arts & cultural experiences
By Hana Truscott, MAK 16
Have you ever been chased by faceless men clad in red KKK-esque devil costumes flinging cow poo at you with real cow tails?
Welcome to the 2013“ old” New Year’ s Carnival in Vevcani, Macedonia that takes place annually on Orthodox new year’ s eve and day( Jan 13-14th). It’ s a tradition that dates back fourteen centuries, and turns the entire mountain town of Vevcani into a theatrical stage on which hundreds of disguised participants enjoy every freedom and passion to“ place the world upside down”( hence, our poo-flinging aggressors).
Our bright orange public bus was confronted by a paparazzi of carnival participants decked out as demons and devils banging on the outside of the bus
The Many Masks of M
as we slowly pulled into the outskirts of the mountain town of Vevcani. Their silence was drowned out by their loud and lurid gesticulations. Their presence on the streets gave the town an eerie feel that prickled my skin even before I got off the bus. The one respite from my overall sense of foreboding was when I caught sight of Obama( or rather, a carnival groupie decked out in an oversized Obama mask that made him into a bobble head Obama). He stood on the side of the road waving an American flag and beaming at us with that big Obama grin. That made me smile.
As we got off the bus, more masked carnival groups moved about us communicating by means of peculiar movements, gesticulations and screams as we made our way up the hill to snag a good standing
Photos by Hana Truscott & Julie Tumasz, Vevcani Carnival PCV group
Prochka Carnival
12 – Pauza Magazine 12 – Pauza Magazine
Review by: Terri Jones, MAK16 Location: Prilep, Macedonia
Festival Dates( 2013): Weekend of March 16 th History & Highlights:
According to the Macedonia Timeless website, Prochka is a three-day annual carnival in Prilep, Macedonia, organized by the“ Prilepski Meckari” association. This year the carnival was attended