National contests

Over time, the Etar Ethnographic Open-Air Museum has gained a reputation of a respected museum institution in the field of traditions and culture. In recent years, the priority of the museum's team has been to organize various educational initiatives and thematic competitions aimed at children and young people.

The contest has already had three editions and its objectives are:

• enriching young people's knowledge of March 1 rituals;
• arousing interest in the participants to get acquainted with the purpose of gaytan (braid) in the past and its usage today;
• encouraging the creativity and imagination of young people in making martenitsas.

Gaytan (braid) is a woollen cord used to decorate Bulgarian folk clothing. Its widespread use in the 19^th century led to the mechanization of the knitting process through the introduction of the chark (braiding machine). Today, such machines, as well as the very process of making braid, can be seen in the Braiding Workshop of the Etar Museum. Modern usages of braid are diverse. It is used to decorate clothes and bags, craft wall panels and jewellery, and is especially suitable for making martenitsas (red and white tassels) – a spring amulet for March 1 which is among Bulgaria's most emblematic ritual symbols.

A scarecrow contest was first organized in 2009. The scarecrow – a human-like effigy dressed in old clothes and stuffed with straw made to scare away birds from farming fields – was frightening way back. Today its image elicits laughter and joy with Gabrovo people who are famous for their sense of humour, sharp wit and self-irony.

The objectives of the National Scarecrow Contest are to:

• elicit interest with participants to get acquainted with the traditions of making scarecrows for crop protection;
• promote the creativity and imagination of young people;
• encourage children's ability to work with a variety of natural materials.

The mission of the Ritual Meals competition is to sustain the interest of society in traditional folk art in its forms like songs, dances and rituals.

Its main objectives are to:

• support the preservation, development and promotion of folk traditions from different parts of the country;
• use all opportunities for the conservation of the intangible cultural heritage;
• endorse the interest of the young generation in folk art by encouraging acquisition of knowledge about its practices and by supporting new talented performers with an ambition to continue the tradition;
• contribute to the development of research activity at the Etar Museum;
• facilitate performances and training of amateur folklore groups and ensembles.

During the competition, a jury evaluates and selects winners in the following categories:

• Overall presentation of the rite;
• Best performance of a folk dance;
• Best performance of a folk song;
• Best preserved and presented authentic folk costume.

The national youth dance event Etar Rhythms has a competitive character.

Its objectives are to: support the preservation, development and promotion of folk traditions from different parts of the country;

• create conditions for dance art performances of children and young people;
• provide opportunities to discover young talents.

Eligible to take part in the competition are representatives of amateur folk dance clubs, folk groups and formations, secondary schools of dance art, aged from of 11 to 21 years.

The participants are divided into two age groups: from 11 to 15 y. o. and from 16 to 21 y. o.

The competition program proceeds in two rounds:

• first round (for both age groups): one dance, typical of the respective region which the participant comes from;
• second round (for both age groups): one optional dance.

The participants in the competition are evaluated by a professional jury lined up with a choreographer, an ethnographer and a music educator.