After months in the mountains tending flocks of sheep, shepherds are welcomed back to the village.

In the pastoral hills above Bran at the crossroads of Transylvania and Wallachia, where culture is centered around the activities of shepherds, the Nedeia Muntilor Festival is the most significant event of the year.

The festival's origins are pre-Christian, initially a ritual honoring the sun god. As time went on, the festival turned into a sort of marriage marketplace, as the shepherds were at their wealthiest point of the year, and in the best bargaining position for a wife. Although the objective is no longer marriage, the festival remains a significant trading event. Having spent the summer building their inventory of cheese, shepherds are eager to trade with others for fresh produce, necessities, and luxuries like a new hat.

Today, farmers and other rural producers come to trade their fresh fruits, vegetables, pastrami, and felt clothing for the shepherds' cheese. Besides folklore groups from Bran, Moeciu de Jos, Rupea, Codlea, Sirnea, and Cristian, artistic ensembles from the neighboring counties of Arges, Dimbovita, Sibiu, Covasna, have once again joined in this traditional pastoral folklore event, displaying the originality and variety of the Romanian, Hungarian and German songs, dances and costumes. This year's festival includes traders of produce, shepherds' cheeses, pastrami and folk crafts. Visitors may also participate in voting for the best cheese and pastrami, and children's events.