STRANDJA FEST
JOINT REPORT Assessment of Local Fairs and Festivals in Strandja
This document was created within the Strandja fest project, ref. No CB005.1.22.056 under the Program Interreg for Cross-Border Cooperation Bulgaria-Turkey 2014-2020, the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, as well as the two partner countries Bulgaria and Turkey. Full responsibility for the content of this document is taken by the Prosveta Chitalishte 1914 - Malko Tarnovo and under no circumstances can it be considered that this document reflects the official opinion of the European Union and the Contracting Authority.
Content of the report:
Topic Page
I. Introduction 2
II. Gathering of information in cross-border region 3
1. Methodology of Assessment of Local Fairs and Festivals in Strandja 3
2. Project partners and think-tank group contribution to 4 research on Festivals in Strandja mountains
3. Territorial scope of the survey. Territorial administrative 4 divisions in Bulgarian and Turkish part 4. Methods of gathering information. Sources of information 6 5. Assessment steps 9 III. Analysis 11 1.Event terminology and definitions 11
2. Definitions and types of most popular events in Strandja 16 3. Analysis of popularity and growth potential of festivals in Strandja 21 4. Stakeholders and organizers of events in Strandja 29 5. Financing of festivals and events 38 6. SWOT Analysis of Festivals in Strandja 47
7. Assessment of festivals in Strandja 48 8. Case study of possibilities for diversification and development of 67 joint cross-border festivals 9. Contemporary trends and changes that occur in Strandja 86 10. Benefits and chalenges 88 11. Recommendations for development of Strandja as a festival 93 destination IV. Conclusions 99 Sources of information 107
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I. Introduction
The survey has been realized within the project “Strandja/Yildiz -the mountain of festivals (STRANDJA-FEST), funded under Project partners: the INTEEREG Cross- Border Cooperation PP1: National community center Prosveta 1914 , Programme IPA " Bulgaria- Turkey 2014- Malko Tarnovo, district Burgas, Bulgaria 2020. PP2: Kirklareli Culture and Tourism Directorate, In recent years some traditional fairs and Kirklareli, province, Turkey festivals in Strandja increased their popularity. They have kept the region’s uniqueness and have become important assets and opportunities to develop economically sustainable touristic products and alternative and diversified tourism activities in order to enhance the economic situation in the area.
The project aims to improve the access to tourist information for the cross-border region and increase the awareness about Strandja as a festive tourism destination. The design of a joint festival Programme will reinforce the local festivals by building a network of festivals and fairs with trainings for organizers and stakeholders.
The study is aimed at gathering information that would promote Strandja as a mountain of festivals. The aim of study is also to identified and estimate festivals in order to explore the potential for tourism development in border regions Bulgaria -Turkey, drawing attention upon local events and festivals.
Local festivals and events are considered to be significant cultural 'assets' that can substantially contribute to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage of cross- border region. Consequently, they are part of the local cultural identity, an essential element of the originality and branding of cross-border areas, and may act as tourism attraction poles.
The authors of the present study has mostly collected and summarised the information, as well as outlined a few main findings and recommendations, but it was not the author’s aim to provide an in-depth analysis of the situation or to formulate specific proposals for reforms.
Assessment of Local Fairs and Festivals in Strandja
In order to implement this activity a think tank research group has been created in June, 2017. It consists of 4 experts- 2 Bulgarian experts and 2 Turkish experts. The Scope of our work included following activities:
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I) Research - It comprises of the following components:
Research on annual local events in Strandja mountain, including, description, period, key actors, marketing and promotion of events, including ICT promotional tools, related services, other tourism resources in areas; Analysis of their popularity and growth potential Stakeholders and financing for festivals in Strandja, European Folklore Festivals' networking Development of a joint calendar of all festivals in Strandja. This activity will help to the partners and event managers to select and upload information on project web-platform in order to create and maintain on-line joint calendar and mapping of local fairs/festivals; Defining event managers and stakeholders in cross-border region; Elaboration criteria for ranking festivals - The criteria was elaborated and reconciled with Bulgarian and Turkish researchers, project staff, and local stakeholders. Questionnaires were disseminated between stakeholders and summary of their evaluations were prepared. Creating an online questionnaire with tourists. The survey was sorted according to economic impact, popularity, culture value, etc. and it aimed at defining the 20 most popular festivals (events) in Strandja region. Case study of possibilities for diversification and development of joint cross- border festivals Analysis and think tank group recommendations on development of Strandja as a festive destination II) Supporting the development of a network for enhancing cross-border cooperation and working on the mutual interests of promotion of a joint destination. Setting up and facilitating a network; Participation in the Network of Tourism Stakeholders in Strandja
III) Participation in staff meetings and meetings between experts, stakeholders.
II. Gathering of information in cross-border region
1. Methodology of Assessment of Local Fairs and Festivals in Strandja
When examining the findings of the present study the reader should bear in mind various methodological difficulties and obstacles that hinder the qualification of certain events as festivals, especially in the case of smaller or amateur events, and if there is a lack of information about some events or projects.
The festivals and events, which were taken into account in this study, are listed in the Annexes to report. Events, which call themselves festivals or panagirs are also listed. However, there are cases when the so-called “festival” is a new or small/ short of duration (for instance half a day) event and not open enough to the general public. It is 3
rather a group of thematically related events. It is difficult to compare in nature and size such events with the well-established festivals lasting a few days and targeting a wider audience, as well as new audiences.
2. Project partners and think-tank group contribution to research on Festivals in Strandja mountains
The National Community Center Prosveta 1914 , Malko Tarnovo, district Burgas, Bulgaria is the host and organizer of the festival "In Malko Tarnovo’s way - from the springs of Strandja“. The project team and experts are invited to visit the festival held in Malko Tarnovo on 29 and 30-th of July 2017. During the meeting, the project team from Bulgaria and Turkey provided methodological support to the experts in the process of development of the questionnaires and conducting a case study for the Festival in Malko Tarnovo. During the meeting were discussed the opportunities for organizing a joint cross-border festival.
A draft list of identified festivals and events was presented and discussed during the meeting. The Employer approved the datasheet model and gathered information for settlements, as well as natural and cultural attractions. This information is of great importance because there is not yet a complete list of events taking place in Strandja. Gathered information will be used for the development of promotional materials for festivals in Strandja.
On August 26, 2017, a second meeting was held in the premises of Malko Tarnovo between the project team and the Bulgarian experts participating in the study. During the meeting the methodology for evaluation of the events and festivals in Strandja was discussed and the content of the questionnaire was defined. The experts presented the criteria for assessing the the attractiveness of the festivals and the information collected so far is about 20 festivals in the Turkish part of Strandja and 135 festivals in the Bulgarian part of Strandja.
On October 22, 2017 in Kirklareli was held the 3rd meeting between experts from Bulgaria and Turkey. Intermediate results of the expert assessment and the online survey among tourists were discussed. A plan for the content of the final report has been defined.
3. Territorial scope of the survey .Territorial administrative divisions in Bulgarian and Turkish part
The scope of the study of the territory of Strandja mountains, on which the study should extend, is problematic because the mountain is overlapping with the Sakar Mountains. There are different opinions and publications on the impact of Strandja on the territory of the settlements. In consultation with the partners, the scope of the study was broadened. It was accepted that the following borders are accepted for the territory of Strandzha: to the east Strandja reaches the Black Sea, to the north it extends to the municipalities of Sozopol, Sredets, and Bourgas, to the west come several villages from the municipalities 4
of Elhovo and Bolyarovo, to the south is the Turkish border and the Turkish part of Strandja. The municipalities of Malko Tarnovo and Tsarevo are entirely covered by Strandja. Of the municipalities of Burgas, Elhovo, Sozopol, Primorsko, Sredets (17 settlements), and Bolyarovo (15 settlements and non-urban areas) are included certain settlements that fall within the territory of Strandja. Elhovo Municipality is one of the constituent municipalities of Yambol District. Out of the 22 settlements, 11 fall within the boundaries of the Strandja Mountain: the town of Elhovo and the villages of Borisovo, Boyanovo, Goliam Dervent, Granitovo, Lesovo, Malomirovo, Melnitsa, Razdel, Stroyno and Chernozem. From the municipality of Bolyarovo 15 of the settlements fall within the borders of Strandja Mountain: Bolyarovo, villages: Voden, Vulchi izvor, Golyamo Krushevo, Dennitsa, Dabovo, Iglika, Kamen peak, Kraynovo, Oman, Popovo, Ruzhitsa, Stefan Karadjovo, Strandzha and Sharkovo.
District Burgas District Yambol
Burgas municipality was excluded from the scope of the survey because there is a very small part from Strandja mountain on its territory.
Districts of Kırklareli: Lüleburgaz, Pınarhisar, Babaeski, Vize, Demirköy, Pehlivanköy and Kofçaz. But as it is seen in the map Vize, Demirköy, Kofçaz and Pınarhisar are belong to Strandjha territory. In this territory number of cities 8; number of burghs 26; number of villages are 191. Kavaklı, Üsküp and İnece burghs are in Kırklareli; Büyükmandıra, Alpullu and Karahalil burghs are in Babaeski; İğneada is in Demirköy; Büyükkarıştıran, Ahmetbey, Evrensekiz, Kırıkköy and Sakızköy burghs are in Lüleburgaz; Kaynarca and Yenice burghs are in Pınarhisar; Çakıllı, Kıyıköy and Sergen are in Vize.The mountain location and proximity to the sea give it the advantage of combining different types of tourism - sea , eco, rural, hunting, and cultural. Strandja is a living museum of the intangible cultural heritage - here one can still see traditions preserved for millennia - Fire Dance, White Kuker, Strandja panagiri, ancient ottoman festivals such as oil wrestling, and festivals related to the mountain’s natural heritage. The people of Strandja are very proud of their
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cultural heritage and preserve it in their everyday life. Today one can still experience those old Strandja traditions that have survived the ages.
District Kirklareli
4. Methods of gathering information. Sources of information.
The study of the Strandja festivals took place from June to September 2017. At first, a list of organizations and institutions involved in holding festivals and local events in the eligible cross-border area Bulgaria- Turkey was prepared. The list of stakeholders included Local Authorities, Culture centers, and Cultural Associations and institutions in the districts of Burgas , Yambol, Kirklareli, as well as stakeholders in Regional and National level.
The methods of collecting information included:
✓ Official sources of information, Bulgaria The National Statistical Institute published ✓ The National cultural calendar, cultural information about the total number of festivals and celebrations as follows: On municipal calendars, and calendars of culture the territory of Burgas they are 502, while centers provide more complete information on the territory of Yambol they are only 33. about events and other information such as the place, date of implementation, organizer, etc. Some information sites also provide information about festivals in BG part of Strandja such as www.sabori.bg, fest.bg etc. In this regard, we must point out that cultural calendars are filled with many different events and celebrations of national and church holidays, as well as various initiatives for children and young people. In this regard, we specify that no events such as the “Martenica Workshop” or a single concert are comparable with events such as big festivals, but they are still events in the cultural calendar; Also, in many cultural calendars, the exact total number of events can not be determined due to a lack of information, so the events we included in the original project 6
were determined according to the following initial criteria: a. The event has public support – it’s included in the calendar – is on a municipal or national scale, and has specified date and venue, and organizer b. The event has a program c. The event is open to the general public d. The event is authentic, incl. - demonstrates the cross-border identity and culture of the region, presents local customs, folklore, crafts, modern literature, music, dance, other arts, creative industries e. The event attracts the audience and has the potential to develop tourism and promote the cross-border area.
Online information published on the websites of relevant institutions and organizations. Meetings and interviews with stakeholders and organizers of various events, tourism professors from the College of Tourism at Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov, tour operators and others. In order to explore the dynamics of networking local festivals and events in Strandja, so as to support tourism development in cross-border areas, a research survey was carried out and addressed to a wide range of different festivals and events, as well as to organizers of local festivals in the cross-border area of Bulgaria- Turkey. Information provided in response to a survey and interviews with representatives of municipalities and district the Governments of Burgas and Yambol, the University “Prof. D-r Assen Zlatarov”, museums in Sredets and Malko Tarnovo, and some culture centers in Malko Tarnovo, Elhovo, Kirklareli, Babeski. Proposed Components of an Event Inventory: • Name or description of the event • Main theme(s) • Other tourism resources in the region • Dates, Times, Venues, Locations • Frequency or periodicity • Indicators of professionalism (e.g., business plan, budget, staff)- questions within interviews for short listed festivals • Key contact persons and addresses • Visitor/guest profile; target market segments- case study in Malko Tarnovo
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• Tourist orientation (e.g., reflected in goals, marketing, attendance)- case study in Malko Tarnovo • Activities (i.e., the program) • Goals and objectives of the organizers- case study in Malko Tarnovo • Historical Background (e.g., date of origin; development)- case study in Malko Tarnovo • Major sponsors (any "title" sponsor?)- case study in Malko Tarnovo • Staff and volunteer numbers; staff positions; full or part-time- case study in Malko Tarnovo • Total operating budget- case study in Malko Tarnovo, questions within interviews for short listed festivals • Economic impact- not possible to find statistics • Operating surplus or loss- not possible to find statistics • Grants or other support received (amounts; sources)- few projects only • Any strategic plan? marketing strategy?- Some information in municipality development plans and regional development strategies of South East region and Burgas and Yambol districts, Strategy paper for Turkey 2014 – 2020 as Trakya region Development Plan 2014 – 2023 etc. • Support requested or needed (link to SWOT)
Samples for assessment were also sent to the representatives of stakeholders. In some cases the samples were not completely filled in and/ or the entire information requested was not provided. Some of the administrations did not fill in the samples at all. In other cases there were differences in the information provided by one and the same source. The general conclusion regarding the smaller municipalities covered by the study is that they do not keep systematized, exhaustive, and updated information on the festivals they support. Case study
A total of 156 festivals/events were recorded within the eligible cross-border region.
On the territory of Turkish Strandja were identified 21 festivals. On the base of preliminary research Bulgarian experts report draft 1- A list of 135 festivals and events
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identified on the territory of Bulgarian Strandja and draft 2 – where some events and meeting were united and result is 93 festivals and events.
A record of the local festivals in the eligible cross-border area Bulgaria- Turkey was elaborated. The record included the following fields of data for each festival: festival’s name, range and theme, dates, duration, frequency, location (regional unit, municipality), site, description of some of main tourist resources in area (some history of villages), the contact details of the organizers (name, address, phone number, fax, e- mail, communication manager, website, website, social media if they have such). Mapping of the local product festivals took place in the context of creating a webpage www.strandja-fest.info .
This interactive tool that was formed for STRANDJA-FEST project, allows easy navigation into local events and products by providing an abundance of information for visitors (products, festivals, location, transportation facilities etc.). Every event manager/organizer that has registered with their email can easily locate all required information about forthcoming festivals and map their location.
The spatial structure of the registered festivals reveals a rather uneven spatial distribution within the study area, with a significant concentration in the Malko Tarnovo and Tzarevo municipality (31 and 30 respectively), where the whole territory of municipalities Malko Tarnovo and Tsarevo are within Strandja mountain. They are followed by Sozopol, Primorsko, Sredets, Bolyarovo (20,22,18 respectively) and a smaller one in Bolyrovo and Elhovo (5 and 8 respectively). Within the Turkish eligible cross-border region, there are a total of 21 festivals in the Province of Kirklareli .
5. Assessment steps
When examining the findings of the preliminary study the experts met various methodological difficulties and obstacles to qualifying certain events as festivals, especially in the case of smaller events, amateur events, and given the lack of information about some individual events/ projects. The festivals and events in Bulgaria, which were taken into account in the present study, are listed in the Draft 3 to the Research/Short list. Events, which call themselves festivals and panagirs were also listed. However, there are cases when the so-called “festival” is a new or small/ short of
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duration (for instance half a day) event and not open enough to the general public; it is rather a group of thematically related events. It is difficult to compare such events in nature and size with the well-established festivals lasting a few days and targeting a wider audience, as well as new audiences (for example festivals organized in sea municipalities on Black sea seaside). On the other hand, some local events are very popular among the local community and are important for the development of these settlements and municipalities. Most of them keep cultural heritage and traditions which is also very valuable. A short list with 24 Bulgarian festivals was prepared. Experts and stakeholders defined at least 2 festivals for each of the above mentioned municipalities to be included in a short list of Bulgarian festivals.
24 festivals on the territory of Bulgarian Strandza and 18 festivals on the territory of Turkish Strandja were identified. The purpose of the study is to gather information about the most popular events in Strandja in order to promote them through an information platform and social media. The stakeholders in the region evaluated the most attractive and unique ones, which have the potential to attract tourists (a total of 20 in the territory of the Bulgarian and Turkish Strandja).
Assessment of Local Fairs/Festivals in Strandja included next steps:
✓ Elaboration of List of event managers and stakeholders (34 from Bulgaria and 25 from Turkey) ✓ Elaboration and dissemination of criteria for assessing the attractiveness of the Strandja Mountain festivals among 50 stakeholders in Bulgaria and Turkey. The sample was disseminated through email and also publish on the http://strandja- fest.info/ ✓ Elaboration and dissemination of a Questionnaire about tourists. The questionnaire was publish on www. http://strandja-fest.info/ ✓ Elaboration and dissemination of questionnaire for case study of the festival held in Malko Tarnovo “ From the Spring of Strandja” ✓ Analysis on results ✓ Conclusions and recommendations
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III. Analysis
1.Event terminology and definitions
Definitions of Festival
According to the dictionary1, the synonyms of “event” include "occurrence", "happening", "incident", or "experience". The basic criterion defining all types of “event” is that they are temporary. All events have a finite length, and for planned events this is usually fixed and publicized in advance. People know and expect that events end, and this fact generates a major part of their appeal.
Periodic events occur regularly, as with festivals held every year in the same place, or events that are held regularly but in different locations each time.
Cultural Celebrations
“Celebrate” has multiple meanings: to observe a day or event with ceremonies of respect, festivity or rejoicing; to perform a religious sacrament or ceremony (such as to celebrate mass or a marriage) etc.
Festivals and fairs are one of the most common forms of cultural celebration, and while many are traditional, with long histories, the majority have been created in recent decades. Parades and processions are common elements of festivals, but those that are held on their own also display many celebratory elements. Many of the other major types of event, especially when concerned with art and entertainment, are frequently found within or as the theme of festivals. The same could be said for sport and recreational events, which are also common festival elements.
Falassi (1987)2 has summarized the contemporary English-language definitions of "festival", of which the most pertinent is "a sacred or profane time of celebration, marked by special observances". While traditional festivals often retain religious or mystical roots,
1 http://www.dictionary.com/browse/event 2 Falassi, Alessandro. Festival: Definition and Morphology. 11
contemporary festivals are primarily "profane", or secular. And although many traditional festival’s themes have been retained, including those related to the harvest, countless new themes have been established.
For a working definition that is concise and simple, the following definition is offered: A festival is a public, themed celebration.
The object of celebration, which can be called the theme, is often explicitly recognized in the name of the festival- for example “Music Folklore festival”, “Horo v Strandja” or “Festival of Periwinkle” and ”Festival of Manna Honey (honey dew)”. But many festivals with diverse programs are actually celebrations of the community itself. Falassi (1987) also noted: Both the 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. Unless the public is invited to participate, the event is as a private party.
It is common to label events as “community festivals” if their purpose is primarily to celebrate civic identity, pride or sharing. This type of festival, an example of which are the Summer Cultural Holidays in the town of Malko Tarnovo, often encompasses a broad program of events appealing to the whole community (e.g., parades, sports, fireworks, concerts, food) and increasingly many of them are also tourism-oriented. One of the main justifications for local authorities to get involved in producing or assisting such events, at least in the New World, is the absence of traditional events to mark the seasons and bring everyone together. Furthermore, modern life involves so much moving around that communities typically lack a stable population and so the government (or some other organization) has to create a means of preserving national identity.
The Arts Festivals network in the UK (www.artsfestivals.co.uk) describes the following thematic types: opera; literature; early music; dance; new festivals; anniversaries and celebrations; festival commissions and premieres; family and children‟s events; classical music; theatre and performance; jazz and music world; community and street arts.
Festivals are one of the most common forms of cultural celebration, and while many are traditional with a long history behind them, the majority have been created in recent
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decades. Parades and processions are common elements in festivals, but those that are held on their own also display many celebratory elements. Many of the other major types of event, especially art and entertainment, are frequently found within or as the theme of festivals, and sport and recreational events are also common festival elements.
Falassi (1987) has summarized the contemporary English-language definitions of "festival", of which the most pertinent is "a sacred or profane time of celebration, marked by special observances". While traditional festivals often retain religious or mystical roots, contemporary festivals are primarily "profane", or secular. And although many traditional festival’s themes have been retained, including those related to the harvest, countless new themes have been established.
For a working definition that is concise and simple, the following definition is offered:
Unless the public is invited to participate, the event is a private party. Merely selling tickets to the public might not be sufficient to qualify as a festival, as the celebration should be by and for the public. The object of a celebration, which can be called the theme, is often explicitly recognized in the name, as in Festival of Music, or Tulip Festival. But many festivals with diverse programs are actually celebrations of the community itself. Falassi (1987) also noted: Both the 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.
It is common to label events as “community festivals” if their purpose is primarily to celebrate civic identity, pride or sharing. This type of events, generally represented by IFEA (International Festival and Events Association) and similar national festivals and event associations, often encompasses a broad program of events appealing to the whole community (e.g., parades, sports, fireworks, concerts, food) and increasingly many of them are also tourism-oriented. One of the main justifications for a local government to get involved in producing or assisting in such events, at least in the New World, is the absence of traditional events to mark the seasons and bring everyone together. Furthermore, modern life involves so much moving about that communities typically lack 13
a stable population and so the government (or some other organization) has to create a means of identity.
There is no single internationally recognised definition either – the concept as such has been the subject of numerous studies. According to the 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics Handbook No. 3 (2015) defining festivals simply as “thematic and public commemorations” 3 is the most practical approach. And the 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics (FCS) puts festivals in the category of “performance and celebration”, defining them further on as including “all cultural events, which happen happen locally and can be informal in nature”.
The concept of a festival is not regulated under Bulgarian law. In order to make our work easier and reach a common understanding of the term “festival” in project studies, including the present one, we’ll use the broad explanatory definition of the researcher Liyubomir Kutin4. He states that “philosophical and cultural analysis regards the festival as a unity of nine categories, falling into three main groups”; in summary those are: anthropological (game, show, celebration); social and cultural (space, time, institutions);artistic (artists, programme, audience). Kutin5 distinguishes between the following types of festivals, as defined according to different criteria: competitive (competitions) and representational; for new creations and for the interpretation of existing creations for pop and artistic (high) culture; traditional, experimental and vanguard; local, national and international; annual, biennale, triennial, quadrennial events; of short duration – intensive, and of long duration – closer to the regular cultural season; seasonal; public and private; for amateurs and professionals; monoartistic and synthetic; etc.6
For the purposes of the present study a broader interpretation of the term festival will
3 1 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics Handbook No. 3: Festival statistics: Key concepts and current practices, 2015, p. 9; or group of authors: Festivals: Challenges of Growth, Distinction, Support Base and Internationalization, Course reader for Management of Performing Arts and Festivals, University of Arts, Belgrade, 2005/2006. 4 1 Кутин, Любомир – „Фестивалите в България – контекст, проблеми, перспективи“, Varna – Ruse, 2014; Кутин, Л. Фестивалът като феномен на художествената култура, Сталкер, Varna, 2004 5 1 Кутин, Любомир – „Фестивалите в България – контекст, проблеми, перспективи“, Varna – Ruse, 2014. 6 Economic study of the public support for cultural projects, in particular festivals, at national and municipal levels, Rozalina Laskova, Sofia, April 5th, 2015, p. 8 14
be adopted. Not only events called “festivals” shall be described as such, but also other events of a festive nature, incl. specific and recognizable; competitions involving public events of festival nature; days of a specific art open to the general public (i.e. not solely meant for specialists in the specific form of art or guests connected to the organisers). Including more than one event accessible to everyone interested and targeting general audiences constitute important criteria. Typology of festivals published by Sullivan at all, 2009 looks appropriate about the present Survey on festivals in Strandja mountain:
But most of events in Strandja mountain have a mixed feature.
Cultural Anthropology and Events Cultural anthropologists have long held an interest in the many forms and cultural meanings of performances and celebrations, including carnivals and festivals. Anthropologists and sociologists (e.g., Manning, 1983) have long been interested in the nature of celebration and how it both stems from, and helps define culture. This viewpoint induces a focus on the annual calendar of celebrations related to factors such as the harvest and the changing of seasons. Farber (1983) argued that the study of festivals and events can reveal much about a community's symbolic, economic, social and political life, as events create links between people and groups in a community and between the community and the world. 15
For example, drawing on the seminal writings of Turner (e.g., 1982), Tomlinson (1986) examined the small-town festival as a "performance". The parades are full of imagery and symbolism reflecting local or nationally held values: purity; beauty; humor; religion, and politics. The townfolk are provided with a stage on which to perform for themselves, for the community, and as representatives of the community. Roles can be reversed, a persons' status temporarily abandoned, and all kinds of behavior tolerated which would otherwise be socially unacceptable. Many authors have worried about the negative influence of tourism on traditional cultures. Often these effects are most visible in the area of cultural productions such as rituals, music, dance, and festivals, and particularly those which incorporate traditional costumes. Residents of destination areas quickly learn that culture can be a commodity for which tourists will pay a great amount, resulting in either the transformation of occasional, sometimes sacred, events into regular performances, or the modification of rituals into forms of entertainment which are easier to perform or please the audiences more. In both cases, the rewards become monetary and divorced from their cultural meanings. This process has been called the "commercialization" or "commodification" of culture. For example some people are afraid of the possible commercialization of the Nestinarsko shestvie ( procession) in 5 villages in Strandja- Balgari, Kondolovo, Kosti, Slivarovo, Gramatikovo.
However, there is little evidence for tourism having a negative effect on cultural events and it has not been established how and why negative impacts might occur. Some authors have argued that tourism actually helps to preserve or revive traditions and strengthen indigenous cultures (e.g., Boissevan, 1979; Cheska, 1981), and events are one of the most common mechanisms. Sofield (1991) examined a successful, traditional event in the South Pacific and drew conclusions regarding the analysis and attainment of sustainability for indigenous cultural tourism developments.
2. Definitions and types of most popular events in Strandja
Religious Events Many religious festivals occur around the world, although many appear to have been
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secularized to some degree. Religious or spiritual symbols and rites are also frequently incorporated into otherwise secular events, ranging from prayers at public assemblies to the blessing of ships before sailing. One generic type of religious event is the “pilgrimage” to holy places. The customs and ordinances of Strandja are related to specific days of the year, which in most cases coincide with church holidays from the Christian calendar. Traditional folklore seperates these holidays in two periods: winter from Dimitrovday to St. George's Day summer from St. George to Dimitrovday
Customs and rites (winter cycle) The winter cycle customs and ordinances are differentiated as a series of ordered Evenings. The first evening is against Niculden, the second against Christmas and the third against Ivanov day. In Strandzha, the 4th Kandilo is the Vasilyovden night.
Customs and rites (spring cycle) Kuker games have a great potential due to them being a well-known tradition with a long history. They are similar to the carnival games in Greece dedicated to the pagan god Dionysius. Fillet games most strongly characterize the uniqueness of Strandja folklore. They start with the lighting of the basket on the town square and the participation of all the inhabitants of the village. March ritual custom - Flying a red cloth, a belt, or an apron before sunrise to make Baba Martha happy. Unique to the Strandzha region is the ritual connected with the Enyovden ignition of health fires that are jumped over in the evening, and in the morning, before sunrise, the rolling of a green lawn for better health. After that, the flowers that have been in a water baker overnight are named. All settlements in the municipality have their own fairs associated with the holiday of a saint. In Malko Tarnovo this is the day of St. Virgin Mary. It is celebrated at the end of August with an excursion in Tsarnogorovo to the chapel of St. Virgin Mary.
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The population in the Bulgarian part of Strandja is very religious. Temple celebrations in Strandzha, called Panagiri, have emerged entirely as religious holidays. Every village in Strandja has several chapels - near the village of Zabernovo there are 7; near the village of Brashlyan the chapels and the places with names of saints are 9; near Zvezdets there are 4 and so on. Their exact number for the territory of Strandja is more than 100. Moreover, the common features of the celebrations of St. Modest, St. Elena, St. Marina, St. Shiliyan of the Rhodope and Strandja populations are characteristic of the Christian population south of the central streams of Struma and Mesta. This is explained by the strong influence of ancient culture on the population in these areas. It is in this area, as well as in northern Greece, that chapels are also quite common. The churches in Strandja are known for their local monasteries.
Parades and Processions These are linear forms of event, with the entertainment, spectacle, or religious celebration moving past the viewer. In rare cases, such as certain carnival parades, everyone participates! Some are primarily media events, but in general parades are an extremely popular forms of special events appealing to the whole family. Parades can be a part of many other types of event, or stand on their own as a form of cultural celebration. A real risk is that parades increasingly tend to rely on spectacle and entertainment, downplaying their cultural significance. Military parades, for example, whether the marching of troops, display of equipment, performance of drills or playing of the bands, have always marked victories, going to war, or the celebration of public holidays. They are full of symbolism and definitely stir the emotions, especially during times of civic or international strife. Nestinarstvo (Bulgarian: нестинарство) is a fire ritual originally performed in several Bulgarian villages in the Strandja Mountains close to the Black Sea coast in the very southeast of Bulgaria. It involves a barefoot dance on smouldering embers (zharava) performed by nestinari. It is usually performed on the square of the village in front of the whole population on the day of Sts. Constantine and Helen or the day of the village's patron saint. The ritual is a unique mixture of Eastern Orthodox beliefs and older pagan traditions from the Strandzha Mountains.
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In 2009, the ritual was entered in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists and the National Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage "Living Human Treasures - Bulgaria" on the application of the Regional historical museum Burgas. Nestinarstvo (a dedicated fire-dance) is among the oldest and most mysterious rites, practiced even today by the population of Strandja Mountain in its authentic form. In the ancient village of Bulgari, every year on the 3rd of June there’s a celebration dedicated to St. St. Constantine and Helena also known as nestinarski igri (nestinar games). In the early morning the priest blesses the offering dishes – a boiled mutton inside the stolnina (a small building for preservation of the icons, usually found next to or inside the house of the chief of the fire-dancers) dedicated to St. St. Constantine and Helena. After the liturgy is celebrated, the churchwarden, who is a very honoured man – heir of an old nestinar family, and the boys caring the icons set off from the stolnina under the accompaniment of drummers and gaida (a type of Bulgarian bagpipe).
Art and Entertainment "Art and entertainment" events are often celebrations, but performances and exhibits also occur frequently on their own, and are often organized to generate revenue. The broad category of "business and trade" covers meetings, conferences, fairs, sales and markets, consumer and trade shows, expositions, fund-raising and publicity events. They are held either in the course of private business and association management opportunities, or as retail and trade opportunities. Art festivals are universal, but with considerable diversity in form and types of art featured. By way of classification, the following categories of art are important: • visual (e.g., painting, sculpture, handicraft) • performing (e.g., music, dance, drama, cinema, story telling, poetry; usually involve performers in front of audiences) • participatory (no separation of performer and audience) More specific criteria for classifying art events include: • professional versus amateur artists • competitive versus festive • mixed or single genre (e.g., just jazz, or many music types)
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• single or multicultural • paid or free performances • regularly scheduled, periodic, or one-time • temporary (i.e., visual art created with a limited life expectancy, or a one-time only performance) versus permanent Almost by definition, "temporary art" is a special event. A building or island draped in material is intended to attract attention and engender celebration. An original, one- time performance is another type of event. This is an area with high potential for growth in the entertainment world. "Concerts" are musical performances, usually of more than one artist, and can be regularly scheduled performances or one-time and periodic special events. Uniqueness can stem from unusual locations, assembling special talent, or creating a festive atmosphere (e.g. Apollonia in Sozopol) . The Oscars or Grammies come to mind as special events with huge media audiences, but even the tiniest towns annual folclor awards banquet qualifies as a special event.
Art Exhibits Galleries, museums and other art facilities are considered a part of the exhibition business, but their normal displays of art are sometimes replaced by “touring exhibitions” or one-time-only exhibits. These can have major drawing power, generating substantial income for the producers and hosts. Galleries, museums, culture centers, and other art facilities in Strandja are considered to be a part of the exhibition business, but their normal displays of art are sometimes replaced by “touring exhibitions” or one-time-only exhibits. These can have major drawing power, generating substantial income for the producers and hosts. There are art exhibitions and in Strandja, such as: • The International Summer Academy in Ahtopol shows the production of sculptures made out of wood, stone, metal, and mosaic. • The plainer Yanitsa in Elhovo aims at promoting the unique nature of the Elhovo region, as well as its architectural and historical landmarks, life and culture. The idea is to allow artists with a proven creative personality to appear. Each author himself determines and provides the materials with which to work without limitation in the
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form and technique of producing the works. For the past 12 years, the Elhovo Municipality has hosted the painting of nearly 90 paintings by prominent artists.
Business and Trade Events Typical business-oriented events will not be the subject of the survey . Some types of events, such as exhibitions and demonstrations of traditional crafts are very popular among tourists and attract the interest of many children and adults(workshops, art workshops) for example: • Еxhibitions (e.g., of local products or traditional crafts, usually accompanied by various competitions and entertainments, as in a state fair); exhibitors may be in competition for prizes • An exhibition intended to inform people about a product, traditional craft or business opportunity • An event, usually for the benefit of a charity or public institution, including entertainment and the sale of goods (also called a bazaar) The term "festival" is sometimes used as a synonym of "fair", but fairs have a long tradition of their own, as periodic exhibitions and markets. Although fairs were often associated with celebrations, nowadays they usually contain entertainment and amusements, while fairs have more to do with productivity and business than with themed public celebrations. The most traditional fairs in Turkey are the numerous regional and town or municipality fairs, which are held annually on the same site, most of which continue to reflect rural and agricultural themes. Most fairs are operated by independent boards or agricultural societies, though many have close links with the host municipality. Typical elements of agricultural fairs and exhibitions include agricultural demonstrations and contests, sales and trade shows (farm machinery, etc.), amusements of all kinds, eating and drinking, parades and a variety of entertainment.
3. Analysis of popularity and growth potential of festivals in Strandja
Bulgaria
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Festivals in Bulgaria are old traditions. The first festival in the country was held in 1926 in Varna. The existence of festivals in the various subsequent periods is supported by a wide network of cultural institutes, organizations, educational institutes for training in various artistic and cultural-creative activities. In the second half of the twentieth century, authoritative forums in the performing arts (music, theater and dance) were developed, incl. in Strandja, when in 1984 in Sozopol were held the first Apollonia Arts Festivals. The purpose of this unique phenomenon in our contemporary culture is to show the achievements of Bulgarian artists - authors and performers, to preserve the tradition and to support new ideas, experimental and non-standard solutions in the field of all arts. The festival includes theater, music, literature, cinema, ballet, plastic arts, architecture, children's program. The last two decades are characterized by the rapid development of pop culture and amateur festivals.
In Strandja there are many folklore festivals with long traditions: - National Folklore Festival "Strandzha Pee" is held in the village of Gramatikovo 50 years ago, Folklore Wreath - Bozhura, National Strandzha - Thracian Fair with 22 years tradition, held in Sredets
In the last ten years, local events related to the local lifestyle have increased. Although not so often, there are good practices to promote individual festivals.
Very special events for Strandzha region are so called “panagirs”. This gatherings of people –mostly relatives and their friends take place afterwards at a lawn nearby in the century-old forest of the Strandja Mountain. Many songs are singing, accompanied by dances under the sounds of the drum and bagpipe. In many places in Strandja are organized celebrations dedicated to various Saints - Saint Ilia, St. Constantine and Elena, St. Marina, Saint Panteleimon, Virgin Mary, etc. Each village in Strandzha has a feast - a congregation of the village, which takes place on the day of the saint who is designated as patron of the village. Most meetings are held in the summer. On these holidays the various villages organize the so-called gatherings - panagiers, prepare kurban for health, perform ancient rituals, and worship the saints in certain holy places - most often in monasteries (chapels) or churches. In many cases, these holy places are located around the hills in the Strandja Mountain and pilgrim parades are organized alongside them - (Gramatikovo, Slivarovo, Kondolovo
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in the Municipality of Malko Tarnovo and Bulgari and Kosti in Tsarevo Municipality) to the Grand Ayazma. The populations of Strandja villages Brodilovo, Kosti, Bulgari, Kondolovo, Gramatikovo, Visitsa, Kalovo, Zabernovo, White Water, Mladezhko, Brashlyan, Stoilovo and Slivarovo show a visible unity of their ritualistic system. This is the area where the cult of St. St. Konstantin and Elena in their fiery aspect, preserved as a game on burning charcoal in the villages of Bulgari and Kosti. The territory of all the villages listed above is one of the old ritual performances White Kuker, Enyova Bulya, Fillek and Piperuga, which bind the Strandja population in a unified ritualistic system. The genetic kinship of this population is lost in historical memory, but is encoded in their ritual practices. Undoubtedly the most popular custom (in terms of attracting audience, the attention of the press, having a status of intangible cultural heritage) in Strandja is the Nestinarstvo. The most important day in the ritual of the Nestinar community is the grand panagir of the Grand Ayasma. It is always on the last Sunday of May, preceding the feast of St. St. Kostadin and Elena (old style) and putting an end to the month, called "Kostadinski" in Strandja. Each year, very early in the morning on Sunday, the inhabitants of the five villages leave from the "horsemen" of the saints, led by the fire-dancers, the sacred drum and the bagpipe, the epitropa, the boys with the icons, and the pilgrims on a parade to the Great Ayasma. In the 20s of the 20th century, the church forbade the ritual. The last big fair in this place was in 1947. Nestinarstvo has been preserved over the centuries because of the self-organization of believers. Today it is rated by UNESCO as part of the world’s intangible heritage. In the last years, the Panagiur in Bulgari has a huge popularity and gathers thousands of tourists. Other panagirs were also very popular in the past - eg. the Tsarogorski or Autumn Fairs. They and the congregation at the monastery “St. Troitsa”("St. Trinity") in Pryslopat area are considered to be the successors of the famous Delievski Fair (held in the "Trinity" monastery on the land of the disappeared Bulgarian village of Delievo), which after the establishment of the border in 1913 ceased to be held. Even though it does not reach the size of its predecessor, the Tsarnowarski Fair enjoys a big audience. People come from
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all over Strandja and from the rest of the country. After 1944, as the land was in a border area near "capitalist" Turkey, the fair was discontinued. After 1990, the old tradition was resumed and the Tsarnogorski Fair became part of the summer cultural holidays of the Municipality of Malko Tarnovo. Thus, until 2 years ago, during the last Saturday and Sunday of August in the Tsarnogorovo place held a large gathering with a rich folklore program and folk games. During the last 2 years the Tsarogorian Panagir has dropped out of the program of the summer cultural holidays of the municipality of Malko Tarnovo. In the survey, local people nostalgically recalled the attractive games organized during the Panagir. The Tsarnogorian Panagir, as well as some other festivals and events that are not held today due to lack of interest and especially due to lack of funds, are described in the study in order to provoke interest so that they can possibly be revived and preserved for the generations . The other type of events are folklore festivals, concerts, and competitions that have long traditions, and are organized every year - "Strandzha moya, lulchina" International folklore festival - Tsarevo or in a certain sequence "National folklore fair - singing" Strandja sings "in the village of Gramatikovo .
Furthermore, qualifying festivals on the basis of genre – which is done in the present study – can also be argued against. For the purposes of the present study amateur festivals are defined as those targeted at and/ or involving children and non- professionals, incl. all festivals organised by community cultural centres.
Special attention should be paid to festivals included in short list such as most of the data for the municipalities of Tsarevo, Malko Tarnovo, Elhovo, Bolyarovo, the information for the total number of events in municipal cultural calendars, and from there – the percentage of festivals from the total number of events, etc. With regard to the last example, events such as “marternitsa-making workshops” or single concerts are not always comparable to events such as large festivals but nevertheless they are included as (a number of) events in the cultural calendar. In addition, it proved to be impossible to establish the exact total number of events in many cultural calendars due to lack of information. The figures therefore usually are the author’s estimates.
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In conclusion, the main types of events taking place in Strandja can be divided also into: Festivals - themed, with a varied program that includes mainly musical and dance performances, most often folklore, craft festivals, local products: eg. Tsarevo Fish Festival, Manna Honey Festival, Festival of Thracian Banitsa-Elhovo, art-workshops, workshops. Celebrations - all the fairs, panagiers; folk performances are predominant, the program is diverse and includes various attractions. Contests - a large number of singing and dancing competitions like the "Horo in Strandzha", "Primorsko pearl", "Strandzha pee"
In order to be defined, the 135 festivals in Bulgaria were described in draft 2 and sorted as follows: Type Description Suggestions & communication Traditional One day program which attracts mainly These events are very important for the customs, local people who meet their relatives and preservation of intangible cultural heritage - meetings and friends. Every settlement has similar fests, folklore, traditions, customs. Most of them fests in limited finance for advertisement or are Included in the cultural calendars of the settlements programme. Financed by municipalities, municipalities. All described information for sponsors , culture centers settlements and traditions is to be included in the calendar of the project site http://strandja-fest.info/ and other promotional tools - Facebook, Twitter, Google +, newsletters, These events are dropping out of the top 20 popular holidays and festivals in Strandja.
Exception - Summer cultural holidays in the town of Malko Tarnovo because this fest has rich programs, attracts a large audience, and has wide advertising Temple They offer one-day or several-hour long These events are very important for the celebrations programs. They are held in accordance preservation of intangible cultural heritage - and religious with the religious calendar. They are folklore, traditions, customs. Most of them holidays celebrated in many settlements, attract are Included in the cultural calendars of the mainly local people, their relatives and municipalities. friends. They are financed by municipalities, community centers, Our goal is to gather information about donors, church. No advertising or limited popular areas and architectural sights related event advertising. to those holidays - eg. churches and monasteries. This information will be included in the calendar of the project site http://strandja- fest.info/ and other promotional tools - Facebook, Twitter, Google +, newsletters, However, these events will be dropped out of the evaluation for inclusion in the 20 most popular festivals and festivals in Strandja.
Exception: Nestinarstvo – the Feast on the day of St. Konstantin and Elena and Fire-dancing 25
ceremony in the village of Balgari.
Popular Various thematic programs that last one To be included in the calendar of the festivals day or longer. The events are included in project site http://strandja-fest.info/ and the national cultural calendar. These other promotional tools - Facebook, Twitter, events have traditions and attract a large Google +, newsletters, audience, because they are unique to the To be included in short list and evaluated region and the country. Their rich program along with Turkish proposals for inclusion is widely advertised. These events have among the 20 most popular festivals and tourist potential, many of them are festivals in Strandja. international or they are world-famous . 24 festivals included in short list were defined among this group. The list is attached to report
Turkey
Strategies for various activities such as festivals, exhibitions, fairs and excursions are included in the social life that the municipality aims in the direction of social, cultural and economic development. Some of them are as follows: 1. Different cultural events will be organized according to different demographic structures in our city. 2. The needs and expectations of the community will be taken into account in the planning of the activities. 3. Monthly cultural events will be made permanent so that systematic regularity will be ensured and social life qualities of citizens will be contributed. 4. All the different methods / tools needed to increase participation in the events will be used, promotions and announcements will be done in an effective manner. 5. Sister city (town twinning) will ensure continuity of communication, explore areas of cooperation and create environments for mutual sharing to go about diversity, efficiency and diversity in the activities carried out. 6. Karagöz Culture and Arts and Kakava Festival, International Kırklareli Yayla Abundance Bereket Harvest and Vineyard Festival will be organized for national and international recognition. Especially these strategies that municipality has planned is particularly similar to the strategies we have set for our festivals. Thus, coordination of strategies with each other is important for the sustainability of the project.
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It is also considered as an opportunity to have festivals that contribute to the promotion of the city in SWOT analysis of the municipality. Trakya Development Agency evaluate Karagöz, Sanat and Kakava Festival in Trakya Tourism Master Plan as one of the cultural resources among the attraction elements in Kırklareli. Again under the title of Aim and Strategies of the same master plan, In order to enrich and diversify tourism experience in Kırklareli, the strategy of making some parts of Karagöz, Sanat and Kakava festival attractive and making it attractive for foreign tourists from outside the region has been included in the strategy. Similarly activities were held in settlements such as Demirköy, Kofçaz, Vize and İğneada of Kırklareli. In this context, activities such as Dupnisa Nature Festival and Demirköy Strawberry Festival, Vize History and Culture Festival were discussed. Within the action plans; The region should be used as a tourism element by enriching its existing festivals in terms of content and presentation. For this purpose, informing activities such as diversification of activities, organization of festivals in consideration of accommodation and other needs of domestic / foreign tourists, presentation of local dishes, conversations, seminars and exhibitions are needed. In the region, priority should be given to the development of the following festivals. Priority: High Implementation Period: Medium term Organizator: Municipalities Cooperating Organizations: Universities, Trakya Tourism Service Platform, NGO's, TrakyaKa, Tourism Enterprises Additionally, Trakya Development Agency has made a research on tourism perception of Thrace. In this research, "Festival and Events" is in the top 10 (8th place) among the 23 features that the participants find most positive in evaluating Thrace region in terms of tourism. It comes with local people's hospitality, security, meat products, cheese and dairy products and raki produced in Thrace (http://www.trakya2023.com/uploads/docs/rapor/Trakyaka_Turizm_Master_Plan%C4%B1. pdf).
In order to be defined, the 21 festivals in Turkey were described in Annexes and
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sorted as follows:
Categorization and description from 21 festivals in Turkey
Type Description Festivals Suggestions&Communication s Feasts in Generally one day program Ataköy Keskek o If they want to attract more small which attracts mainly local Festivity participants, such festive settlement people who meet their events have to host more s relatives and friends. Cevizköy Spring traditional and unique Small settlements has Culture activities similar feasts Festivity o The main points are that Financal sources are limited these activities should focus for promotion and festival Ertuğrul Village on more authentification programme Keskek Festivity and effective promotion. Financed by local authorities o The marketability of or local sponsors Erikler Hidrellez handcrafted products Event produced by local people will increase with the participation of people from different cultures.
o Sister village protocol can be an effective Events Most of them have regular Karagöz Culture o In such festivals, carried out and rich festival programme, Art and KAKAVA celebration areas and sales annually in Broad participation Fest stands are the heart of connection Mostly celebrated for more events, so they can be with deep- than one day Nevroz (9th of arranged to be more rooted Fun atmosphere March pleasant for participants traditions Interesting experience celebrations) o It is important to note that Locality and authenticity gift items for such events can be felt by participants Hidrellez Spring are an important publicity Local people Festivity tool o Gift items related to these Kavasoğlu Oil festivals can be produced by Wrestling Festival
Pehlivanköy Sonbahar Hayvan ve Emtia Panayırı
1July Maritime and Cabotage Festival Popular Organized by municipalities Strawberry o In terms of domestic and agricultura They aims to promote local Festival cross-border touristic l product agricultural products and mobility, communities that related settlement Yayla produce the same festivals Largely known events Abundance, agricultural products can be High tourism potential and Fertility, invited to these events tourism targeted festivals Harvest and o Local products can be Authenticity is main Vineyard presented differentially in attraction factor Festival an innovative way 28
Intensive support of local These festivals should be supported people Babaeski Farm by activities that involve traditional Festival elements of local culture Religious One-day long event Commemoration o Less “touristy” programs. Events of Gul It is hard to attract tourist Events o Attracts mainly people of Baba for these events same faith o As a part of authenticity High authenticiy level Commemoration music-related activities should be increased Events of Gul Baba
Culture Concerts are main activities Kaynarca o Youth need to be target of these events Culture and group of these festivals and music They include art related Water Festival o The diversity of concerts themed events should be increased in terms Similar festival programme Vize History and of musical genre festivals Limited traditional content Culture Festival o Artists who can entertain which Municipalities are big actors young people must be when it comes to advertising Pınarhisar elected for concerts organized and promoting Culture Art and o Competitions and animated by Generally sponsor supported Youth Festival shows can be organized to events create a fun atmosphere Municipalit Local products stands are Alpullu Culture o Support may be requested ies available for participants from companies sponsoring and Music Limited authenticiy youth festivals Festival Musicians from differen countries can be invited for concerts
Festivals Brings people with the Dupnisa o Sponsor support deeply same interests together Nature needed for Because of their Festival o The organization of these special participants’ being events may be assisted by special target groups, Paragliding relevant non- interest these events need to be governmental Festival groups promoted wisely organizations Few participants but high Problems with o potential transportation should be Event related Non- overcome governmental Those who live in big
organization are crucial cities, who seek for the future of these adventure and who want events to explore, must be
targeted
4. Stakeholders and organizers of events in Strandja
A major part of the event organizers are municipalities, mayor's trustees, community
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centers, museums, libraries and other cultural organizations. Additionally in Turkey Provincial Dirocterate of Culture and Tourism also work jointly or individually in the organization of festivals.
District administrations The regional councils for culture on the territory of Strandja are chaired by the regional governors of the Burgas and Yambol regions. The regional councils for culture consolidate and approve the regional cultural calendars for Burgas and Yambol districts for the respective calendar year. They provide institutional support for organizing and conducting a number of events on the territories of the respective areas.
In Turkey Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism is one of the most important organizators in districts. They can work individually by funding from goverment and also they can work jointly in the event by supporting of culturel heritage.
Municipalities For the festivals in Bulgaria the municipalities are of paramount importance. According to the Law on Local Self-Government and Local Administration and the Law on Administration in Municipalities, the cultural sphere is part of the specialized administration. It works in close cooperation with the resources committee, elected by a decision of the local municipal councils. Research has shown that this is the most common form in the organization of traditional and well-established festival events taking place in Bulgaria. This is not different for Turkey part of Strandja. One of the most organizator of the events is municipality in Turkey. Municipalities of Kırklareli, Vize, Pınarhisar, Kofçaz, Demirköy, Kaynarca, Babaeski, Pehlivanköy and Büyükmandıra etc. organize very famous events in Turkey. This is also a source of political prestige in the region for municipalities. Therefore, they make huge opening ceremonies and the programmes are usually mediatic with very famous artists (singer, player etc.). The municipalities consider these festivals as an element of cultural heritage and work with great care to enrich the program every year.
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In the municipalities of Strandja there are no special programs for Culture. Most of them, with a few exceptions, produce and publish a Cultural Calendar for the current year on the municipality level. It includes both unique events for municipalities and celebrations of different traditions, national excursions. Maritime municipalities - eg. Tsarevo also publish a summer cultural program. Programs are open and can be changed. Target municipalities in both part of the Strandja do not publish approved budgets for festivals. In fact, there are no public reports on the money spent. That is why the amount of municipal funds spent on festivals remains unknown.
According to information from the municipalities in both side, all traditional festivals, which receive some funding from the municipality, enter the cultural calendar and the list is completed during the year. Financial support is provided by a decision of the administration of municipalities, according to budget possibilities, by direct request to the municipality / mayor, officially entered in the registry office. Funding for various initiatives, festivals and projects is also approved by the City Council.
Kırklareli City Council
Councilors, generally act as the legislative branch of the city government, as well as its policy-making body. The council also looks to the city's goals, major projects and infrastructure improvements ranging from community growth to land use to finances and strategic planning. The city charter is the driving document behind what the aldermen can and can't do. The most important characteristic is that there is no political identity and that it can be acted independently. the city council try to invest for all stakeholders in the city in the development of the tourism sector.
This council orginaze one of the most important event in Kırklareli called “Yayla Abundance, Fertility, Harvest and Vineyard Festival“. This event is very famous around Turkey in recent years. Travel agencies bring much more tourists for this event to the region.
Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism
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Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism is generally established to plan, manage, supervise, develop and evaluate the duties of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism at the provincial and district level.
Some of the duties of the Culture and Tourism Directorate are:
• Researching and planning of the dissemination and development of cultural services planning, organizing conferences, events, exhibitions, panels, courses etc. in culture and tourism areas. • To do the necessary studies for the development of culture and tourism awareness in the province. • To evaluate the tourism opportunities of the region taking into consideration development plans and annual programs, to plan and carry out training of public institutions and organizations and sector personnel on culture and tourism issues, to provide cooperation between public institutions and organizations, professional and non- governmental organizations, private sector and universities, • Following the classical, contemporary and traditional arts fields in province, to support and carry out activities aimed at conducting and disseminating activities in accordance with national culture and contemporary understanding • To organize and make seminars, symposiums, panels, conferences, exhibitions, festivals, competitions, demonstrations, celebration weeks and similar activities for this purpose by making use of all kinds of possibilities and to make and perform national, spiritual, historical, cultural, artistic and touristic values. to support and direct public and private institutions, organizations, communities and persons operating in this field and to provide necessary cooperation between them…etc.
National community Centres (Chitalishta)
The Chitalishte is a typical Bulgarian public institution that performs educational and enlightenment functions and amateur activity. Usually the Chitalishte consists of a library and a club of interest where various activities are held, eg. amateur schools of music, dance, sports, foreign languages, theater, literary readings, celebrations of socially significant events for the city and holidays, conferences, and meetings. Some community centers in the 1990s also served as cinemas, retirement or party clubs. 32
In the smaller settlements, the Chitalishta are responsible for almost the entire cultural life. They participate actively in the organization of the festive program, facilitate the consolidation of the community in different villages and the building of a stable civil society, preserve the Bulgarian traditions. For most of them, there are dance and singing groups, literary schools and musical orchestras,as well as clubs for applied arts and rhodes. They develop multi-faceted activities, spread across the country, and for very small settlements they provide access to cultural activities and a library base. Unfortunately, the budget they have is limited and insufficient for organizing large- scale events.
With the State Budget Act 2017 and the Council of Ministers Decision No 304 of 26 April 2016, supplemented and amended by Council of Ministers Decree No 920 of 02.11.2016 on the adoption of standards for state delegated activities with natural and value indicators, the state budget funds earmarked for the development and support of the chitalishte activity in 2017 are approved. They are in the total amount of 55 180 700.00 BGN. The increase compared to 2016 is by BGN 2 229 380.00. The funds are calculated by a natural indicator of 7559 subsidized units per standard for a subsidized unit of BGN 7 300.00. The standard for one subsidized number includes the funds for activity as well as salaries, other salaries and payments to the staff, insurance installments and maintenance. With such a budget it is evident that a community center would hardly allocate funds for organizing large events. Of course, the activities of the Chitalishte are There are 56 National Community Centers on the territory of supported by a municipal Strandja, of which 38 are in Burgas region and 18 in Yambol region. budget and other sponsors. District Burgas by municipalities: Malko Tarnovo-3, Sozopol – 10, The chitalishte's activities are Primorsko-7, Tsarevo-5 ,Sredets-13 extremely important for the District of Yambol by municipalities: Elhovo-12, Bolyarovo-6 development of the chitalishte's spirit and the organizational abilities of the community centers, as well as the power, creativity and creativity of many volunteers they attract.
With good funding, successful reforms and proper management of the resources of
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these cultural institutions, they could do their cultural and educational activities with maximum success and organize festivals and events with a rich and attractive cultural program. Many chitalishta publish their own cultural calendar, filled with celebrations of traditions and national holidays, rituals and more.
NGOs and tour-operators as festival managers.
Many of festivals and community-based events are organized and legally constituted as not-for-profit organizations, and many are also registered charities. The entire organization exists to produce the event, but must also manage its internal operations throughout the year. In other cases, not-for-profits spin off a committee to produce their events.
In Turkey part of Strandja there are many NGOs that work for the development of tourism in the region. Some of them joint also
organization of festivals actively. The European Association of Folklore Festivals – EAFF is Official Partner of UNESCO Accreditation request No. 90338: 32557 - Accredited to the UNESCO For example DAYKO (Natural Life ICH Committee.
Protection Association) joints to Decision-making meeting: 6.GA - 2016 - The sixth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties took place from 30 May to 1 June 2016 at organize with Kırklareli Provincial UNESCO Headquarters.
Directorate of Culture and ● 2016: UNESCO accredits EAFF as a Consultant to the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Tourism “Dupnisa Nature Heritage Festival”. Trakya Tourism ● 2016: UNESCO can identifies EAFF experts in the ICH Association, All Thrace Bus In 1945, UNESCO was created in order to respond to the firm belief of nations, forged by two world wars in less than a generation, that political and economic agreements are not enough to build a lasting peace. Peace must be established Operators Association, Kırklareli on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity.
Tourism Development UNESCO strives to build networks among nations that enable this kind of solidarity, by: Association, Kıyıköy Culture and ● Mobilizing for education: so that every child, boy or girl, has access Tourism Association are some of to quality education as a fundamental human right and as a prerequisite for human development. the most important NGOs that collaborate organization of events. Some of NGOs such as Topçu Father Commemoration Culture and Art Association and Gülbaba Commemoration Culture and Art Association organize the commemoration events in the villages.
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The European Association of Folklore Festivals - EAFF has been established in year 2007 in the ancient capital of Bulgaria – Veliko Tarnovo. Its main purpose is to preserve, develop and make popular the folklore of the different European nations by organizing festivals and using the modern television, computer and other information technologies.
Festivals - members of the European Association of Folklore Festivals.
Festivals from different European countries which specialize in different forms of traditional folklore arts (folklore songs, dances and customs, old town songs, classical music, tourist’s and patriotic songs, orthodox chants, choir and others). Musical Feasts “Euro Folk” comprise thirty five musical festivals. 3 of them helds on the territory of Primorsko and Sozopol municipality:
● International Folklore Festival Euro Folk Black Sea- Kiten –Primorsko ● International Youth Arts Festival-Contest "Sunny Rhythms Of Bulgaria was held in Kiten from 1-17 July 2017 ● International Youth Festival Of Arts "Muzite" (The Muses)- Sozopol http://eaff.eu/en/media/eaff
Apollonia Art Foundation
Apollonia Art Foundation is founded in 1991. It is the Apolonia festival’s major sponsor together with Municipality of Sozopol. The Apollonia Arts Festival is a major Bulgarian event held every year at the end of the summer in the seaside city of Sozopol.
NGO Atlimanska ogarlitsa NGO Atlimanska ogarlitsa was founded in order to International Folklore Festival Atlimanska ogarlitsa (Atliman Necklace) in Kiten
Private companies and tour operators Organizer of the International Rose Festival "Bulgarian Rose" in Primorsko is the "PGA" Touroperator with the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian National Radio, the National Art Schools in Kotel and Shiroka Luka, physical and legal
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persons close to the aims and ideas of the festival . Participants in the festival are professional, amateur, creative teams and individual participants. Colleagues from different countries are invited to the Festival: Greece, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania and others. The age of the participants in the competition's program is 7 to 20 years old. Goal of the Festival is to provide opportunities for young artists from different countries to meet and exchange creative experiences, to promote folklore among the growing generation and preserving the folk traditions of each country for future generations. Among objectives of the Festival are to ensure: • Preservation of the intangible cultural heritage; • Presenting the culture of the respective people from children's creative groups; • Discovering the best folk groups and singers, stimulating their growth and craftsmanship; • Strengthening international ties and developing cultural dialogue between nations and countries; • Creative exchange of experience between teams, executives and contractors; • Possibility to conduct joint content recreation.
Upon Closing of the Festival, the grand prize "GRAN-PRI" - Bulgarian Rose is awarded and the laureates are nominated, the respective diplomas are awarded for each nomination. "GRAN-PRI" title awarded to a team or individual performer gives him the right to participate freely in the festival "Bulgarian Rose - 2018" The events they organize: International Rose Festival, National Festival Orpheus sings with the sea The Magic of Strandzha International Pop-rock Festival Notes on the Sand International Dance Festival On the Way of Dance International folklore festival The Balkans - close and distant http://www.pgabg.com/c_3/sc_47/
Good practices in networking
EFA - The Festival Network 36
The European Festivals Association (EFA) has been uniting distinguished music, dance, theatre and multidisciplinary arts festivals from Europe and beyond for more than 60 years.
The European Festivals Association (EFA) was founded in Geneva in 1952 upon the joint initiative of the eminent conductor Igor Markewitch and the great philosopher Denis de Rougemont, with 15 festivals making up the core. The founders were deeply engaged in the quality and the social responsibility of festivals. Today, EFA counts about 100 individual members – music, theatre, dance and interdisciplinary festivals – as well as national festival associations and cultural networks in 40 countries.
EFA members are the core element that make the Association an open, influential, international place for any festival that wants to be part of a bigger festival community.
Festivals have been working across borders and cultures since the dawn of festivals, before Europe was a project of unity, before Europe was a space that aimed to facilitate cross-border exchanges. EFA brings festivals together to inspire one another, fosters an exchange of knowledge, helps festivals to speak with one strong voice to shape policy developments, increases networking opportunities, and keeps festivals informed about issues at stake in the festival and cultural world, all under the flag of artistic excellence and internationalisation. http://www.effe.eu/festivals
The European Association of Folklore Festivals - EAFF achieves its activities mainly through the festivals of the Musical Feasts “Euro Folk” and through the worldwide Internet Television “Euro FolkTV”. The basic feature of the festivals from the Musical Feasts “Euro Folk” is the complete filming with professional TV equipment of all the performances together with making different audio and TV products. At the Musical Feasts “Euro Folk” festivals that have been held so far 6,000 groups with more than 120 000 participants have taken part. The European Association of Folklore Festivals - EAFF operates in cooperation with televisions from Bulgaria and Europe, with folklore ensembles, groups, municipalities, community centres, schools and other organizations of cultural activities.
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On XIII International Folklore Festival "Euro folk - Black Sea 2017" held in Primorsko -Kiten was attended by 60 groups with more than 1200 participants.
The IX Folklore Festival "Euro folk - Black Sea 2018 will be held in Tsarevo- Primorsko- Kiten from 15 -25 June, 2018
XI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL-CONTEST OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH "SUNNY BULGARIAN RHYTHMS" will be held in Kiten from 1-8 July 2018
Salute to Talents International Project was established in 2008. Salute to Talents is the system of prestigious international festivals-contests for children and youth combined with extensive excursion program.
Blue Diamond Events
By promoting cultural events as an attractive mean of entertainment, Blue Diamond Events shows its contribution to preservation of rich folklore dances all the nationalities have.
Blue Diamond connects folklore ensembles with a lot of international folklore festivals while being committed to cultural development of most of the countries along the Europe. http://bluediamondevents.net
5. FINANCING OF FESTIVAL AND EVENTS The study does not aim to thoroughly investigate sources and funding mechanisms for festivals and events. However, it is important to mention some sources and amounts of funding for cultural projects from the point of view of festivals and events taking place in the territory of Strandja.
Public funding The potential beneficiaries of the assistance (beneficiaries) - municipalities, individuals, ST, LLC, cooperatives, community centers, local, regional and national associations and associations to have their own cash resources available for the implementation of the projects. This money is needed to carry out feasibility studies - working projects, 38
architectural surveys, and general expenses related to consultations, fees, etc. Only after completion of the projects the beneficiaries receive the final amount of the EU grant.
State aid - State aid is defined as "any aid granted by the state or by the municipality through state or municipal resources, directly or through other persons, in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens free competition by favoring the certain undertakings, the production or marketing of certain goods or the provision of certain services". Regarding the sources of funding for festivals and events, it was not difficult to identify them. The main sources of funding for festivals and other cultural events in the territory of Strandja are:
● Local authorities - municipal budget ● Chitalishta receives from the state, support from local authorities, different sponsors, financing of different projects ● Other non-governmental organizations - cultural foundations, associations ● Museums ● Various sponsors-local companies, private donors ● Directorate of Strandja Nature Park We encountered difficulties when trying to collect accurate information about the funding of individual festivals. The reasons are complex: the lack of standards and rules in the public administration for the publication of statements of funds spent, the institutional immaturity of cultural operators, and the absence of statistical standards fore the systematization of this type of information. Regarding the budgets of individual festivals, most of the respondents replied unequivocally that they did not have accurate information on the cost of individual events. Concerns have also been expressed that, with limited municipal budgets, if information on the value of a festival is published, governors can be criticized for spending public money on "Bread and spectacles". Such speeches were from smaller settlements where tourism development was poor or there were few places for accommodation, dining, and attractions.
According to unofficial data, the organization of an event in a village, such as a collection, a temple feast, a celebration of a traditional ritual, can be made for BGN 200-
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1000. The main costs are for providing musicians, singers, food (eg animal for kurban) , in very rare cases transporting people to a particular settlement.
The cost of providing an appropriate program is the most important. In cities, organizing annual celebrations reaches 10 to 20,000 leva, according to some organizers, up to 60,000 leva in cases where famous representatives of the show business are invited.
In coastal settlements and places with better developed tourism, the organization of events attracts many tourists, diversifies their stay, causes them to spend bigger sums on food, souvenirs, various attractions, and certainly helps to prolong the summer season. In these settlements the average budget of organized festivals is significantly higher.
In Sozopol, Primorsko, Tsarevo are organized major international festivals - Apollonia, the pearl of Primorsko, the festivals of the European organization of folklore festivals, the so called " festivals "Euro-Folk".
Main sources of funding: Municipal budget In almost all municipalities in Strandja, funding for events and festivals is carried out under the following mechanism: The list of events in the Cultural Calendar, including the total budget, is accepted as an annex to the Municipal Council's decision for the adoption of the annual budget of the municipality. It includes events funded or co-organized by the municipality; all festivals that receive some funding from the municipality enter the Cultural Calendar. Funding for traditional festivals and events is provided in municipal budgets for the calendar year.
Financing initiatives coming from "external partners and organizations” An agreement with the author / promoter of the proposal is reached, with municipalities pursuing their objectives and priorities in the Municipal Development Plan and the Municipal Management Program. The amount of funding is determined through negotiations, according to the budget of the municipality, and the final decision is taken by the Municipal Council. Although the decisions on the amount of funding for the
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festivals are taken by the City Council and the relevant commission, respectively, in practice there is rarely no expertise for their proper spending. Most of the major festival events are funded under the "Other Cultural Activities" paragraph of the municipal budgets. This creates their security and sustainability, but it is burdened with too many co-ordinating procedures in the municipal administration system.
Community centers Municipal subsidy for the community centers in the municipalities Sozopol, Primorsko, Tsarevo, Sredets, Bolyarovo, Elhovo
The larger municipalities, mainly on the Black Sea coast, outnumber the municipalities from the interior by a relative share of attracted funds from the state budget, organizations from abroad and donations. The organizers of festival events in Strandja are supported by voluntary work, non- financial support from companies, private persons, as well as from state and municipal companies. These results show that the model in the management of festivals has also created a solidarity effect by various representatives of the local community. Research also shows another major weakness in local culture management: lack of co- ordination in the organization of festivals and well structured municipal cultural calendars. Local administrations still perceive the programming of cultural and artistic activities during the year as a list of events and not as an effective tool for the realization of cultural policies.
Strandja Nature Park Directorate Strandja Nature Park Directorate conducts the state policy for management and control of the protected area in order to protect its unique nature in the long term and to ensure the sustainable socio-economic development of the area. The main financial source for the activity of the direction is the state budget through the Forest executive agency / Ministry of agriculture, forests and foods. In recent years, activities has been funded by applying for projects and programs to regional, national and international donors. The directorate does not have a legal basis for generating income from its activities.
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According to the Strandja Nature Park Directorate status, all revenue generated on the spot by the Directorate - sales of advertising materials, tourist services, etc., is paid into the accounts of the Forest executive agency.
Ministry of Culture in Bulgaria The Ministry of Culture (MC) is the first-budget spending unit responsible for the implementation of national cultural policy - including in relation to festivals. The Ministry of Culture pursues a policy of cultural protection and development by financially supporting cultural initiatives, targeted programs, creative projects and other. In 2017-2018, the Ministry of Culture's activities are focused on the implementation of 12 priorities, among which support and funding opportunities and events are found in the following:
Priority 17.1. Promoting the formation of a new spiritual environment for ethno-cultural interaction and integration of all religious groups in the unified Bulgarian nation Objective 1. 3. Realizing creative projects and programs Indicator - 42 supported creative projects and programs
Priority 17.3. Conversion of Bulgarian culture and spirituality to the basic image of the national identity Objective 8. Creating conditions for new international achievements of Bulgarian artists by providing scholarships, prizes for young authors, support for participation in fairs, festivals and biennials. Indicator - 52 supported festivals, competitions, shows and events for children and young people on a competitive basis in the field of theater, music and dance.
Priority 17.8. Modern development of the community centers network in the country through additional sources of funding; change in the legislative base of the community centers. Priority 17.11. Improving the reform of the performing arts and providing means to raise the standards of cultural institutes.
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46. Expanding the scope of the financial resource to support the performing arts, including private stage organizations, on a project-by-project basis. Annually holding competitive sessions on basic and target programs. Progressively increased resource by 10% per year; Regularly informing and publishing session results. Indicator: Number of projects funded and implemented.
There is no precise data on the funding of festivals from the MC's budget, but in the published Economic Survey on public support for cultural projects, in particular festivals, at national and municipal level in 2015, the total value of the festivals funded for 2013 is 1 184 393 million BGN or 0.92% of the MC's budget, for 2014 - 1,968,701 million BGN - 1.43% of the MC's budget. In 2017, it is clear from the MC's website that the MC supports projects from the financing of performances and concerts in the country in the field of professional musical art. In 2017 there are 17 for the country, but there is not one in Strandzha.
Session for financing festivals and competitions in the field of music and dance art 2017 In 2017, 30 festivals and events were funded. The financial support is from 1200 to 13 000, but again there are no festivals from Strandja. Some of the more popular festivals received funding are 20 International Jazz Festival Bansko 2017, Ethno Rila 2017 / sixth edition / and others.
Culture and Tourism Ministry in Turkey Events and projects such as cultural, artistic and tourism values and riches of our lives, promoter, sponsor, local, national and international quality festivals, memorial days, concerts, exhibitions, performances, congress, symposium, seminar, panel, fine arts, fair and so on is organized by local governments, associations and foundations supported by Culture and Tourism Ministry in Turkey. In this context, a total of 5 million TL (approximately 1,1 million Euro) was provided to 693 organizations in the year of 2015. In 2016, in the context of financial support for cultural activities a total of 4.8 million TL (approximately 1 million Euro) was provided for support to 196 municipalities, 433 associations, 12 foundations and 4 local government associations.
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Trakya Development Agency The Trakya Development Agency supports various projects to promote the region in the context of culture and tourism. One of the priorities is the promotion of festivals and the financial support of some festivals such as 5th International Thracian Puppet Festival and Kırkpınar Oil Wrestling. Trakya Development Agency evaluate Karagöz, Sanat and Kakava Festival in Trakya Tourism Master Plan as one of the cultural resources among the attraction elements in Kırklareli.
National Fund "Culture" The Bulgarian organization, which supports at national level the creation, development and dissemination of the Bulgarian culture and art in the country and abroad, created by the Law for Protection and Development of Culture and started functioning from November 2000. Its main objective is to support the development of culture by collecting, managing and spending funds for the implementation of the national policy in the field of culture set out in the programs of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria for the relevant period and in the Law for Protection and Development of Culture. The priorities in the activity of NF "Culture" are also in compliance with the criteria of the chapter "Culture and Audio-vision" of the Treaty on the Accession of Bulgaria to the European Community. The governing body of the National Culture Fund is the Managing Board, chaired by the Minister of Culture. Members of the Management Board are prominent cultural figures, representatives of creative alliances and one representative of the municipalities, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Finance. Fund resources are raised from a subsidy defined in the Law on the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for the respective budget year and other sources of financing referred to in Art. 31 of the Law on Protection and Development of Culture. Fundamentally, funds are provided for creative projects aimed at developing the cultural sector. The financing of creative projects is carried out after the announcement of competitions on a program prepared and approved by the Management Board. At the beginning of each year, the Governing Council of NF "Culture" formulates the priority areas for which financial support is provided. The main principles in the work of NF "Culture" are the transparency and the competition principle. Competitions have the
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right to equal participation of individual artists, private, municipal and state cultural organizations. The NF "Culture" works on the basis of Fund Rules and Activities (hereinafter referred to as the NFC Rules) and the Governing Council, according to Article 23 of the Rules, the subsidy of the projects is based on the competition principle. All cultural organizations, including not-for-profit organizations, as well as individual cultural actors, will be invited to the competition, and the applicants will submit documents in a different format for each competition.The grant of the NFC can not exceed 80% of the cost of the project. Those who submit a justification for securing at least 20% of the cost as a 5% must be provided as cash and the remaining 15% may also be non-cash contributions / staff, premises, equipment. The Fund implements two instruments to achieve its objectives: grants to support creative projects and strategic activities for information, technical, financial and expert support for the development of the cultural sector as a whole. In principle, NFC funds from the state subsidy are allocated according to the defined strategic objectives and priorities according to programs approved at the beginning of the year and according to a decision of the MB. The objectives and priorities for 2017-2018, which are specifically aimed at supporting festivals, have been described above. Many of the fund's programs have been and can be funded projects that are part or somehow connected to festivals and thus represent (at least indirectly) funding for festivals. With regard to the strategic activities of NFC to support the formulation and implementation of cultural policy, festivals have been promoted and supported - intangible not through funding - but by providing opportunities for participation in international, national and (from 2015) local cultural forums (including festivals) of representatives of Bulgarian culture and art; visits to foreign managers and programmers in the field of culture and arts, travel expenses, partial fees, etc. through the so-called Program "Mobility", Program “Debutes”, Program “Audiences”, “Target financial support for programs and projects of great national cultural importance".
Financing from external sources Projects funded from external sources - such as loans provided by banks. In this case, the project poses serious requirements that should convince the bank in its economic viability and the return on investment.
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But most often, the concept of a project is associated with the free provision of public funds. In this case, the focus is on solving issues that are important to society or the achievement of public benefits. But the rules and requirements are even tougher and bureaucratic. The justification for this is the need for transparency and control over the use of public funds.
International IFPC Culture Promotion Fund
Application for funding of cultural projects under the aegis of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture under the aegis of UNESCO (IFPC).
Grants "Grants" are generally made by European Union funds and other public agencies and foundations to further some cause. They are often awarded on a competitive basis, or through a detailed application process, and increasingly they come with explicit conditions, making them more like sponsorship. Local governments often provide grants to events in order foster the arts, create community spirit and cohesion, improve the quality of life and meet urban renewal goals. The manager's ability to secure grants for the event begins with a plan, similar to that for securing sponsors. The major elements of the plan should be: • identify the goals of granting funds/ agencies/foundations you can meet • use philanthropy guides, government directories, and networking to identify potential sources of grants and application requirements • prioritize the options, reflecting your ability to deliver, the match between the event's goals and the source, the investment of time and money that might be required to prepare for and make the application, and ultimate accountability demands • prepare necessary application forms and backup material, such as the business plan or letters of support • have a plan to administer the grant (e.g., when does the money become available; what exactly can it be spent on; who in the organization is responsible for meeting all conditions?)
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• keep detailed records of related actions and expenditures • prepare budgets/accounts as required • evaluate benefits and costs Financing under Bulgarian Operational Programs • Rural Development Program 2014-2020 support activities for tourism development in rural areas including investments in infrastructure etc.
6. SWOT Analysis of Festivals in Strandja
Strengths: ● Organizers have full control over festivals. ● Festival organizers are mostly permanent because they are organized by local governments. For this reason, it is also possible that the festivals are sustainable. ● Since the owners of the festivals are not private institutions, they are mostly and primarily for the benefit of society. ● Public institutions may benefit even in the case of profit-oriented holdings where limited public funds are available to support the festival. ● Festivals have a very important role in promoting and branding the city ● Festivals have programs and update them annually with an innovative approach. ● Since festivals are organized by public institutions such as local governments, they are less subject to crises due to their institutional qualities.
Weakness: ● Although the festival organizers are public institutions, they may need varied stakeholders such as universities and NGOs in their surroundings. ● They may need a large number of participants ● They need very good advertising and promotional planning ● They can be easily influenced by various political negativities such as terrorist attacks in the country and region ● Inadequate number of employees in festivals.
Opportunities:
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● It is an important source of culture for society ● They are an important leisure / recreational activity ● Festivals have a significant growth potential ● Festivals are tourism-focused and can benefit from their facilities. ● Since the festivals are not profitable for the primary purposes, financial losses can be very low. ● The stakeholders are from the important institutions of the region
Threats: ● Natural elements such as bad weather can not be controlled ● Financial resources are inadequate in the long run and there is uncertainty about the pace that can be separated ● Increasing costs day by day ● The cost of bringing famous people who support the festival program to a significant extent and also play a big part in the advertisement of the province, especially like the concert, is costly. ● Due to the increased costs, we have to make less various programs than the previous year's program ● Festivals have difficulty in finding volunteers ● Overlaps in the calender of the festivals throughout the region, especially on nearby routes as a competitive.
7. Assessment of festivals in Strandja
On-line survey with tourists and stakeholders
The survey among tourists is held on-line and it was conducted from September 26 to November 29, 2017, through a structured question survey.
The questionnaire was developed and published in 3 languages in order to overcome the inconvenience of the language barrier.
The questionnaire was completed in Bulgarian language from 53 tourists in Turkish language from 58 tourists and there were 15 tourists who used the English version. The results about nationality
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show that the origin of respondents responded to the countries where the survey was conducted - Bulgaria and Turkey with some singles exceptions. A major part of the interviewed tourists who filled the questionnaire in English, are foreigners or local residents living abroad.
When defining a profile of a tourist who is a participant at the festivals, several facts which influenced the actual results have to be taken into account:
• The survey among tourists was conducted on-line, i.e. the survey was most accessible to the age limit of 18-50 years. The on-line questionnaire method undoubtedly reflected the age structure of the survey participants among tourists. • The project Strandja-fest and the website of the program http://strandja- fest.info/ were presented by Bulgarian and Turkish students during campaigns for promotion of the project aims and the Strandja region. • The questionnaire was published on social media - Facebook, Twitter, Google +, where the main users are again in the 18-50 age range. • The lead partner National Community Center "Prosveta-1914", Malko Tarnovo organized an excellent promotion of the project and actively participated in the dissemination of information on project activities and surveys, most notably in the Malko Tarnovo area. This activity also influenced the results of the evaluated festivals on the territory of the Municipality of Malko Tarnovo. • The number of festivals and events identified, which bear many of the elements of a festival in Bulgaria, is 135, almost 7 times more than the total number of festivals identified in Turkey, a total of 20. Many attractive Bulgarian festivals were excluded from the survey. • The project team and the experts from Bulgaria and Turkey decided to nominate a total of 44 most popular events in Strandja for the on-line survey, of which 24 festivals and events on the territory of the Bulgarian part of Strandja and 20 on the territory of Turkish Strandja. • There is also a big difference in the concentration of festivals in Bulgaria. There are much more attractive events held on the territory of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. • The selection was made in order to include the most popular events held in different regions in Strandzha- on the territory of the Black Sea coast in the municipalities of Tsarevo, Primorsko, Sozopol where tourism is very well developed, and in the municipalities Malko Tarnovo, Elhovo, Bolyarovo, Sredets which are located in less developed tourist areas. • In order to partially neutralize this expected deformation of the results, information on the project activities and the platform of the program is sent to over 500 contacts included in the mailing list - representatives of stakeholders - local and regional authorities, museums, cultural, educational organizations and others. 49
Questionnaires are published on-line as follows: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdx9ReWAoZ1CFWCubzHtW9SVj_X8eOKPuq59S8g 87iBny4HKg/viewanalytics https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBBGIn6z89oegyAdmMe02UmJzNSpMED87W679k 2EF77KAk9w/viewanalytics https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMMejeH06M8Tl5izHYOesoKNkpy4OkIT7EdtJG4Bt L-pBiZg/viewanalytics
Questions in the questionnaire and results
Part.A. Profile of tourists participating in the poll
Age of participants, tourists at festivals.
There was a significant difference in the results from Bulgaria and Turkey in the age structure of respondents.
In Turkey, the largest participant group (66%) is in the age range of 18-30 years, 29% are 30-40 years old, 0% are 40-50 years old and only 5% are aged 50-60 years.
In Bulgaria, participants in the festivals are aged as follows: from 18 and 30 they are 34%, 30-40 years - 11% , 40-50 years - 26%, 50-60 years - 17% and over 60 years - 8%.
Ages, BG-53 TR-58 Other-15 Total years responses responses responses Under 18 2 0 1 3 18-30 18 38 1 57 30-40 6 17 3 26 40 - 50 14 0 5 19 50 - 60 9 3 1 13 60 - 70 4 0 3 7 70+ 0 0 1 1
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The fact that the survey was conducted on-line inevitably reflected the results, which showed in total that 45% of the respondents aged 18-30 years, 21% aged 30-40 years old, 15% aged 40-50 years old , 10% aged 50-60 and 2% over 60 years.
The profile of the participants in the case study held during the craft festival in Malko Tarnovo is quite different: The most active participants in the festival "In Malko Tarnovo’s manner - from the spring of Strandja" can be defined as a 40-50 years old woman with a Bachelor or Master degree, local resident of Malko Tarnovo or from the Burgas area. The fact that women were more responsive when filling out the surveys influenced results as well as the fact that a large number of older participants did not manage to fill the polls themselves and if there was no one to help them, they turned away or returned blank questionnaires.
The highly educated participants in the study also predominated.
Gender
As regards the gender of the participants, a significant difference was recorded among the participants:
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BG-53 TR-58 Other-15 Gender Total, responses responses responses Women 37 25 7 69 men 16 33 8 57
In Bulgaria, the participating women are 70% of the total , in Turkey 43% , almost the same is the percentage for the tourists from abroad .
Education
Highly educated participants in the survey also prevail.
Of the Bulgarian participants participated in the survey - 3.8% have a doctorate degree, 43.3% are masters, 34% are bachelors and 18.9% have secondary education.
Of the Turkish participants - 10.3% have a doctorate, 13.8% are masters, 70.7% are bachelors or with vocational education, 5.2% have secondary education
Income of the participants
The incomes of the participants are not very high and they are fully correlated with living standards in Bulgaria and Turkey and the age of the completed questionnaires. However, we must note that the percentage of people with income above € 1000 is mainly from Turkey (22.4%).
In total the incomes of 67% of participants are between € 200-600.
Other- BG-53 TR-58 Incomes, 15 respons respons Total, EUR respons es es es € 200 - 22 24 4 50 400 € 400 - 18 13 3 34 600 € 600 - 7 3 5 15 800 € 800 - 4 5 1 10 1000 € 1000 + 2 13 2 17
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Part.B. Source of information about festivals:
Given the tourists' profile, a score is expected and shows that over 60% of respondents prefer to get information via the Internet - via a website or social media.
This should be kept in mind when preparing promotional tools for future campaigns and during the process of development of a promotion plan or strategy platform. A web platform with an up- to-date calendar of events, up-to-date social media profiles, and periodic newsletters will have a higher chance of reaching tourists.
Total, Festival programme BG- TR Other Общо Close friend or a 24 31 5 60 colleague Internet website 37 23 13 73 Social media 39 22 11 72 Radio or TV 11 1 1 13 Printed media 6 13 5 24
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Part.C. Program and amenities
The results show that the most preferred culinary festivals are held in nature or include nature tours, music, folklore, arts, including artistic and sporting events. A high percentage of Bulgarian participants have featured animation - which includes various games and activities for adults and children - workshops, games, etc.
Total, Festival programme BG- TR Other Общо Food festival 37 41 13 91 Nature festival 35 25 12 72 Music festival 18 31 5 54 Folklore festival 27 11 11 49 Art festival 16 22 4 42 Sport festival 17 18 7 42 Film/Theatre festival 17 21 3 41 Animation 26 9 0 35 Other 1 6 0 7
During the festival, participants would like to be be presenmed with the following: food and beverages -73%, local products and marriage goods -60%, souvenirs-53%, traditional clothes -26.7%
Participants definitely expect festivals to provide various amenities and services such as :
Food & Beverage -91.7%, toilet, running water, etc. for hygiene-75%, provided transport - 41.7%, information points during the festivals - 66.7%, parking -33.3%
Part.D. Strandja as a festival destination-evaluation and vision for development
And on the most important question whether the participants accept Strandja as a festival destination, the positive answer is indicative:
92.5% of the Bulgarian participants,
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79.3% of Turkish participants,
93.3% of those living in other countries
71.7% of Bulgarian participants participated in a festival in Strandja and 67.9% attended festivals in Turkey
Only 55.2% of Turkish respondents actually participated in a festival in Strandja, of which 39.3% participated in festivals in Bulgaria
93.3% of respondents living abroad participated in festivals in Strandja
The answers show the fact that some of the respondents are young people who are interested in participating in festivals but have not yet been motivated enough to attend a festival. The reasons for this have not been studied, but it is good to include such a question in future studies
This creates an opportunity for attracting young people aged 18-40.
90.2% of Bulgarian participants approve the idea of creating a joint cross-border festival
79.3% of Turkish participants also approve the idea of a cross-border joint festival
100% of those living abroad, for whom it is a great opportunity to visit 2 border countries and to touch different cultures also approve the idea. In many of the responses there is an enthusiasm and unconditional approval for the organization of festivals in Strandja,
.... Festivals help one meet people, create mood and joy, help to preserve traditional folklore, crafts, and traditions. For many villages the festivals are the only opportunities for cultural and social life, a possibility for a little joy for the elderly people who live alone in the villages of Strandja…
…The Strandja festivals should be more advertised and include more diverse attractions, traditional craft workshops, feats, eco-routes…
…A wonderful initiative that encourages not only tourism in the small areas of Strandja but also helps social, cultural life in the dying villages of Strandja…
…WELCOME TO THE FESTIVALS, THEY ARE THE FUTURE OF STRANDJA!...Strandja is a great place for tourism in all seasons. It is probably more convenient for visitors to organize events in the spring-summer, but autumn and the beginning of winter in Strandja are also very pleasant. Proposal for the name of the festival…” Strandzha - no borders..:
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There are not many recommendations for the name of a cross-border festival, but some have written:… Strandja, Strandja and the wild, Strandja fest,Strandzha border, Strandja folk, Beauties of Strandja - Nature and Culinary FEST
Regarding recommendations on what to include in a festival, the most common answers are:
Traditional food and beverages, culinary competitions, traditional songs and dances, folklore, handicrafts and local products, games and workshops
Part.E. Assessment of the Bulgarian festivals by tourists
From the listed Bulgarian festivals the festivals held in the municipality of Malko Tarnovo, Tsarevo and Apolonia in Sozopol prevail . Among the more popular Curious facts: Turkish tours are the Demirköy's The best ranked Bulgarian festival based on Strawberry Festival, the Kakavas tourist evaluation (202 points) is The Festival, the Ertuglukluköy Festival. Periwinkle Festival -202, which is organized by the Directorate Strandja Nature park. Those A rating of Bulgarian festivals was living abroad also ranked the Periwinkle created from tourists’ responses. The Festival as the most popular in Bulgaria (80 maximum number of points that can be points). obtained from 126 tourists is 126 x4 = The "Nestinarstvo" is the best rated event by 504, for each festival the points are Bulgarian tourists (82 points). It holds annually distributed as follows: in Balgari village and in 4 other villages in Strandja 4- for exclusive Turkish tourists ranked Children's Folklore Festival "Varbova whistle" ,Bolyarovo as the 3-excellent most popular Bulgarian festival - 97 points.
2-very good 1- not good
BG EN TR response respons respons Festivals in Bulgaria s es es To Festival of Periwinkle (Rhododendron 57 51 94 202 Ponticum) in Strandja Nature park Craft Festival in Malko Tarnovo From the 66 39 95 200 Spring of Strandja
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Nestinarstvo. Nestinarsko shestvie ( 82 33 80 195 procession), Vlahov dol, village Balgari Cultural Holidays in the town of Malko 56 43 81 180 Tarnovo.
Municipal Folklore fest "Voden is Singing and 60 23 92 175 Dancing" in Voden, Bolyarovo municipality
Feast of the Thracian banitsa in Elhovo 47 39 89 175
А week of the sea in Ahtopol 60 25 84 169
International Youth Festival of Arts- The Muses 50 29 89 168 in Sozopol
National folklore fair and singing competition 64 23 78 165 “Strandja Sings” in Gramatikovo Fish Festival in Tsarevo 43 29 93 165
Children's folklore fair "Vаrbova svirka pee 47 20 97 164 (whistle plays)" in Bolyarovo
National Folklore Festival Horo in Strandja in 50 30 83 163 Malko Tarnovo Festival of Manna Honey (honey dew) in 44 28 89 161 Tsarevo
National Strandja - Thracian Fair Folklore 59 23 79 161 Wreath – Bozhura in Sredets
International Summer Art Academy in Ahtopol 54 19 87 160
Apollonia - Festival of Culture and Arts in 36 36 87 159 Sozopol National Folklore Dance Competition "Rhythms 43 27 88 158 and Dances in Strandja" National folclor fests Primorsko's pearl, 43 28 86 157 Primorsko International Youth Art Festival "Priests to the 62 18 76 156 Muses" International Folklore Festival Atlimanska 45 20 86 151 ogarlitsa (Atliman Necklace) in Kiten
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International Folklore Festival “Strandja, moya 46 19 85 150 lyulchina (my swing)” in Tsarevo National Folklore Festival "Horo by the Sea" in 55 20 70 145 Tsarevo Art Festival "Fire and Sea" in Tsarevo 41 14 85 140
Yanitsa plainer in Elhovo 39 22 74 135
Part. F. Assessment of Bulgarian festivals based on individual evaluation of 24 experts from Bulgaria and 126 tourists
Festivals in Bulgaria Tourist Tourists Tourists experts from BG other from TR evaluatio countries n Total Malko Tarnovo Craft Festival - From the Spring of Strandja 66 39 95 816 1016
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Nestinarsko shestvie ( procession), Vlahov dol 82 33 80 806 1001
Cultural Holidays in the town of Malko Tarnovo. 56 43 81 816 996
Festival of Periwinkle (Rhododendron Ponticum) in 57 51 94 785 987 Strandja Nature park
Apollonia - Festival of Culture and Arts in Sozopol 36 36 87 816 975
National Folklore Festival Horo in Strandja in Malko Tarnovo 50 30 83 785 948
National Strandja - Thracian Fair Folklore Wreath – Bozhura 59 23 79 747 908 in Sredets
Fish Festival in Tsarevo 43 29 93 731 896 International Folklore Festival Atlimanska ogarlitsa (Atliman 45 20 86 744 895 Necklace) in Kiten
Festival of Manna Honey (honey dew) in Tsarevo 44 28 89 723 884
International Summer Art Academy in Ahtopol 54 19 87 724 884
International Youth Festival of Arts- The Muses in Sozopol 50 29 89 716 884
National folklore fair and singing competition “Strandja 64 23 78 714 879 Sings” in Gramatikovo
International Folklore Festival “Strandja, moya lyulchina (my 46 19 85 723 873 swing)” in Tsarevo
National folclor fests Primorsko's pearl, Primorsko 43 28 86 715 872
National Folklore Dance Competition "Rhythms and 43 27 88 710 868 Dances in Strandja", Sredets
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А week of the sea in Ahtopol 60 25 84 690 859 National Folklore Festival "Horo by the Sea" in Tsarevo 55 20 70 708 853
International Youth Art Festival "Priests to the Muses" 62 18 76 679 835 in Tsarevo, Primorsko, Kiten, Ahtopol, Lozenets, Sinemorets Feast of the Thracian banitsa in Elhovo 47 39 89 659 834
Children's folklore fair "Vаrbova svirka pee (whistle 47 20 97 657 821 plays)" in Bolyarovo
Municipal Folklore fest "Voden is Singing and Dancing" in 60 23 92 634 809 Voden, Bolyarovo municipality
Art Festival "Fire and Sea" in Tsarevo 41 14 85 644 784
Yanitsa plainer in Elhovo 39 22 74 623 758
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Part.G. Assessment of the Turkish festivals by tourists An online survey for tourists was conducted to determine the festivals / activities that have the most popular and significant growth potential in the Strandja region. Another questionnaire for a similar purpose was made to stakeholders face to face or by e-mail. Stakeholders include tour operators, festival organizers, cultural director specialists, cultural arts and tourism NGO representatives, museum specialists and village administrators. It has been reached to 58 tourists in Turkey and interviewed with 20 stakeholders. 2 of the questionnaires answered by stakeholders were not used because of wrong answer. For this reason, 18 questionnaires were evaluated.
As a result of these surveys, the following findings were obtained.
800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Series1
In the above table shows the scores of Strandja's festivals in Kirklareli central district and periphery on the basis of stakeholder criteria. According to table, Karagöz Culture Art KAKAVA Festival is ranked first with 712 points as a result of the evaluation of 18 stakeholders. The Kaynarca Culture and Water Festival follows it with 544 points. Starting from the highest score all festivals in the project are listed;
1. Karagöz Culture and Art KAKAVA Festival (712 p) 2. Kaynarca Culture and Water Festival (544 p) 61
3. Yayla Abundance, Fertility, Harvest and Vintage Festival (476 p) 4. Demirköy Strawberry Festival (476 p) 5. Pehlivanköy Autumn Animal and Commodity Fair - PAVLİ (434 p) 6. Dupnisa Nature Festival (372 p) 7. Vize History and Culture Festival ( 365 p) 8. Kavasoğlu Oil Wrestling, Büyükmandıra Babaeski (359 p) 9. Nevruz March 9 Festival (348 p) 10. Ataköy Keşkek Festival (343 p) 11. Ertuğrulköy Keşkek Festival (341 p) 12. Pınarhisar Culture Art and Youth Festival (330 p) 13. Paraglading Festival, Elmacık (330 p) 14. Cevizköy Spring and Culture Festival (309 p) 15. Hıdrellez Spring Festival (289 p) 16. Alpullu Culture and Music Festival (284 p) 17. Commemoration Events of Gülbaba (252 p) 18. Commemoration Events of Topçubaba (241 p) 19. 1 July Maritime and Cabotage Day (231 p) 20. Erikler Hıdrellez Festival (227 p) 21. Babaeski Farm Festival (194 p)
Chart Title 140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
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Part.I . In the above Table, there are total scores of the festivals that answers received from the festival participants (visitors) via the online questionnaire. According to table, Karagöz Culture Art KAKAVA Festival is again in the first place. Here Demirköy Strawberry Festival comes second, followed by Hıdrellez Celebrations. Below all festivals are listed;
1. Karagöz Culture and Art KAKAVA Festival (132 p) 2. Demirköy Strawberry Festival (127 p) 3. Hıdrellez Spring Festival (123 p) 4. Dupnisa Nature Festival (118 p) 5. Yayla Abundance, Fertility, Harvest and Vintage Festival (118 p) 6. Ertuğrul Köyü Culture and Keşkek Festival (111 p) 7. Kaynarca Culture and Water Festival (110 p) 8. Paraglading Festival Elmacık (106 p) 9. Pehlivanköy Autumn Animal and Commodity Fair - PAVLİ (105 p) 10. Vize History and Culture Festival (105 p) 11. Kavasoğlu Oil Wrestling (104 p) 12. Erikler Hıdrellez Festival (104 p) 13. Pınarhisar Culture Art and Youth Festival (100 p) 14. Commemoration Events of Gülbaba (99 p) 15. 1 July Maritime and Cabotage Day (98 p) 16. Alpullu Culture and Music Festival (96 p) 17. Nevruz March 9 Festival (94 p) 18. Commemoration Events of Topçu Baba (93 p) 19. Ataköy Keşkek Festival (92 p) 20. Cevizköy Spring and Culture Festival (92 p)
Programme 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 … 0 … Yamaç… Erikler… Karagöz… Cevizköy… Hıdrellez… Kaynarca… Demirköy… Kavasoğlu… 1 Temmuz… Pınarhisar… Gülbaba’yı Pehlivanköy… Vize Tarih ve… Yayla Bolluk,…Yayla Topçubaba’yı Nevruz (Mart… Nevruz Dupnisa Doğa… Dupnisa Ertuğrul Köyü… Ertuğrul Alpullu Kültür… Alpullu Ataköy Ataköy Keşkek…
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Scope Variety 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 … 0 … Yamaç… Erikler… Ataköy… Karagöz… Cevizköy… Hıdrellez… Kaynarca… Demirköy… Kavasoğlu… 1 Temmuz… Pınarhisar… Gülbaba’yı Pehlivanköy… Vize Tarih ve… Yayla Bolluk,…Yayla Topçubaba’yı Nevruz (Mart… Nevruz Dupnisa Doğa… Dupnisa Ertuğrul Köyü… Ertuğrul Alpullu Kültür… Alpullu
Schedule 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Contribution to Tourism and Economic Development 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
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Support and Budget 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Growth Potential 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Infrastructure 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
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Promotion 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Contribution of the Organizer 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
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Other (Accessibility, equity, environmental awareness, security)
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
8. CASE STUDY OF POSSIBILITIES FOR DIVERSIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF JOINT CROSS-BORDER FESTIVALS
Methodology of the study In essence, this is a study that seeks answers to questions related to assessments and attitudes, as well as the perception of the festivals as a factor for establishing a positive image of Strandja as a festival destination. The festival "In Malko Tarnovo’s manner- from the Spring of Strandja" organized by NCC "Prosveta-1914", is the main subject of the study. Information from the survey is valuable in the following several areas:
• What are the visitors to the festival - gender, age, education, income? • Awareness of local population and visitors of the, program evaluation, and assessment of event organization as a whole • What percentage of the participants in the festival use tourist services - eg. accommodation. • How many days did they spend for the event and visit the settlement • Overall satisfaction and evaluation of the organization of the festival; preferences and recommendations for enriching the program • Information about promotional campaign and advertising sources • Awareness of events taking place in the cross-border region of neighboring territories • How is adopted the idea for development of cross-border festivals • Is there an existing festival on the territory of the Turkish Strandzha, which is suitable to be united with the festival "In Malko Tarnovo’s manner from the spring of Strandja ". 67
• What activities could be included in the program of a cross-border festival to be attractive for a larger number of tourists • Promotinal tools • Overall assessment for а joint festival to build the image of Strandja as a destination for cultural and event tourism.
Subject of research and research hypotheses The festival "In Malko Tarnovo’s manner- from the Spring of Strandja" occurs as a Citizens' initiative in order to popularize local traditions, customs and crafts. National Community Center "Prosveta-1914" undertakes the organization of the event. People of Malko Tarnovo were involved in organization of the festifal and shew to tourists and visitors their heritahe in an authentic way in a manner they remembered by their ancestors. The idea of organizing the first edition of the festival is supported from AGORA Platform and America for Bulgaria Foundation. The format of the festival is determined after several civic discussions, where citizens decide that they need exactly that. The festival is being prepared for several months from NCC Prosveta 1914 and supported by a civilian team. The organization of the festival is supported by the local authority. The Mayor of the Municipality of Malko Tarnovo, representatives of regional structures of the state power, local prominent personalities, present their greetings to the participants. The prize money is extremely helpful in the implementation of the second edition of the festival. The popularity of the festival attracts other sponsors , the experience allows the preparation of more attractive program. So now six years through the realization of Milena Drencheva, the secretary of NCC Prosveta the festival community center as the 1914, says: " I think this is not only a way of organizer responds to an objective need for promoting the cultural activities, but also of citizens to rediscover watt Strandja folklore engaging and attracting the active citizens - with culture, Vern AT dying tradition to ideas and willingness to help us. That's also the preserve its memory th and national pride. Participants in the festival are the winning formula for us. We are delighted that at local people who deal with textiles, AGORA competition, our initiative won the special carpentry, pottery, carving, fine arts, award in the Art and Culture for Development and other artisans. Exposes m is and many category. The NCC Prosveta 1914- Malko Tarnovo local products - products from herbs, received recognition for its activities; the traditions pomegranates, manic honey, authentic and crafts of the town of Malko Tarnovo were Strandzha paths, bead decorations, carvings popularized; all 145 volunteers included in the and paintings, souvenir rugs and woolen initiative were awarded for their work; our socks, wicker pancakes, knit dolls and partners were satisfied with their common work more. During the with the Community center. Later, on the local festival people decorated trees in the radio we broadcast several radio shows where we center of Malko Tarnovo with a fancy talked about the idea, the attraction of the yarn. At the entrance of the square is citizens, the organization and realization of the installed and arch decorated with authentic festival, and finally the prize, which valued Strandjan carpets and knitted flowers. All our work. We also published materials on the this contributes to the good mood of all attendees and helps promote the craft knitting.The program of the festival is two-day, diversifying each year with various
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creative workshops, games, seminars, round tables and more, discussing topics related to local crafts, traditions, discussing problems, ideas, solutions.
“Our festival is a holiday born from love between the whisper of the Big Chalice and the crouching of the old stairs. We carry the traditions and the memories of the past, we carry them for the future, which quietly lives in the sound of the folk song, in the cry of the bagpipe and the drum, in the rhythm of the right horo ... And we carry them - for you, for the children and those after them "… says Milena Drencheva, the secretary of the Community center. The festival has a logo which is placed on the annual promotional materials - posters, leaflets, program. A facebook page has been developed, which publishes information about upcoming festival editions, workshop photos, various local products exhibited at the festival, performers, artists and participants in the rich two-day program.
The presence of celebrities is a winning formula for attracting more visitors. Two of the editions of the festival featured Ivan Zvezdev-culinary showman and Yuri Angelov - a famous Bulgarian actor. Applying new ideas, making the program more entertaining and involving more participants is also a factor in this.
Flyers, posters are being prepared to promote the festival. Information about the festival can be found on many information sites on the Internet - National 69
Cultural Calendar published on the website of the Ministry of Culture: http://mc.government.bg/program.php
Objects of present study were the citizens and guests of the town of Malko Tarnovo who participated in traditional craft festival "In Malkotarnovski manner- from the spring of Strandja”. Filing of questionnairies and gathering of the primary information was implemented on place where the festival was conducted. Few of the questionnaires were sent over the Internet. Hypothesis 1: A positive attitude of the local people towards the festival, as well as to the organization of a cross-border event and development of Strandja as a festival destination like no expect major differences in opinion depending of sex, age, social status of the respondents; Hypothesis 2: Expected festival goers are mainly local people (by location) or from the region who spend a nice weekend festival in the picturesque town of Malko Tarnovo. The festival is held in an active tourist season. According to preliminary studies, the popularity of the festival has increased every year, so at least 15% are expected to be foreigners or from more distant regions of Bulgaria.
Excerpt and research toolkit The planned sample was a volume of at least 50 and a maximum of 70 people, the breakthroughs being made for an expected target population (visitors and participants in the festival ) 300-500people. The chosen sample is probable - based on random selection and its volume is 52 visitors at the festival - mostly citizens of Malko Tarnovo and Burgas region . We have a stronger insistence on interviewing only foreigners who have been seen to participate in the event . The information from the survey is the representative given that the selection of the persons is probable, and on the other hand participants, viewers of all workshops and places, where demonstrations, art events and otherprogram u Estill. The fact that the actual volume of visitors and participants in the festival Besh is approximately 400-500 people, the information may be considered representative in terms of the audience's opinion on the issues underlying the study. In this type of study, the most appropriate methods are semi-structured or a structured interview or a direct individual survey. The main method for collecting the primary information in this study is the survey. The questionnaires contained 11 main groups of questions, with sub-questions and open questions with recommendations, opinions. Involving more and more complicated issues would refuse participants to complete them. A significant part of the participants refused to fill the polls , another part left emails for e-filling, but a small number of them sent emails. We assume that some of them have responded by filling out the tourists survey for the Strandja events, published on the project website:http://strandja-fest.info/ .
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Most asked questions were also structured interview ie. Face-to-face interview ", the main advantage of which is that the interviewer can real-time and personally explain the issues. The questionnaire contains mostly open questions and several open ideas for collecting ideas proposals. Also included are suggestions of citizens and guests of the city gathered by conversations with them. As an additional method was used the observation method - type of "obvious" observation, as the interviews take place in the places where the art events are held. Additional questions were asked to the citizens, who were more receptive and interested in the project activities and the information about the festivals on the territory of Strandja, both in Bulgaria and in the Turkish part. Special interest and responsiveness were shown by 2 Turkish photographers who participate annually not only at the festival in Malko Tarnovo but also in other festivals in the Bulgarian part of Strandja. In principle, each of the foreign tourists and guests surveyed responded to the survey and answered with pleasure the questions.
Analysis of the participants The most prominent participant in the festival can be a 40-50-year-old woman well educated, a local resident or who lives in Burgas region. It is visible that the women were more responsive in surveys, and the fact that a large number of older participants failed to complete the surveys themselves and if there was no one to help them, they left or returned blank questionnaire.
Gender. /Пол/ men/ мъже 38% women/ жени 62%
Gender. Пол men/ мъже women/ жени
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Awareness of the local population and city guests about the event . Schedule participation, length of stay The majority of the participants visit annually or have visited not only the festival in Malko Tarnovo but also almost all the events in the region. A majority of respondents cited the Internet as a source of information (60%), invitations from the organizer of the event received 22%, 11% received information from relatives and friends and only 7% from the media These results are not surprising and correlate with the main profile of the participants - middle-aged graduates who are among the most active participants in social networks, have the opportunity and time to travel, and attending a festival is a great opportunity to give them a weekend , to enjoy a varied program, to charge emotionally . The average duration of their trips is 1-2 days, with one or two nights - 55%. A large number of respondents (from the region and the country) combine the trip with visits to relatives and friends During these trips, people combine the visit to the festival with outings and day trips to the Strandzha Mountain and visits to cultural landmarks - Mishkova niva, Propada locality, Brashlan village, Dokuzak waterfall in the village of Stoilovo, museums in Malko Tarnovo and others. Respondents say they are mainly visiting places around the main road E 87, which leads to the Turkish border. Improving the condition of the Malko Tarnovo-Tsarevo or Bosna-Tsarevo road will lead to a significant number of trips to the villages of Gramatikovo, Visitsa, Brodilovo, Kosti, Bulgari and others. villages in Strandzha.
The program for the festival is announced at least one month before the event and internet users have enough time to plan a holiday and visit a cultural event.
Respondents believe that more and more people are visiting the city for tourism, mainly eco and cultural tourism , and an event like the festival is a great addition and diversifies the program. For some of the respondents this is a motivation for planning a 2-3- day holiday in the town of Malko Tarnovo.
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Where are you staying - with relatives, at a hotel?
Satisfaction with the event - program, organization, general evaluation of the event It is undoubtedly the satisfaction of the participants in the event, since one of the respondents answered this question, only one is not very satisfied, as a reason for the low attendance at the festival. 100% of the participants said they would visit the festival again What most impressed the participants are: crafts, music, dances, the Strandja Magic, the local people
Do you consider coming back here again? What attracts you most - entertainment, meeting new people, local crafts and products?
Crafts Magic of Strandzha Yes Local people, tradtions, products 100% More dancing and music from Strandzha
Which other festivals in Strandja do you visit? Where and when are they taking place?
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Most popular and attarctive festivals shown by participants are : The Festival of Periwinkle(Rhododendron Ponticum) in Strandja Nature park, organized by Strandzha Nature park, Fest in Petrova niva, National folklore fair and singing competition “Strandja Sings” in Gramatikovo, Summer culture fests in Malko Tarnovo, Horo in Strandzha, Nestinarstvo (a dedicated fire-dance), Nestinarsko shestvie ( procession) . Nestinarski obred (Rite) in 5 villages in Strandja- Balgari, Kondolovo, Kosti, Slivarovo, Gramatikovo etc.
Awareness about festivals taking place in neighboring Turkey Only 19% of respondents said they knew of some festivals taking place in neighboring Turkey . - Only 19% of respondents said they knew about some festivals taking place in neighboring Turkey, and these are: Strawberry Festival in Demirköy, The festival, which takes place at the opening of the Dupnitsa cave in Demirköy The Kakova Festival in Kirklareli Do you know about festivals taking place in Turkish Strandja? List where and where are they taking place? 19% of participants have information about some of the festivals held in Turkish part of Strandja. From Turkish festivals as more attractive were define the festival of Strawberry in Demirkoy, Festival in Dupnitsa cave, Kakava festival in Kirklareli.
How many festivals in Strandja do you visit annually? Most of people visit 2-3 festivals, some of them 3-4 or up to 5 . That result shows that most people are interested in participating in festivals in Strandja.
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Do you like the idea to be organized a festival in consecutive days in Bulgaria and Turkey? What do you expect from such festival - entertainment, benefits for preservation of traditions, culture, tourism, trade?
Your recommendations for a programme, name of a cross-border festival?
Almost everyone of interviewed find the idea for cross-border festival very attractive.
Pilot cross-border festival The idea of organizing a cross-border festival is related to one of the goals of the Strandja image project as a cross-border festival destination. Organizing a cross-border festival is a great challenge, requires considerable preparation and resources. Goals: A richer and more varied program More effective promotion of the common cultural heritage and traditions of the region on a national and international scale Promoting cross-border cooperation and creating joint cross-border destinations and tourist products .
An adequate festival in Turkish part of Strandja is the festival held in Ertugrulkoy.
Ertugrulkoy Kultur and Keshkek festival https://www.youtube.com/watch?sns=fb&v=Ujd92Byv-q8&app=desktop
Etugrulkoy village is located in the municipality of Luleburgaz and has a relatively average population density - the population is 450 people. The village is located about 20 km from the city of Lüleburgas and is one of the significant villages that, at the time of the creation of the young Republic of Turkey, have attached great importance to the education and training of young people. In the village in 1915 was built third in Thrace during that time school and it has given many students and teachers. Festival of traditional local dish - keşkek is a relatively new event. In 2017 place the second row annual event, the first took place in 2015 again under a project financed by the CBC program Bulgaria Turkey project 2013-3-105 General identity common past - CICH . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Uxa4LQmGXk - footage from 2015 The festival program includes presentation of traditional local products - woven garments, visit the cultural center in the village, usually coupled with the opening of an exhibition of fabrics local products, cooking keşkek / which is a long process - prodalzhavasht more than 12 hours / distributing of keşkek visitors and concerts by renowned local artists.
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Festival focuses more on local dish that is cooked in the village and its presentation to visitors, but last year the festival was varied concert of the female group founded by women in the village and expect this program to advocate and over the next years festival by culinary focus to become a festival with a cultural focus. Each year visitors to the festival one-day increase, as in the past - 2017 took visitors from Tekirdag, Chorlu, Istanbul and Edirne. Organized groups with buses attended the event. The last festival was visited by over 5,000 people. There is always involved and the official opening speech by local rulers as caimacams of Lyuleburgaz and MPs. Directorate of Culture and Tourism assist in organizing exhibitions in the cultural house in the village. Festival promoted through social networks - Facebook, as well as local newspapers. To announce its spread posters in Lyuleburgaz. https://www.facebook.com/L%C3%BCleburgaz-Ertu%C4%9Frul-K%C3%B6y- 1558154937782069/
Answers of Turkish respondents
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* Your recommendations for a programme, name of a cross-border festival?
Istranca Fest
Big Star Fest
Balkan's villages Culture Fest
Thrace - Bulgaria Meeting
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Recommendations and guidance on the branding of Strandja fest as a destination festival. The idea of organizing cross-border festival is related to the idea of development an image of Strandja as cross-border festival destination.
Fisrt: When planning new festival events in the cultural calendar of the destination must first be assessed fits you new festival concept for the destination brand and its values; How will it fit the festival in the emotional component of the brand ie What emotions will be counted on to contribute to the image of the regional brand? How will be advertised and promoted the festival so as to obtain maximum publicity on the site , but at the same time it can be part of in disintegrating marketing communes cations of e estinatsionniya brand.
Second: It is mandatory failure arrangement, the present study of udovletvo Renault and attitudes of visitors to each held a festival to pro faiths achieved Are the objectives and to help no preparation and advance this presentation and promotion to the next and building and the whole advertisingcampaign.
Third: The experience of established brands destinations for cultural tourism shows that one of the surest ways to provide integrated Mar ketingovi communications for future festival is if the destination is an organization / structure for Destination Management (DMO), as thus there coor dination of all building activities and strengthening the identity of the brand, some of which are festival events.
Strengths and Opportunities to event tourism for a cross-border festival
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Strengths, in the context of resource and supply evaluations, are resources, events or related services and packages considered to be of high quality, high attractiveness, or strong in terms of numbers and/or variety. Tourism strengths are likely to consist of:
• unique theme or setting • large and diverse program or activities • existing large audiences, many of whom are regulars • a good reputation outside the area • specialized appeal • high quality of program and service • a captive tourism audience (at resorts, convention centers, staying with friends and relatives, at second homes) • a range of complementary attractions and services in the area • widespread promotion through media coverage • sponsors with national or international interests • existing packages and services for tour groups • solid support from the community, including volunteers and political support • organizational and management capability (to expand, improve and innovate) • a high ratio of benefits to costs
Tourism opportunities are anything that can be taken advantage of to enhance tourist attractiveness, such as: • new/developing tourist attractions in the area • newly emerging target markets • opportunities for joint promotions and packages • potential addition or improvement of new event activities/attractions
Tourism threats are emerging or potential obstacles to achieving goals, including the following examples: • competition • markets are changing to favor other types of event or attraction • declining quality of the event product due to age, or poor management • inability of event management/volunteers to adapt and innovate 79
• loss of community and volunteer support if benefits are not obvious or costs/problems grow
• lack or support and promotion from tourist organizations
Questions? How to use the multi-stakeholder approach to developing an operational and logistics plan for an event?.
Audit an existing event with regard to its logistical systems including traffic, supplies, equipment, people movement and environmental management.
Compare festival places in both places in cross-border region as to their design, management systems, programs and the resultant visitor experience.
How the nature of certain types of events results in crowd control problems, and suggest solutions?
Factors Affecting the Planning and Design of a cross-border Festival
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SETTING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PEOPLE
Location The Festival Programme Staff and Volunteers -accessibility -rituals (e.g., site -uniforms/designations -parking valorization -customer orientation (host- -visibility -celebration guest contacts) -centrality -games, competitions, -service quality -clustering amusements Participants -appropriateness to the -entertainment; art -performers festival theme -spectacle -vendors -cost of use/rental -commerce -suppliers -education -sponsors Site Characteristics -other sensory stimulation Audience -infrastructure (e.g., smell) -numbers -support services -demographics -size/shape Amenities/Services -origins (tourists, residents) -aesthetics -comfort; seating -expectations -capacity -food and beverages -behaviour -acoustics/noise -welcome and hospitality -ventilation/wind -temporary services -surface texture (grass, (communications and media; pavement) light; sound, etc.) -special needs (e.g., disabled Social-Cultural Context guests) -heritage value (authenticity) Controls -community -ticketing significance -security/safety/risk -symbolism (e.g., management landmark, -traffic flow monument) -environmental (green operations) Generic Event Settings -assembly (e.g., plaza, Design amphitheatre) -decorations; costumes -procession (street) -theming -open space (park) -atmosphere -exhibition/sales (convention or Site Planning exhibition facility) -legibility (entrance statement, -activities (sport field) pathways, districts, nodes and -concert hall landmarks, edges)
Operations Checklist for a cross-border festival STRANDJA FEST This checklist is merely a starting point for operations. Each point is simply a reminder of possible needs or actions. Activity Requirements commented with stakeholders as follows:
Setting Types
• stages and assembly; dressing rooms; trailers; rehearsal area;
• special technicians; seating arrangements; viewing quality; acoustics
• processions: parade marshals; crowd controls; seating; staging and activity area requirements; viewing
• open spaces: paths versus free movement
• exhibition and sales: optimal site arrangement for viewing and line-ups (floor plan)
• theming, decorations, design elements 81
• permission and special provision for fireworks, loud music, lasers, balloon releases, oversize balloons or equipment
• special provisions for animals
Infrastructure
• power needs (generators and dedicated lines; amperage for special equipment; protection from weather; outlets; heat or
• air conditioning; lighting and sound systems; backup and contingency plans); consultations with suppliers; need electricians or permits? covers to protect people and lines
• water: for drinking; food and beverage preparation; washrooms; participants; check legislation; backup supply
• sewerage: existing lines and capacity; toilet requirements
• gas availability
Equipment, Tools and Supplies for:
• ticketing and financial control
• merchandizing, food and beverage
• command and communications functions
• program activities
• suppliers and participants
• customer services and information
• volunteer
Accessibility and Flow
• number and arrangement of entrances and exits; gate controls
• direction and signs
• parking: number of spaces for cars, buses, trucks, bicycles; loading zones; reserved spots; special needs; emergency vehicles; parking permits or fees; collection and control
• personnel; directions and signage; vehicle repair and emergency
• services; barriers; appropriate legislation checked? overflow and other contingency plans; entrance and exit segregation; avoiding congestion
• shuttles and public transit (special or extra services? schedules posted)
• special needs (wheelchair access; others)
• crowd control devices (barricades, signs
• fire regulations; capacity (persons, vehicles, etc.)
• on site vehicles for staff (and identification of)
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Accreditation
• For: media, VIPs, staff and volunteers, officials (police, fire, etc.)
• Types: badges; tickets (if applicable); uniforms; wrist bands
• Authority to issue; controls (e.g., pre-approved lists, photo ID)
Safety, Security, Comfort and Health
• first aid; lost children; lost and found
• emergency response and accessibility; evacuation procedures
• comfort stations; toilets; water; sewerage
• shelters from weather
• police or security presence
• waste disposal and recycling; green solutions; hazardous substances and the law
• safe storage spaces
Merchandizing and Financial Control
• special equipment (booths, cash registers, computers, kitchens, ice, refrigeration, storage, carts, canopies, seating etc.
• security guards and vehicles; special accessibility and identification
• supervision or electronic monitoring
• safe money counting, storage and removal
• deposit slips and receipts
• foreign exchange rates posted and accounted for
• credit card validation machines and computer linkups; validation slips
• alarms and emergency signals
• bonding of key personnel
• cashiers and cash registers
Hospitality
• VIP, sponsors, officials, and performers' facilities
• separation from other activities
• special viewing requirements
• special transport to, from and on site
• protocol for VIPs
• food, beverage, gifts 83
• hosts/servers; any tour guides needed?
Command and Operations Facilities
• office and communications center
• visibility in and out
• centrality and accessibility
• links to staff, emergency response teams
• refreshments and rest areas for staff, volunteers, participants
Communications
• needs assessment (users, types of use, especially security, media, suppliers)
• types: telephones; radios; computers; pagers; photocopiers; signs; notice boards; maps; audio- visual
• special needs (e.g., telecommunications device for the deaf)
• emergencies
• translation services
Quality Control, Supervision and Evaluation
• rehearsals
• supervision
• evaluation
Cancellation or Venue Change Procedures
• weather forecasting and monitoring
• crowd and vehicle counts; observation to identify problems
• ways of instantly communicating changes (e.g., loud speaker system; signs)
• policy and procedures for reissuing tickets, rain checks, etc.
Storage and Movement
• tools, equipment and vehicle storage
• on-site movement
• structures needed (permanent or temporary)
Technicians Needed (and related equipment)
• electrical; lasers and special effects
• sound systems
• fireworks
• plumbing (water and gas) 84
• audio visual equipment
• communications equipment
• computing
• video and photo; audio recording
• broadcasting
• timing and scoring
• registration and ticketing
• emergency response; police; fire; ambulance; first-aid; medical/dental
• vending machines
• cooking/heating
• mechanics
9. CONTEMPORARY TRENDS AND CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN STRANDJA
Improving the festival program Traditional temple celebrations in Strandzha, called Panagirs, have emerged entirely as religious holidays. In the recent past, in the 18th and 20th centuries, the religious significance of the Panagiri gradually gave way to the economic, and today they are considered mainly as generic meetings, in some cases turned into attractions (Panagiur of St. Constantine and Elena in the village of Balgari) . Today, the temple feast and the village assembly of the village usually coincide and therefore the celebration has a vital role for the unity of the people. Most often, apart from the church liturgy, the main elements are family kurbans, traditional dishes, visits, traditional songs and dances, bazaars. In the small villages in the interior of Strandja, Panagirs have preserved a very religious significance. The latest trends are for organizing festivals that are longer and offer a two-day up to a weekly program full of folklore and dancing combined with different games, talks, local crafts and traditions, local culinary specialties and delights, locally produced products honey, herbs and others. e.g. Crafts Festival "From the spring of Strandja in Malko Tarnovo", festivals in the nature of Strandja - Festival of the Green, organized by the Strandja Nature Park Directorate, summer cultural holidays of the town of Malko Tarnovo, organized by the municipality of Malko Tarnovo.
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The seaside resorts of Strandja also offer a large number of festivals and events with a rich weekend program in Ahtopol, Apolonia - Sozopol holiday arts in 1984, Traditional Ahtopol Evenings, etc., which in recent years have diversified the program with various plains, competitions, lectures, workshops, sports competitions. In the seaside cities, it is clear that the festival programs will be enriched by new influences from around the world. This contributes to the intercultural dialogue and the transfer of artistic values. The new interpretations of already known works are also covered in the festival programs. Brainstorming new ideas for organizing an attractive event for the anniversary of the proclamation of the National Archaeological Reserve "Antique and Medieval City of Deultum - Debelt" was organized at the end of August at the Museum Complex of the Deultum - Debelt Archaeological Base. The program included historical restorations and games, a scientific discussion, a round table, workshops with ancient crafts, an exhibition, tasting, entertainment. After a 13-hour marathon on Saturday, where the Sredetz Municipality provided entertainment for children, various art classes, culinary exhibitions of traditional dishes, wine tasting from Roman times and even the creation of a Roman wedding, the visitors of Deultum managed to return centuries back in history and get back to the present with the final party in the open. The event is organized by the National Archaeological Reserve "Ancient and Medieval Town of Deultum - Debelt" with the support of the Municipality of Sredets and in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism.
Suggestions for improving festivals
• It is necessary to "customize" the theme and program content of festivals that are held in close proximity to each other in the Strandja region. This requirement can be explained by the importance of creating popular festivals by introducing different organizations instead of similar activities. • Local traditions in festival organizations should not be regarded only as coloring elements of the festival atmosphere. Event programs of festivals hosting such events should be structured on traditions, historical stories, historical events. • Popular festivals around the world should be followed and festival content should be developed taking into account what kind of activities are creating more 86
demand. For example, events such as the Irea Carnival in Italy, the Holi Festival in India are now becoming increasingly popular, which can be perceived as "crazy" and "fun". • A festival cortege activity, which may be costumed for musical and festive contact, may be added as a starting activity to provide a visual contribution to the atmosphere of the festivals with inadequate activity schedule. • It is important for festivals to have a constant celebration area, to be regular, and to have a certain time every year, in terms of accessibility. Every step to be followed in this direction can lead to the demand fluctuation of the festival. • The celebrating areas of festivals should be visual for enriching the experience of the participants. In particular, it should be ensured that the basic needs of the participants can be met under appropriate conditions. • Sponsorship support should be sought in line with the festival concept in order to increase the festival budgets. Sponsorship support will facilitate the use of promotional tools while providing financial resources for initiatives to enrich the content of the festival program. • In festivals "original local products" must be presented. Products that are sold as memorial goods should be produced locally by avoiding the factory. • To increase the awareness of cross-border Strandzha region festivals should provide communication between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Turkey and Bulgaria.
10. BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES
The festivals today are developing with exceptional dynamics because they are more actively and successfully attracting audiences. The attention of organizers and participants focuses on creating an extraordinary new experience. The low cost for visitors when they combine tourist trips with a visit to festival events is a great contributor to their financial profitability. Festivals are also a kind of springboard for the career development of art managers and music directors, give expression to many local artists, and create opportunities for economic benefits to the tourism sector. An important contributing factor is the connection of the festivals with the non- governmental sector. In recent years, there has been a clear tendency in Bulgaria, as well
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as in Europe, to multiply and diversify festivals. This, of course, is a very positive trend, as festivals offer the opportunity to enrich the cultural life where they take place, set new trends in art, develop a taste of their audience and provide wider access to an enriching cultural experience. Last but not least, they promote their town district destination and are also an incentive for the economy and tourism in the cities.
Together with the festivals themselves, the interest towards them has increased, including in Bulgaria. However, there is still a lack of clear understanding of the links and interaction between the regular information from traditional cultural institutions about festival events. There is not much research done into the abilities of festivals to form lasting and sustainable attitudes to cultural consumption. The effects of festivals on the cultural, social, and economic life of the community as well as the profile of the participants in the different events and festivals are insufficiently studied.
From the studies conducted in the framework of the project and from studies of festivals from other researchers, the following main conclusions can be drawn:
● The majority of the festivals and events in Strandja region in Bulgaria are organized or supported by local and regional authorities (eg festivals organized by community centers or NGOs in Bulgaria ● Most of the events are held annually ● Three quarters of the events in the Strandja region are concentrated on the border between the spring and summer season and in the autumn. ● Winter has the least festival events. ● The uneven distribution of artistic holidays over the year is due to their dependence on being held outdoors. ● Places for culture and arts in smaller settlements are unheated in the winter. ● Low share of highly qualified specialists. Poor efficiency of workers in the sector. ● Participation of the local community. The key role of volunteers. Much of the events attract many volunteers, especially in small settlements. ● Most of the festivals are funded by the municipal and state budget. Very small share of festivals generate profit. Low% of revenue from festivals ● Low share of EU funds goes to festivals
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● Intensive use of various public spaces - chitalishte buildings, municipal scenes, squares, etc. ● Local partnerships: Festivals as a bridge between partners and institutions; ● Audience: The festival is experienced as a happening, a sense of festivity ● The festivals and competitions that present folk performances, local products, culinary products are enjoying greater popularity. Festivals are also preferred, including art workshops, craft workshops, sports games and competitions, walking tours and events taking place in the open air among nature ● Results suggested that a number of factors were important when people consider an event-related purchase or trip, and these can be utilized as follows: - uniqueness: opportunities to experience something different (e.g., major entertainers or national/international celebrities) - socializing: opportunities for family outings; meeting and seeing people; party atmosphere - learning: opportunities for authentic experiences; interpretation provided - packaging the event with a wider social and travel experience - participating in an event; seeing friends and relatives who are participating
Benefits from festivals
Local festivals tourism is a modern form of experiential tourism. It has a variety of benefits as follows: ● economic benefits (short-term impacts - extra jobs, hotel rooms and business revenues) ● environmental improvements (restoring or creating new infrastructure) ● strengthening rural communities (enriching the quality of small towns’ life) ● mobilize local cultural forces and resources (stimulating creative interventions and planning activities) ● Collaboration in tourism development planning: building institutional or informal networks.
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Benefits to Venues Benefits to Producers
Basic Problems Identified by Stakeholders and Challenges:
Research shows some weaknesses caused by: ● The lack of partnership and coordination and inconsistency between institutions in the organization of festivals in one territory - in the Bulgarian part of Strandja similar festivals are held simultaneously in several settlements and compete with each other. This undoubtedly affects the attendance of the individual events. ● There is not enough solidarity among the local community and adequate recognition of the festivals as a source of prestige for the place; the possibilities of the festivals to support the economic growth and social development of the Strandzha region have not been conceived and implemented in specific policies. ● Not very well-structured municipal cultural calendars. Local administrations still perceive the programming of cultural and artistic activities during the year as a list of events and not as an effective tool for the realization of cultural policies. ● The analysis of the festival programs shows that, despite the growing events, the festivals do not contribute enough to the Bulgarian artistic community and the audience to the new artistic trends around the world. The organizers rarely assign to the authors from the country and abroad the creation of new artistic works. This is largely due to the low interest of the audience in the presentation of unknown works and authors. ● The revenue earned does not correspond to the organizers' earnings expectations
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● Insufficient funding The limited public financial resources are divided among too many festivals. In Strandja region there is no major, prestigious festival that is up to world standards; ● There is no long-term planning of festivals. ● With few exceptions, festivals do not work in partnership with the tourist industry; ● There is no self-regulation in the festival sector, through which adequate standards of quality can be maintained. ● Ineffective promotion of the events Adverse Factors and Challenges to Festivals Organizers:
● stagnation in the arts and cultural products market ● limiting public spending on art and culture; ● globalization, commercialization, and an unhealthy political momentum threaten festivals to lose their identity and to be subject to close corporate and unhealthy political interests; ● the absence of an effective system of public and civil control over the results of the festivals. For each of the challenges and difficulties, simple and effective solutions can be sought, for example:
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11. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF STRANDJA AS A FESTIVAL DESTINATION:
The destination is a territorial system with enough diverse attractions and services that are considered unique, satisfy certain tourists' needs, and should be managed as a strategic business unit.
The management covers all aspects of the visitor's good experience in line with an integrated quality management.
The sustainable development of the tourist destination is a function and result of using an appropriate governance model.
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Destination management is a concept that reflects all the ways in which tourism can impact the destination. This includes planning and controlling tourism development, infrastructure provision, visitor management, marketing, information delivery, business support, setting and observing standards and monitoring.
The vision must be a direct consequence of the unique features of the planning destination - Strandzha has competitive advantages in both national and international aspects. It is recommended to meet the following requirements: integrity, realism, truthfulness, attractiveness, meaningfulness, persuasiveness, comprehensibility, inspiration.
The mission of the tourist destination reveals the attitude towards the visitors, defines priority areas of action, presents the main products and services, and highlights the significant competitive advantages of the tourist product.
The concept of development and validation of a destination includes several key steps that can be implemented within the Strandja FEST project and include:
1. Analysys of the local environment. Inventory of Tourist Resources - a study was conducted, the festivals and other tourist resources in the Strandja region were described, a joint calendar of events was prepared.
2. Creation and development of the Strandja fest network. Participants in the network can be organizations or individuals organizing festivals and events, etc. interested in the development of Strandja as a festival destination. The process of forming such a network is difficult and requires tenacity. It is advisable to endorse this decision with a declaration, memorandum, or other document stating the desire for cooperation, to elect a management board or at least a coordination committee to coordinate events and to develop basic rules for membership and responsibilities.
The inclusion of a wider range of representatives of local and regional authorities in the establishment and management of a destination is of а great importance as they are key to tourism planning and management. It is recommended to organize joint events - trainings, round tables, etc. to discuss how to create mechanisms and structures for the development and implementation of sustainable tourism development strategies; how to
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facilitate the process of coordination and networking; how to provide resources and staff for network and destination management; identify indicators and monitor the impact of their implementation; provision and maintenance of the relevant infrastructure and facilities, etc.
The Project STRANDJA FEST addresses this opportunity by proposing the networking of local festivals in the cross-border region. The Project STRANDJA FEST is included in the INTERREG Cross Border Cooperation Operational Programme Bulgaria Turkey 2014-2020, an important program under the European Territorial Cooperation Objective. Within the context of the European Union policy, border regions are now considered to constitute opportunities for development. In particular in the European periphery, such as the border zone between Bulgaria and Turkey, problems of uneven development, differences in the institutional context and transitional processes make the planning of spatial cooperation processes in border regions a matter of special importance. At this end, the research analysis focuses at the challenges and obstacles towards encouraging the creation of local festivals networks so as to support the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of the cross- border area.
NETWORKING AND CLUSTERING FOR DEVELOPMENT OF FESTIVAL TOURISM IN STRANDJA
Festival networks have been the structure under which non-profit arts festivals, and others, join forces through international collaboration and cooperation in the face of a fast paced and vulnerable industry. These networks bring different benefits to their members and can consequently help them enhance their capacities as well as increase their competitiveness, but are they a strategic asset for small-scale, non-profit, arts festivals to achieve a more resilient sustainability? How participating in a festival network can support a festival’s sustainability? To understand how being part of a network can help festivals to enhance their sustainability, this section correlates the benefits of network participation (based on the information collected from the ICAS and ECAS research) with the assets that can strengthen sustainability.7
7 ICAS is an international network dedicated to advancing sound cultures, music and related arts. ECAS was the project that initially triggered the creation of ICAS and later on became a project of nine partners of the network. Both 94
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
The gathering of like-minded organisations working within the same field and sharing similar interests under the umbrella of a network lends strength to the group that can facilitate lobbying in order to support this specific sector of society. For young festivals, this is a particularly delicate issue, as they have not yet gained recognition by their own means. Joining a festival network such as ICAS brings legitimacy to its members. It is the legitimacy of the network and its most established festival members that expands and consequently ‘legitimates’ the activities of the younger members.
Through the gathering of international festival organisations, festival networks enable the mobility of artists and artistic programmes at an international level. The different festival members create a circuit that facilitates the touring of different artists and projects. This expansion in mobility naturally increases the visibility of such projects, at both local and international levels.
Festival networks can also enable the mobility of cultural workers, generally in the form of cultural residency programs. Тhis is the best way in which cultural workers can learn from other organisations and share their knowledge in return, because residencies give enough time for people to get to know each other and to assimilate and apply that knowledge.
Local support is essential for the successful development of festivals. Most of the interviewed experts confirmed that being part of the network facilitated access to new funds: locally, regionally or internationally. The reasons for this vary depending on the festival and its context. In some cases, the network legitimated an organisation in the eyes of potential funders, in other cases promoting local talent abroad aroused the
developed from a natural collaboration among independent festivals and dedicated persons that shared an interest in promoting and creating projects related to experimental music, sound and new technologies with a trans-disciplinary approach. ICAS has been working as an informal network for over nine years and is formed of thirty-one active members across Europe, America and Australia. ECAS was a five-year initiative co-founded by the Creative Europe programme that ended in 2015. It was formed by nine partners of the ICAS network.
In order to analyse the benefits that the festival members have achieved through participation in these networks, a qualitative study based on interviews with nine of the festival members was developed. This research is based on the study developed by IETM – Informal European Theatre Meeting (2001) in relation to the importance of artistic and cultural networks, How Networking Works 95
interest of public institutions, and in others the international character of the network helped to access funds abroad.
Festival networks support and promote the development of new collaborative projects and exchanges between organisations at different levels. At this level, the network works as a space of encounter, where cultural workers can meet with others and identify potential partners for their projects.
Collaboration
Constant exchange with people from cross-border region allows the network members to better understand and appreciate different contexts and realities, and increases the international and intercultural competencies of cultural workers. Sharing knowledge across generations, nations, and organisations of different sizes, is an asset that is not always easy to grasp outside of this type of structure.
Joining a network of like-minded people working to achieve similar goals and facing similar challenges gives the members a sense of community and solidarity within their field. This sense of community gives internal strength to the network and its members.
Innovation
Exchange with like-minded professionals from different backgrounds is the perfect incubator for new ideas and exchange of information, and organisational knowledge facilitates the development of various projects.
Getting to know different points of view allows festival organisers to question themselves. The connections between people in the network generate a stimulating collective intelligence, which is enhanced when members physically meet.
In a fast-paced industry, the network represents a space where members can stop and think about where the network and its members are heading, what they are doing and why.
Trust among individual members of the network allows people to be open about their thoughts and to give critical and honest feedback to others, provoking reflection on the work developed by different organisations and cultural workers.
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Demanding programmes, expanding audiences
The intercultural diversity of the network can have an important effect on the uniqueness of the programme and the international profile of the audience. It increases the international profile of its members, especially the less established or younger ones, and promotes the discovery of international artistic talent.
Festival members involved in co-productions with other network members emphasized the network facilitated and enriched the process of creating new artistic work. Exchange within the network gave them access to expertise, a wider artistic choice, a wider touring network, and access to different types of support.
Joining an international network can also raise a festival’s profile with its local audience. For a curious audience, having access to a unique programme is of great value.
Flexibility to cope with change
Through networks, festival organisers are able to gain organisational knowledge by learning how other festivals operate and by sharing strategic information, which allows them to rethink the way their own organisation operates and to find diverse alternatives when faced with different challenges.
Having the capacity to find different solutions to potential problems by learning through the experience of others also enhances the flexibility of these organisations, an indispensable asset for facing the changing nature of the festival industry.
By being exposed to different realities and ways of doing things, it is possible to recognise things that could be lacking or failing in one’s home country. This intercultural exchange makes it possible for cultural workers to recognize and evaluate models that could potentially be imported and applied in their home countries.
Festival networks are platforms that can allow festivals to achieve a more resilient sustainability. Nevertheless, these networks can only offer tools to make this happen.
Festival networks can be agents of change, of creation, of mobilisation and connection. Their essential value is not measurable in economic terms, since it lies in the ‘environment’ they create, in which innovative projects can be developed. They are
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dynamic and inclusive structures of cooperation where communication is horizontal, and where differences between cultures are appreciated as an asset and not as a threat.
We are living in a time when nationalism is expanding. In times such as these, where exclusion is becoming the norm, inclusive structures like festival networks where creation is collective, knowledge is shared, and diversity is cherished, are not only beneficial for cultural workers or the organisations of a specific industry, but for society itself. As Foccroulle (2009: 16) points out in his article “At the heart of European identities,” ‘The amazing diversity of festivals reflects Europe and its culture. Yet are we aware enough of that wealth? Will we be able to help it to grow and take advantage of all of its promises? Will we be able to gather into dynamic networks and leverage all its resources?’’ Festival networks are great structures to collectively rethink and reinvent not only the festival model, or to shape the future of an industry, they are also a strategic place to rethink the way in which we want to influence the world we live in.
Clusters and networks are different yet linked phenomena. Clusters are agglomerations of interconnected companies and associated institutions. Firms in a cluster produce similar or related goods or services and are supported by a range of dedicated institutions located in spatial proximity, such as business associations or training and technical assistance providers. Vibrant clusters are home of innovation oriented firms that reap the benefits of an integrated support system and dynamic business networks.
Networks are alliances of firms that work together towards an economic goal. They can be established between firms within clusters but also exist outside clusters. Networks can be horizontal and vertical.
Horizontal networks are built between firms that compete for the same market, such as a group of producers establishing a joint retail shop
Vertical networks, particularly supplier development schemes, are alliances between firms belonging to different levels of the same value chain, such as a buyer assisting its suppliers for upgrading.
IV. CONCLUSIONS:
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Each region that aims to establish itself as a festival destination must have a branding program and a promotional plan that contains a consensual understanding of the identity of the destination brand. To accomplish this, Balmer's approach to analyzing and building a brand identity can be utilized through 4 stages:
● Study and analysis of the status and formulation of attributes of the Strandja brand as a destination for festival tourism; What is the expected result ie. what is the desired image and identity of the brand the destination wants to achieve. ● Analysis of the communications of the brand and the results and the effect of these marketing communications - advertising, PR, online campaigns, etc. ● Developing a program (3-5 years) and a long-term strategy (for a period of 10-15 years) for the brand and its development through new values and events ● What is the expected result ie. what is the desired image and identity of the brand the destination wants to achieve?
Developing of the program for the development of Stranja as a festival destination for the period 2017-2020:
- Carrying out regular surveys (marketing, etc.) and preparing the profile of the tourists who visit Strandja and the festivals taking place on the territory of Strandja
- The program should take into account the global trends in tourism including product trends in defining the goals and priorities for the development of Strandja as a festival destination
- The program should provide activities to strengthen and enhance the presence of traditional target markets and attract new prospective markets; incl. measures to stimulate domestic tourism and cross-border travel; consolidation of integrated tourist packages offering a combination of different types of tourist products, a combination of different specialized types of tourism - festival + summer sea, cultural-historical, culinary and wine, eco and adventure tourism, ecotourism, etc.
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- A roadmap for coordinating the major tourist events of Bulgaria and Turkey can be implemented to programs in this area. The initiative is for tour operators and tourists from other countries to be aware of the planned tourist events in Bulgaria and Turkey.
Developing a promotional plan for 2018, which will have the following goals:
- Establishment and consolidation of a strong regional brand Strandzha Fest with an emphasis on the region-specific tourist product;
- Upgrading the created so far image of Strandja as a festival organization -a logo, a platform with an up-to-date calendar of events, current social media profiles, periodic newsletters.
- make a realistic profile of the participants in the events on the basis of the studies conducted so far.
For the future, a full study is required for the Strandzha region, which should last at least 1 year and include different survey methods: on-line, terrain, case studies, etc.
Recommendation: Distribute polls for different events to get the visitors' profile, their expectations, recommendations, etc.
This information can be useful in choosing advertising channels and means for targeted influence at ladies or men: e.g. for women are suitable ads in magazines and information sites for the ladies - fashion, culinary, direct advertising, etc.,
- for men - sporting editions, hobby-hunting, fishing, radio while driving, and so on.
- for young people and men and women up to 50 years of age - through the Internet - mainly through social media
- It is advisable to concentrate on the development of electronic promotional tools that reach a much wider audience and attract many more tourists. When designing, it is advisable to contain information or to refer to other tourist products and resources - architectural, cultural, natural heritage, other attractions in the region.
-Festival programme 100
The latest trends are for organizing festivals that are longer and offer a two-day up to weekly program full of folklore and dancing combined with different games, talks, local crafts and traditions, local culinary specialties and delights, locally produced products honey, herbs and others. e.g. Crafts Festival "From the spring of Strandja in Little Bitrinovo", festivals in the nature, which include various routes in the region of Strandja - Festival of the Green, organized by the Strandja Nature Park Directorate, summer cultural holidays of the town of Malko Tarnovo, organized by the municipality of Malko Tarnovo.
Marketing. Advertising channels and means of advertising
When developing a marketing plan or strategy, emphasis should be placed on building on to what has been achieved so far
- Recognition of Strandja as a fest destination - the results show that a very high percentage of people perceive Strandja as a festival destination. This can be maintained and developed in the following directions
The advantages of the Internet advertising tools should be utilized
✓ timeliness and flexibility; preparing for a possible modification of advertising on the Internet for the events that take place does not take time but reaches up to thousands ✓ interactivity - This is the only means of communication that can instantly use and develop the interest and activity of the targeted audience. The ad is linked to an unlimited amount of information that is only accessed by a click of the mouse. ✓ focus - thanks to the Internet technology, it is possible to precisely define the target group, the views and their frequency (from a demographic point of view, within a region, etc.) ✓ measurability, ability to evaluate - it is possible to precisely measure the number of views and direct reactions of the campaign
CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: STRANDJA THE MOUNTAIN OF FESTIVALS
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As mentioned in the first part of the paper events including festivals can offer an opportunity for cities to create visitors and to make them loyal to the destination. An attractive festival can be the reason for first time visitors to discover a destination.
Event tourism goals for destination Strandja – the mountain of festivals should address the following general issues: the extent to which existing events are to be developed and promoted as tourist attractions the extent to which support will be given to develop or assist the creation of new events and bidding for events the roles events are to play in extending tourist seasons and the geographic spread of tourism the role events are to play in creating and enhancing images, particularly a destination area or attraction theme, and in correcting negative imagery the roles events are to play in fostering the arts, cultural goals, sports, fitness, recreation, nature and heritage conservation, and community development the acceptable costs associated with development, and who is to pay for them the means to identify, prevent, ameliorate or remove negative impacts the need for organizational development at the level of interest groups communities, destination areas and government agencies/departments to support event tourism
Recommendations for development of Strandja as a festive destination from stakeholders during the training “Development od Srandja as a festive destination” held in Malko Tarnovo from 15-18 December, 2018
GOALS OBJECTIVES
Create a favorable image of Strandja as Attract and create high- profile events to a festive destination maximize positive media exposure. Key results: -bid and win 1 mega-event for Strandja -achieve television coverage of major existing events -increase awareness of destination by 50% in key market segments 102
Attract foreign visitors and increase their Favor events which attract foreign yield. visitors. Key results: -increase foreign tourist attendance at events by 10% within 3 years Expand the tourism season and spread Attract or create new events during demand throughout the area. winter and autumn, especially where none exist. Use events as a catalyst to expand and Achieve a new multi-purpose event improve tourism infrastructure facility within 5 years. (Road – Malko Tarnovo-Tsarevo is most important infrastructure) Stimulate repeat visits Produce and market a program of events at all attractions and facilities. Hold actual information on web-page Develop and improve the infrastructure Provide assistance and advice; foster the and pooling of resources; create management necessary to create, cooperative marketing and attract and sustain events. promotions. Partnership between stakeholders active involvement in activity of Network Strandja fest Foster development of the arts, sports, Deversified festival prorammes culture, Cross-border events heritage, and leisure in Strandja region Assist all types of events; link events to other policy areas. Ensure maximum benefits to the host Conduct cost-benefit studies; follow community. community-based planning process. Standart questionnaires to be disseminated during the festivals Avoid negative environmental foster Stimulate nature tourism impacts; conservation. through events; require impact assessments.
Today, the festival's ability to make a sound depends on having a unique story or deep- rooted background, as well as having original activities in the program. Looking at trends in festivals around the world, it can be said that activities that can be described as authentic and crazy are more advantageous in gaining popularity. The meaning of the authentic word is expressed as "able to carry the features that have existed since the
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past". However, it is not enough in the modern world that festivals can only survive past to present features. Therefore, it is necessary to "update" festivals that have been celebrated for many years in order to modernize, adapt the era, transform into a different and interesting experiment and make it identifiable. "Being able to create a colorful atmosphere" and "being perceived as crazy" is possible by developing a number of different activities in line with the origins and celebrations of the festival. Making the original demandable is an important issue at this point. For example, in the Zheravna, a a festival of traditional clothes is organized. This event eventually became an international popularity. Approximately 15 thousand people come to the city to attend the festival. The events in this concept include the Include the city held in Burgas, which has gained a big popularity, and the Festival of sand figures held in Burgas. Therefore, these types of events that can be described as "crazy" are now demanding at a high rate. People who want to experience a different and lifelong experience will show great interest in such activities.
It is important to include visual textual content of festivals related to festivals on newsletters, travel blogs, social media networks and various online platforms, an important means of communication on the Internet. In order to create a demand for an event, it is necessary to increase the awareness by firstly notifying the activity. It should be known that social networks and travel blogs are now an important part of travel motivation. Publicity initiatives for the Strandja festivals should focus on social networks and travel blogs at this point. Festivals have their own website, blog page, social media accounts, etc. is an important requirement. This requirement may be related to the widespread use of the internet in travel planning today.
Festivals in Turkey is usually organized by municipalities. In these festivals, concert events mostly come out as main events. The programs of festivals in this context are enriched with activities such as folk dances, various competitions. These festivals are sometimes formed on a historical event or a story that takes place in the locality, and sometimes on a product of agriculture. Basically, festival events are held in order to have fun for local people or an event that is important for the local people. Perhaps this is the interest of local people to festivals. Moreover, the level of economic contribution
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of festivals to local people can be considered as a factor that can positively affect the "local ownership" process. In this direction, lots of local products are sold in the festivals. However, increasing the physical possibilities for sales stands in the festival areas and visually improving the stands may increase the demand for local products. Besides, the physical possibilities of the festival areas are also important in determining the future of the festival. Renewal work for the festival areas should be carried out in this direction.
Festivals in Turkey is usually carried out in areas close to the center of the settlements. This is an advantage in terms of accessibility. Another point is that the events of the Strandja Region festivals are defined as events identified with the local culture. This situation is very important in terms of "differentiation" and "demanding". The identification of an activity with local culture can present "interesting experiences" to those who participate in that activity from different cultures. Therefore, it can be said that the Strandja Region festivals are advantageous.
The following sources of information have been used for the purposes of the study:
● Online information published on the websites of relevant institutions. ● Information provided in response to a survey and a detailed structured questionnaire, which was sent to Stakeholders according to List of satkeholders . In most cases the questionnaires were not completely filled in and/ or the entire information requested was not provided. Some of the administrations did not fill in the questionnaire at all. In other cases there were differences in the information provided by one and the same source. The general conclusion regarding the smaller municipalities covered by the study is that they do not keep systematised, exhaustive and updated information on the festivals they support.
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Sources of information:
1. Georgi P. Ayanov - Malko Tarnovo and its outskirts, ed. "Strandzha region", Burgas, 1939, in Bulgarian 2. Falassi, Alessandro. Festival: Definition and Morphology 3. www.sabori.bg 4. National Cultural calendar, Dustrict cultural calendars of Burgas and Yambol Cultural Calendars of the Municipality of Tsarevo, Municipality of Malko Tarnovo, Municipality of Sozopol, Elhovo Municipality, Bolyarovo Municipality, Sredets Municipality, Hristo Botev Community Center, 1925 Ahtopol, 5. www.svetimesta.com 6. www.peika.bg 7. http://www.burgasmuseums.bg/index.php?page=encdetail&id=60&lang=en 8. Georgieva, Ivanicka (1987). "Nestinarstvo in Strandja". Cultural and historical heritage of Strandzha-Sakar (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Narodna mladej, in Bulgarian 9. http://www.burgasmuseums.bg/index.php?page=encdetail&id=60&lang=en 10. Communication Strategy for Promotion of Bulgaria as a Tourist Destination in 2015
11. References:
1. Donald Getz. Event tourism- definition, evolution, and research. July, 2017, 2. Donald Getz, PhD , EVENT MANAGEMENT and EVENT TOURISM, Second Edition, 2004 By: Professor, Haskayne School of Business University of Calgary, Canada, p.32-36 3. Rozalina Laskova. Economic study of the public support for cultural projects, in particular festivals, at national and municipal levels, Sofia, April 5th, 2015 4. Getz, D. – “Event Studies: Theory, Research and Policy for Planned Events”, Oxford: Elsevier, 2007. 5. Кутин, Любомир – „Фестивалите в България – контекст, проблеми, перспективи“, Varna – Ruse, 2014; Кутин, Л. Фестивалът като феномен на художествената култура, Сталкер, Varna, 2004
December, 2017
Malko Tarnovo
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