THE LOCAL PEOPLE AN IMPORTANT AND INDISPENSABLE ACTOR IN THE PROCESS OF ORGANIZING AND CONDUCTING LOCAL FESTIVALS

Abstract

In the modern global world, the role and importance of local festivals for the preservation and development of local communities within a given settlement is increasingly growing. If we accept that the holiday is the general, generic concept arising from the need to celebrate the unique identity or talent of the society (Scholt. V& Maputsoe, 2018), then local festivals can also be seen as a special day or period that is not included in the common everyday life of a given community and are inherently unusual events offering opportunities for human interaction different from everyday life (Saatci. G. Ç. Onsekiz, 2020). Their uniqueness stems from their ability to reproduce a sense of community continuity, social cohesion, and solidarity. They bear within themselves the imprint of the past, in which traditional phenomena were enriched with newly introduced ideological elements and with socio economic purpose rationality. It is obvious that these holidays give an indication of the vital pulse of each local community, and they can also take on a number of important functions for social dynamism.
A number of studies are available in the specialized literature that highlight the importance and contribution of the various initiative local social actors in the process of organizing and holding local festivals. An essential actor and driving force responsible for unfolding the potential of the holiday and making it the recognizable face of the local community are the local people. According to Teodori and Luloff (1998), the participation of community members in these events is an important factor in predicting the strength of an individual's attachment to a community or place. Emotional attachment to the natural landscape and built environment, climate change, and shared memories of community heritage allow people to come together for formal or spontaneous interactions such as community festivals and cultural events. Based on the results of conducted qualitative (in depth interviews, focus group discussions and included observations) and quantitative studies within the project "Local Festivals: A Resource of Local Communities to Deal with Crises ", financed by the Fund Research at the Ministry of Education and Science, the role will be outlined and the importance of the local people in the realization of the local achievements for the development of the local identity, for the preservation and development of the community.