The Surva Festival is an ancient tradition of the Bulgarian people to dress up in colorful clothes and terrifying masks in order to scare away evil spirits. The first time the Surva festival in Bulgaria was held in the city of Pernik, which is located 30 km from the capital of Sofia, in 1966 and since then it has become the largest festival in Bulgaria at an international level, which attracts participants from all Balkan and Eastern European countries. Now, the annual festival is attended by 5,000 spectators.
