Mummer's festival

The mummer's festival or Kukerovden is a folklore festival that has a centuries-old roots in Bulgaria. In Ivaylovgrad area it is associated with the customs and traditions back in the ancient times of the Thracians. It is a pagan festival associated with the peasant's pray for abundance, fertility, and rich crop. The local people paint their faces, mask themselves, dance, and jump in terms of chasing away the evil forces. The mummer's festival in Ivaylovgrad is the only one in the Eastern Rhodopes, it is celebrated annually in the week of the Shrovetide.