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Bulgaria's Koukery FestivalHere's a program from our archives. ambience: Koukery Festival paradeWe're listening to the sounds of Bulgaria's Koukery Festival, an ancient celebration of fertility and the coming spring. These days, the Koukery Festival is a great excuse for dancing, singing, music and masquerade. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Koukery is celebrated in villages throughout northern Bulgaria. The main event is a parade through the middle of town, led by a group of men wearing tall, embroidered, conical hats. They wear cow bells around their hips, and by stomping their feet and thrusting their hips in unison, they manage to create quite a stir.ambience: bellsFollowing the men in hats come the koukeries. They look sort of like a Halloween version of Bigfoot -- big guys dressed in goat-hair costumes with painted cloth masks. They dance and ring bells as they parade through town.ambience: Koukeries danceOther characters in the parade include a groom and a bride (who's usually a man dressed as a woman), two men in a deer costume, someone in a bear costume, along with their trainer, and a doctor. The troupe stages pantomimes to demonstrate the groom's virility and his politeness.You've been listening to a program from our archives. Check out our Facebook page for a link to my latest project - a work of fiction. Im Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.