For three consecutive days, Pernik is hosting the XXXI International Festival of Masquerade Games "Surva" 2025. This is the oldest and largest masquerade festival in our country, which has been held since 1966.
The idea for holding it is Yordan Nikolov, who has been a choreographer at the District Council for Art and Culture in Pernik since 1960, and an inspector in the "Education and Culture" department at the District People's Council in Pernik since 1963. He proposed that the city become the center of the masquerade games. On April 14, 1965 The Executive Committee of the Pernik District Council adopted a decision to create a festival "Pernik Winter" with the participation of all survakar masquerade groups from the then Pernik District.
Over the years, the event has become increasingly popular, and today attracts survakars, kukers, kukovs, starci, babugeri, jamalars, kamilari and others from all over Europe. Foreign groups demonstrated lavish costumes and recreated typical customs of their countries.
