Prilep, 7 February 2022 (MIA) – After a two-year hiatus, the Prilep Forgiveness Carnival will be held this year, namely the annual bear mask with a tradition spanning centuries - the main feature of the carnival - will take place March 6 – Forgiveness Day.

This year's 20th edition will be scaled down with only local participants taking part, according to Vancho Georgiev, president of the Forgiveness International Carnival.

“We took a two-year break. The mask-wearing tradition on Forgiveness Day is a permanent one. If we don’t organize our carnival this year, we’ll slowly lose our mask-making tradition, but we will do our best to have our festivities this year. Of course, it can’t be at its old scale because it’s difficult to host people from abroad. It’ll be primarily local this year, with local guests and traditional masks. Interestingly enough, the number of ‘Bears’ has increased, because we bought some of the equipment this year and the year before. They keep working no matter what. Last year, they maintained their butcher-visiting tradition. This year, they’ll perform according to the program. The Prilep Bears traditionally open the Prilep Carnival. There are announcements that young people will also make masks. We want VIP guests at the Carnival, at least two or three. They’re struggling in neighboring countries with border crossing passes, but we’ll keep hoping,” Georgiev says.

The Prilep Bears are impatient, they want the tradition to continue. Toni Pavleski, VP of the Bears, says they’ve started their preparations.

“We started about a week or so ago, as soon as we heard the Carnival is on this year. We hope that the measures will allow for it. The tradition must live on. We didn’t have our carnival last year and the year before. Without the Bears, there’s no carnival, there’s no 200-year tradition. The pandemic has delayed our participation in Bulgaria, too. We have another invite to participate on February 25^th, and we will do it if conditions allow for it,” Pavleski says.

According to the culture program this year adopted by the Prilep municipal councilors, cultural events, festivals, workshops etc. are making a comeback. Snezhana Risteska, cultural advisor at the Prilep local self-governance says that all events have been scheduled and they’ve allocated a budget of around MKD 9 million.

“Support continues for festivals such as MTF Vojdan Chernodrinski, the Pece Atanasovski Festival of Folk Instruments and Songs, the Mariovo-Meglen Cultural Meets, the Forgiveness Carnival, the Little Stars International Children’s Musical Festival, Beerfest, Jazzfest, the Cultural Artistic Summer, the Siljan the Stork Festival, Melfest, poetry readings, Prince Marko Days, aid and concerts for culturally artistic associations, dance group performances, aid in publishing authors from Prilep, and aid to mark persons and holidays of significance. The program will aid the development of tourism with the support of meaningful bilateral and international support, forums, training, and creating strategic documents. This year’s program to support our cultural events starts with the Forgiveness Carnival,” Risteska.

The program includes Beerfect as well, but it all depends on the pandemic and the conditions it imposes, hoping they’ll allow for it. dk/ba/