Over four hundred people from Bulgaria and abroad participate in the "Fertility Carnival - Shumen 2002." The participants demonstrate the national symbols and values through songs and dances in the Bulgarian city Shumen. The three-day carnival began on Friday. Seven exhibitions of local and foreign artists, inspired by the fertility theme are included in the program of the event. A meeting of the Bulgarian branch of the European federation of the carnival towns preceded the solemn opening of the carnival. This year's edition of the carnival is the first one with international participation.