Growing UP Festivals with innovative Approaches

The project aims strengthening of the tourism potential of Yambol-Edirne destination through innovative promotion methods and increasing the attractiveness of the local festivals.

The project envisages promotion of two local festivals - each one will be popularized in the partnering country across the border.  The promotional campaign of the Bulgarian festival “Kukerlandia” will be held in Edirne and of the Turkish “Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling” festival - in Yambol. Within the scope of the project the “Museum of Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling” in Edirne will be equipped and furnished. Project partners will organize 2 roundtable meetings entitled "How can you promote the festival to increase tourism".

As a result a new concept for conducting cultural and festival events will be developed. The project will contribute to strengthening of the  tourism potential  in the cross-border region.

Project status: Finished

The project partners have implemented the activities according to the schedule.

During the years 2017 and 2018, the popularization of the unique Bulgarian and Turkish traditions has been in the focus of project “Growing up Festivals with innovative Approaches”, and thank to the project activities Kukerlandia festival reached beyond the boundaries of Bulgaria and the Festival of Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling was performed in Yambol, Bulgaria.

The revival of the Kuker-tradition (mummer) and the transformation of the Southeastern region into an attractive tourist destination are part of the goals of the project, which is realized on the territory of several settlements in the municipality of Tundja, Bulgaria and Edirne, Turkey. There, century-old customs are being modernized, becoming popular to young people and managing to turn the event into a truly modern festival.

Within the project under the hands of the young artists Nikolay Dimitrov and Daniel Dubarov the buildings of the municipality, the stadium, the community center, the open stage and the post in the two villages acquired a picturesque, new look. With their help and talent, the mummer masks and traditions "come to life" on the facades of buildings in two settlements of the municipality. Three-dimensional figures and a multitude of colorful pictures of mummers remind residents and guests about the Bulgarian traditions and make the small settlements a real attraction for the tourists.

As part of the project activities, elaboration of mummer masks, necklaces, bells and stitches in support of twelve mummer groups have been a real challenge. Local craftsmen and tailors of mummer clothing with extreme precision and love for the tradition created 200 patterns that mummer wore during the Kukerland Masquerade Festival.

An emphasis in the innovative promotion of the Kukeri tradition beyond the boundaries of Bulgaria has been the performance of a spectacular demonstration of mummer games in the center of Edirne. The event gathered many people who discovered the treasure of Bulgarian folklore and traditions for the first time.

Materials from the project:

The Promotional materials are available HERE.

Project products:

The project brochure is available HERE.

The Final report from concluding discussion about "How can you promote the festival to increase tourism" is available HERE.

Final report from concluding discussion on topic “Organizing and conducting round table meeting about "How can you promote the festival to increase tourism: Conclusions and Recommendations” is available HERE.

Social media presence of the project:

https://www.facebook.com/Проект-Разширяване-на-фестивали-с-иновативни-подходи-165383960868372/?hc_ref=ARSZnZsEc1x5VLojrp1m_UABfnGqMr2rM6MlNfiYYOSSQcdfFof3HSy0_8a8Dxq4ysk