The Energy of Local Festivals for the Preservation of Cultural and Historical Heritage: an Empirial View

Abstract

The report analyzes the results of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions held in the fall of 2021 in Sadovo, Elin Pelin, Gabrovo, Bolyartsi, Novi Han, Elin Pelin and Pozharevo within the project "Local Holidays: a resource for local communities to deal with crises", funded by the NSF of the Ministry of Education and Science (KP-06-H45 / 5 of 30.11.2020). The research focuses on local festivals and in particular the way in which their organizers view them as a mechanism for preserving the traditions of the local community. Particular attention is paid to the importance of these events for the presentation and preservation of cultural and historical heritage. The various points of view of representatives of local authorities, organizers of local holidays and representatives of the Roma ethnic community are presented without claiming to be exhaustive. Local holidays in the Bulgarian context, regardless of their thematic focus, have their own energy, which distinguishes them from other similar events and in this sense are the antithesis of fear and social isolation, especially in crises such as the Covid pandemic 19. In most cases, these events can be seen as part of the process of building local identities, which draw their resources from what is imagined, reconstructed and argued as local heritage.