Pernik Kukeri Festival

Over the weekend, I had a surprise birthday party for BH, and he was definitely surprised. We had originally planned to have just the two of us go out for dinner, but I wanted to throw something fun. A lot of the Fulbrighters came, and a bunch of our Bulgarian friends. It was a blast. The Bulgarians taught us a bunch of parlor games, and, mixed with various American style drinking games, it was quite a fiesta.
The following day, Saturday, we went to Pernik, which is 20 kilometers to the east of Sofia. The city was hosting their annual Kukeri Festival, which is something you need to see if you are in Bulgaria the last month of January.
Kukeri is a Bulgarian ritual where men and women dress up in scary costumes to frighten evil spirits. Apparently, however, you can just dress up however you want. This means a lot of cross dressing, Halloween masks, and amazing costumes.