Carnival in Balestrate

The main feature that makes the Balestrate carnival unique in Sicily is that the spectator is the protagonist. You can take the idea from a cart, choose some masks and join the procession without needing to register: just dress up in a mask because in Balestrate the spectator is the Protagonist

The Carnival in Balestrate is known in Sicily for the traditional Ballo dei Pastori or Masked Counter-Dance.
The origin of this dance cannot be dated even if it has been ascertained that it already existed at the beginning of the last century. The name is linked to a legend handed down orally from one generation to the next. It is said that, in ancient times, the carnival was celebrated in two days: Sunday and Monday and a group of shepherds never managed to participate in the celebrations because the owner of the flock never let them free. One year they managed to be free on Tuesdays, but when they arrived in the village, they learned that the party had now passed. They then decided to celebrate the carnival in their own way by wearing women's clothes and going wild in contradances throughout the town. Since then, the carnival had one more day which was called lu jornu di lu picuraru, i.e. the day of the shepherd.

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