MISKOLC, Hungary (AFP) - The eighth "Jellied Pork Festival" in northeastern Hungary was a national sensation this year with other 150,000 visitors attending the three-day event, organiser Edit Rozsa said Monday.



"We have never had such a big success. According to our preliminary estimates, the event drew some 50,000 visitors on some days," Rozsa announced on the festival's website.

"Officials figures aren't ready yet but thanks to our street cameras, our estimate is quite precise," she added.

Beautiful sunny weather and warm temperatures in the town of Miskolc surely contributed to making the festival a major success on February 22-24.

The streets were filled with vendors selling the main attraction, jellied pork, as well as traditional dishes, sausages, chestnuts, grilled meats and stuffed breads, besides an array of wines, punch and the local brandy, palinka.

The cultural programme featured exhibits, including one of ice sculptures, several concerts and a dog show.

But the festival highlight, at least for the young at heart, was bound to be the hundreds of stuffed toy frogs, the event's mascot, dropped from a hovering helicopter onto a crowd of thousands of children battling to catch them without falling into the river.