear prevalence of folklore events, while crafts, natural resources and historical heritage seem to be neglected in all four districts. An enormous part of the festivals are one-day events; in some of the districts there are no events longer than 3 days and there is only one week-long festival for the whole Bulgarian border region. The predominant part of festivals are events of regional importance, excluding the district of Kardzhali, where local events form the largest share. The district of Haskovo shows the most favourable distribution in terms of all three criteria (theme, scope and duration). The district of Kardzhali, on the other hand, is characterized by predominant share of one-day local events, coupled with a poor diversity of presented themes and the smallest absolute number of identified events.


Overview of selected festivals In the Bulgarian part of the cross-border region a total of 107 festivals on local/traditional products were identified, distributed unevenly among the four administrative districts, with the district of Blagoevgrad being the one with the largest number (44), followed by Haskovo (31), Smolyan (20) and Kardzhali (12). In terms of festival topic, there is a clear prevalence of folklore events, while crafts, natural resources and historical heritage seem to be neglected in all four districts. An enormous part of the festivals are one-day events; in some of the districts there are no events longer than 3 days and there is only one week-long festival for the whole Bulgarian border region. The predominant part of festivals consists of events of regional importance, excluding the district of Kardzhali, where local events form the largest share. Based on these findings, several recommendations for the development of the festival industry of the Bulgarian part of the cross-border area could be made. First of all, a diversification of festival topic is much needed. As mentioned above, events based on crafts, natural resources and historical heritage are rarity. Special attention should therefore be paid to existing festivals in these spheres and opportunities for launching new ones should be sought. In the administrative district of Blagoevgrad, the predominant number of festivals is based on folklore (33%) and rituals (the latter are not festivals in the pure sense of the concept but are often called so). Festivals for traditional cuisine


form 19% of the total, while agriculture (9%), crafts, natural resources and historical heritage are extremely underrepresented.

Festivals in Blagoevgrad district: distribution by topic 2% 2%

folklore 33%

33%

traditional cuisine historical heritage agriculture

9%

19%

traditional ritual

crafts 2%

natural resources

Figure 15. Distribution of festivals in the district of Blagoevgrad by topic Source: author’s research One of the newest additions in historical heritage festivals in this region is the Fair in the village of Sklave. The village is famous as the birthplace of Spartacus, who led a slave rebellion against the Roman Empire. It is thought that the ancient slave market took place at the end of the village, near the present day stadium. The contemporary fair is actually a longlasting tradition which in recent years was however enriched with more creative initiatives and a stronger focus on history. Besides its commercial character of a local market, the event


now includes reenactments of the Roman slave market that used to be held in the village. In 2014 it took place between 20 and 22 June and was funded by the Programme for Rural Development. Besides the Roman market, the event features gladiatorial training and combats, folklore events, Thracian and Roman dishes and goods are sold. An exhibition dedicated to the legendary slave Spartacus is presented, consisting of costumes of warriors from Roman times. The aim of the municipal administration in Sandanski is to make the village an attractive place for tourism. Currently, the event is of local importance. Efforts should be focused on a better promotion so that it can can gain at least regional importance and attract greater numbers of both participants and visitors. Another event with a historical focus in the district of Blagoevgrad is the International Ancient Festival Nikopolis ad Nestum in Garmen. During the festival days, participants and guests dress up in special Roman clothes, and have the opportunity to shoot with a bow or make products from clay in a pottery workshop. The event is promoted as an international in scope but certainly more efforts could be made to make it more recognizable countrywide. One of the opportunities to attract more visitors to such events is holding a scientific conference at the same time. Events in the district of Blagoevgrad that are either focused on or at least include crafts in their programmes are far from numerous. One of them is the Nevrokop Fair held in July. The concept of the festival is based on the rich cultural and historical heritage of the municipality, authentic folklore and


crafts. Songs, dances, processions along the main street of the city, exhibitions, re-enactments of historical events are all part of the programme. Pottery, bell-making and wood-carving workshops are created in the park. The national and regional chambers of crafts would be a beneficial partner in the organization of this event. Food festivals are among the most popular events worldwide. In Blagoevgrad district, there are 8 festivals that either have food as their main topic or include it as a secondary element. The two of them which have the greatest potential for development are the chestnut festivals in Kolarovo and in Brezhani. In the district of Smolyan more than half of the festivals on local products are dedicated to folk music and dances, which is quite natural, given the popularity of Rhodopean music and the fact that one of the best high schools for folk music (the one in Shiroka Laka) is located there. Traditional rituals are the central theme of 21% of the events in the district, followed by festivals on crafts and natural resources (5% each). There are no festivals based on history or agriculture, which is a niche in the festival activity in the region that event organizers could benefit from. The festivals which should receive more attention because of their topic are the Festival of mineral water in Devin, the Festival of Folk Arts in Mogilitsa. The only three festivals dedicated to local products and cuisine (Smilyanski Beans Holiday, the Holiday dedicated to honey in Malevo and the Day


of Nuts in the Village of Orehovo) should also be preserved and efforts should be made to enlarge their scope.

Festivals in Smolyan district - by topic 5% 5%

folklore traditional cuisine

21% 53%

historical heritage agriculture

0%

16%

0%

traditional ritual crafts natural resources

Figure 16. Distribution of festivals in the administrative district of Smolyan by topic Source: author’s research The festivals which should receive more attention because of their topic are the Festival of mineral water in Devin, the Festival of Folk Arts in Mogilitsa. The only three festivals dedicated to local products and cuisine (Smilyanski Beans Holiday, the Holiday dedicated to honey in Malevo and the Day of Nuts in the Village of Orehovo) should also be preserved and efforts should be made to enlarge their scope. The district of Kardzhali shows a clear difference from the trend seen in the other three regions. The most numerous events


are the ones based on traditional rituals (64% of the total number), followed by a significantly lower share of folklore festivals (18%), and an equal share of crafts and historical festivals (9% each). It is the district with the lowest absolute number of festivals on local products (only 12 identified in this study).

Festivals in Kardzhali district - by topic 0% 9%

folklore 0%

18%

traditional cuisine

9% 64%

historical heritage 0%

agriculture

traditional ritual crafts natural resources

Figure 17. Distribution of festivals in the administrative district of Kardzhali by topic Source: author’s research The administrative district of Haskovo continues the trend of folklore festivals being the most numerous group (53% of the total number). Festivals based on traditional cuisine, agricultural products, traditional rituals and natural resources are almost equally presented (a share of about 10% for each of them), and there is no event festival dedicated to the historical heritage of


the region. The total number of festivals on local products in the district included in this study is 31.

Festivals in Haskovo district - by topic folklore

3% 10%

traditional cuisine

10% 10%

53% 14%

0%

historical heritage agriculture traditional ritual crafts natural resources

Figure 18. Distribution of festivals in the administrative district of Haskovo by topic The district of Haskovo shows the most favourable distribution in terms of all three criteria (theme, scope and duration). The district of Kardzhali, on the other hand, is characterized by predominant share of one-day local events, coupled with a poor diversity of presented themes and the smallest absolute number of identified events. The detailed description of festivals in all four districts reveals that only a limited number of events enrich their offering by including a variety of activities and products. One of the good practices in this respect is the grape-picking festival in Melnik. In addition to its purely agricultural central theme, the festival includes traditional cuisine (specialties prepared by local


women), traditional household activities (for example traditional way of making butter) and folklore performances. The event is held with the active participation of both the local community and local businesses (local wineries display their range of local and international wines). Another event which can serve as an example of a good practice is the Festival of Slippers, which will is held annually in the village of Dazhdovnitsa. The festival lasts for a week, but is preceded by a rich programme of accompanying events that starts a month earlier, including a series of art schools, art workshop with artists from across the country, short films and more, which attract artists, photographers, filmmakers, poets, artists and translators to the village.76 In contrast to the abovementioned festival in Melnik, the focus here is not on complementing one aspect of tradition with other ones (traditional agricultural activities with traditional cuisine, crafts, music), but in creating a link between the traditional and the modern. The festival also benefits from the rich Thracian heritage of the region.

76

Terlik Festival (n.d.) Retrieved from http://evros-smolyan.eu/node/364 on 20.03.2014

114

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION This book had it as an objective to review a little studied phenomenon in Bulgaria – festivals for local products. By applying a combination of several methods, it has revealed some major trends in the festival activities in the southern part of the country. The main reasons for organizing a festival for local products / traditions in the surveyed area are associated with increasing the prestige of the place, the promotion of local products and traditions, and supporting tourism activities. The entertainment aspect is of significant importance too. At the same time, respondents assessed relatively low the results achieved in terms of attracting tourists and promoting local business. The exchange of experiences and culture, and entertainment were stated as benefits from holding the event. This once again confirms the role of festivals and special events in tourism development and image building. While the majority of the organizers manage to attract foreign participants, visitors of the events are mainly from the country, and more than a quarter of all visitors are residents, their relatives / friends and residents of nearby settlements. The main difficulties in organizing the event are related to insufficient funds and insufficient or ineffective advertising. In this regard, more attention should be paid to opportunities provided by the European operational programs, public-private partnerships and wide involvement of volunteers. The identified lack of interest on the part of local communities and the low

115

CONCLUSION

degree of volunteer activities are very disturbing in terms of sustainability of the event. They could be due to the irrelevant choice of festival subject focus or insufficient efforts by the organizers to collaborate with local communities. More than one third of respondents feel they do not present local traditions and products in an authentic way. This could lead to an undesirable level of commoditization and as a result lower the quality of the event. Another feature of the festivals on local products in the region is that the predominant part of them is organized by municipal administrations and/or cultural community centres. They could only benefit from partnerships with NGOs, professional associations and other organizations connected with cultural heritage and local development. The detailed analysis of festivals in the area revealed that their structure is dominated by folklore festivals. They range from community-based local events to large international festivals attracting thousands of visitors. There is a niche for launching festivals whose central theme is gastronomy, crafts, natural resources or agricultural products. The few existing festivals on such themes could be further developed to gain greater popularity. It is noteworthy that all of the three events described as best practices are organized in partnerships where the leading role is played by NGOs or other types of associations. Local authorities often see festivals as secondary to their activities, and lack the motivation and resources (including human resources)

116

CONCLUSION

to implement a successful policy in this respect. They could only benefit from more active relationships with professionals in this sphere. The three events that were identified as best practices share some common characteristics which can be taken into consideration by festival organizers. Their central theme conforms to local culture and its specifics, while at the same time does not replicate existing events. Special arrangements are made to manage carrying capacity including splitting the festival venues in several places, setting temporary accommodation, introduction of attendance fees to control visitor numbers, prolonged event duration, provision of accommodation and transfer to nearby settlements. The programme is designed to include various activities suitable to different groups (including children) and features a lot of participatory elements. One of the festivals (the Transfiguration Festival) has a well-established volunteering programme that starts prior to festival beginning and is performed in the form of workshops connected to the festival theme. All of the three events have good media coverage and have established a network of partners. While the present book has to a great extent succeeded in providing an analysis of the current condition of the festival industry in South Bulgaria, further research focused on other stakeholders (local communities, visitors, festival participants / performers) would enrich knowledge on the subject.

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Appendix 1: Programme of Wild Flowers Festival – 126 Rhodope 2015

Appendix 1: Programme of Wild Flowers Festival – Rhodope 2015 20th June (Saturday) Festival opening 7th Annual Traditional Rhodope Health Gathering and Celebration of Folk Arts and Crafts (village of Mogilitsa) Practical seminar in Aromatherapy and Natural Cosmetics (advance registration required) Photography course: Landscape photography: 18th – 21st June, village of Smilyan (advance registration required) 21st June (Sunday) Opening of “NATURA 2000 – the best of nature in Bulgaria and Europe!” photography exhibition. Presentation and discussion on “NATURA 2000 areas in the Rhodope mountains and opportunities for regional development”. Children’s celebration. Children’s chalk drawing contest – „My favourite flower” village of Smilyan Art workshops for children and adults (Fabric painting, felting, quilling, etc.), village of Smilyan Practical seminar in Aromatherapy and Natural Cosmetics, 20th24th June 2015 (advance registration required)

Appendix 1: Programme of Wild Flowers Festival – 127 Rhodope 2015 Photography course: Landscape photography: 18th – 21st June, village of Smilyan (advance registration required) Hiking trip to Mount Kom, photo session of the Livadite (“The Meadows”) protected area and the Lilium rhodopaeum (“Rhodopean lily”) flower, village of Sivino Adventure tour in the Garga Dere Canyon (advance registration required) 22nd June (Monday) Botanical and adventure tour in the Garga Dere Canyon (advance registration required) Practical seminar in Aromatherapy and Natural Cosmetics, 20th24th June 2015 (advance registration required) 23rd June (Tuesday) Practical seminar in Aromatherapy and Natural Cosmetics, 20th24th June 2015 (advance registration required) Herbal market, wild berries jams, mushrooms, syrups and carbonated drinks from elderberry, lemon balm and thyme. Mekitsi(deep-fired kneaded bread) and jam treats, village of Arda – 4 p.m. Weaving of Enyovden (Midsummer Day) wreaths and start of the Enyovden ritual, village of Gorna Arda – 6:30 p.m.

Appendix 1: Programme of Wild Flowers Festival – 128 Rhodope 2015 24th June (Wednesday) Enyovden (Midsummer Day) ritual – Meadows up the village of Gorna Arda, 4:00 a.m. (only women are allowed to participate in the ritual) Exhibition of local dishes, herbal market, crafts exhibition and party – from 10:00, village of Gorna Arda Botanical tour – familiarization with the floral variety of the Rhodope Mountain focusing on the more interesting species in the region, 11:00 a.m. – 05:00 p.m., village of Gorna Arda Practical seminar in Aromatherapy and Natural Cosmetics, 20th24th June 2015 (advance registration required) 25th June (Thursday) Art workshops, village of Smilyan Culinary evening – cooking with wild herbs and flowers, village of Mogilitsa 26th June (Friday) Adventure tour in the Garga Dere Canyon, village of Smilyan The Springs of the Arda bicycle tour (town of Smolyan – village of Gorna Arda – the springs of the Arda River – village of Smilyan – town of Smolyan) 27th June (Saturday)

Appendix 1: Programme of Wild Flowers Festival – 129 Rhodope 2015 Folklore celebration – Rhodopean folk dances and dancing competition, village of Smilyan Adventure tour in the Garga Dere Canyon, village of Smilyan Photography course: Macrophotography: 27th – 28th June: 27 – 28 юни, (advance registration required) The Springs of the Arda bicycle tour (town of Smolyan – village of Gorna Arda – the springs of the Arda River – village of Smilyan – town of Smolyan) 28h June (Sunday) Adventure tour in the Garga Dere Canyon, village of Smilyan (advance registration required) Art workshops for children and adults (Fabric painting, felting, quilling, etc.), village of Smilyan Photography course: Macrophotography: 27th – 28th June, (advance registration required) The Springs of the Arda bicycle tour (town of Smolyan – village of Gorna Arda – the springs of the Arda River – village of Smilyan – town of Smolyan)

Apendix 2: Volunteering programme of the 130 Transfiguration festival Apendix 2: Volunteering programme of the Transfiguration festival The second volunteer camp will be held from 8 to 18 of July 2015. The main activities that will be carried out are: 1. Clean the area of the festival and the village of Dolen. 2. Completion of composting toilets. 3. Completion of mobile kitchens and areas. 4. Building the base and construction of various types of fencing and barrier equipment. 5. Building of tented camps. 6. Work on finishing activities related to the construction of the amphitheater stage and area, and the main and round stages. What is necessary to bring with you? Tent, mat, sleeping bag, warm clothes, stable and comfortable shoes. Upon request from you we can offer a limited number of places in dormitory (hotel) for an extra charge (between 5 and 8 Euro per night). The food at the camp is provided by the organizers. The items for which you will be able to apply are: Working with stone - Stone masonry, cobblestones, working with local craftsmen - Excavation activities Working with clay - Clay mixes and fillings wall: lightened clay, cobb, clay plasters - basic and finishing layer, jointing, lime plasters Working with wood - Cleaning and preparation of different types of wood

Apendix 2: Volunteering programme of the 131 Transfiguration festival - Construction of composting toilets - Building festival infrastructure - fences and different types of structures Work in kitchen - Cooks - Suppliers Cleaning and maintaining cleanliness - Cleaning of the terrain of the village of Dolen and the areas of the festival - Mowing the lawn Additional Activities - Building of parking and tent camps - Installation and elevation of tents and equipment - Chipping off restricted areas - Laying and installation of info-communication equipment