We learned about the Festival of the Folklore Costume in Jeravna by chance. It is so exclusively nice that I believe people do not to talk about it too much so that it does not become over-exposed and commercialized.
For the entire duration of the festival, 3 hot August days, mobile phones, cameras, wrist watches, sun glasses, jeans and modern attire are strictly forbidden. You cannot use plastic cups, smoke cigarettes or listen tomodern music. All of that is not simply forbidden, it is entirely forgotten, because once you pass the entrance to the festival, you are transcended into a parallel reality, at least 200 years back in time.
The whole festival takes place in a beautiful area, called Dobromeritsa, just outside Jeravna. It is organized by the folklore ensemble Bulgare, who signed a contract with the local municipality to organize the event on this place for 30 years. It all started with a wedding, recreating all the typical Bulgarian nuptial traditions and rituals, which the newlyweds and their 400 guests enjoyed so much, that they decided to repeat the event every year.
If you love folk dances this is your place. Here you can dance almost 24/7, with occasional periods of rest when the scene is occupied by the guest performers or the wrestling fights. Various orchestras compete with each other, and keep the music going non stop. The music is from all regions, and the folk dances vary from pompously slow to wind fast. If anyone of the professional dancers sees you do not know any of the dance steps, they normally come to you and begin to show you how it is done. No one looks down on you for being an absolute beginner. From time to time, it makes sense to just stop for a while and see the professionals really give themselves entirely to the music and enjoy it with each fibre of their body and soul.
The atmosphere wraps you in, and makes you forget literally everything, transporting you back into the mythical "in illo tempore" which Mircea Eliade describes so well. Just imagine the whole field full of people in national folk costumes, sittiling around on colorful chergas, drinking rakia and wine, easily making friends with the neighbors. On one side craftsmen showcase their talens in baking bread in traditional stone ovens in the blazing ambers. Beautiful women slice cooled watermelon and pour glasses of wine. You can have a strong black Turkish coffee boiled on hot sand. Further down the pathway, some young men are preparing the cheverme, or young lamb roasted on open fire. Once the meat is ready, there is a special ritual when it is transported to the main field, accompanied by solemn music, and sliced into pieces for everyone. The home-made beans meal is also one of the most delicious I have ever tasted.
It all happens in the open air, in a cool meadow surrounded by tall fir trees. As it is still summertime, many people decide to spend the night right there, under the million trees, but for us it makes even more sense to find accomodation in one of the centuries old houses in Jeravna, which is the largest national architectural reserve Bugaria.
The program of the festival is quite packed with events to keep you entertained throughout the day. You can get a thorough glimpse of traditional Bulgarian culture - from the nestinari (dances over blazing charcoals), to the wrestlers, from the local ensembles to the hospitably welcomed guest performers, from the entrancing dance around the huge fire to the traditional noisy dinner with friends, it is all there, to make these three days totally unforgettable. And to make you crave for more, however only next summer...
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