?Whereto dear lamb?? ... to Bran!
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Bran Castle and the locations linked to its history are more and more frequently requested to house historical, cultural and cuisine events. These include the Cuisine and Folk Festival ?Whereto dear lamb?.Ă To Bran!?, organized at the end of May. During the festival a cuisine contest was organized, and local traditional food was presented at a fair including mutton smoke dried salted meat, lamb and different sorts of cheese, and an artistic show was organized where folk dance groups and Romanian folk song interpreters performed.
Food Exhibition
The Cuisine and Folk Festival lasted for three days, each day being dedicated to a certain event: the cuisine contest with the awards ceremony, the artistic show which lasted the entire event and the awards ceremony for the folk performers.
On the plateau ?Queen?s Heart? stands were arranged with traditional food, the contestants presenting their goods to the public in a way of utmost originality: cheese wrapped in fir bark, telemea (traditional variety of sheep?s milk cheese), burduf (traditional variety of sheep?s milk cheese) in twig baskets decorated with napkin embroidered with national motive. The traditional food fair attracted a lot of tourists and put into difficulty the jury who had to assess the dishes.
Traditional dance
?This kind of festivals are now traditional. We want the presentation of traditional food and folk artefacts to extend beyond the entrance of Bran Castel which attracts like a magnet a lot of tourists thanks to Dracula brand. This is why the presentation area is larger, the location ?Queen Marie?s heart? being already a famous one due to fairs and festivals which are organized here every year. On this occasion it is not just the local cuisine that gets to be promoted, but also the folk song and dance groups made up of school children from Bran-Moieciu-Fundata area, who have already distinguished themselves through the originality of their songs, dances and folk costumes?, said Gheorghe Hermeneanu, Mayor of Bran commune.
Shepherding
The main occupation of Bran inhabitants has always been the shepherding. In spring, the herds of sheep are taken into the mountains when the shepherding period begins. This practice called the moving of herds refers to a periodic migration of shepherds and sheep?s herds from plains to the mountains. After breastfeeding the lambs, the milk of sheep is collected and processed by shepherds, making different types of cheese. These products get to be presented and sold at festivals and fairs organized in Bran and the surrounding areas. The plateau ?Queen?s Heart? is the central point where customs and traditions of Bran locals are organized and celebrated, while the tourists have the possibility to visit the place where in 1940 the heart of the Romanian Queen Marie was buried. On this plateau you can also enjoy a beautiful panorama over the entire Bran Castle, Dracula?s Castle, standing in all its splendor.
