March 2019
Winter Golden Eagle Festival 2019, Mongolia
At Mongolia’s Golden Eagle Festival in winter, ethnic Kazakhs show off the breathtaking skills of their trained hunting eagles, alongside cultural displays of Kazakh...
Find out more »Trinidad Carnival, Port of Spain 2019
The World’s greatest party might be in Rio de Janeiro, but the Trinidad Carnival is a mix of centuries of tradition and solid fun. Officially, the Trinidad Carnival begins on the Monday before Ash Wednesday and finishes the following day. In 2019, this falls on 4 and 5 March. However, there is a series of great events around these dates in Port of Spain, and it could really be said to start a couple of days earlier. Sure, it’s not on…
Find out more »New Orleans Mardi Gras 2019
New Orleans Mardi Gras or ‘Fat Tuesday’ is one of the biggest parties in the USA and very distinct from the Rio Carnival or the Trinidad Carnival, Port of Spain. Processions and floats pass by, organised by krewes, many of which have been around for decades and have intriguing names like Bacchus, Endymion, or the Knights of Chaos. These floats may be visually stunning, or be aimed to make you laugh, or to satirise some human failing. They parade in…
Find out more »Olney Pancake Race, Buckinghamshire, UK, 2019
While people around the UK are celebrating the approach of Lent by tossing pancakes in the warmth of their own kitchen, the gentlefolk of one Buckinghamshire town take to the streets for the Olney Pancake Race. History of the Olney Pancake Race Dating back to 932 and mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, the town of Olney was originally not only famous for its lace-making but its annual pancake race, which has been run in the town since 1445…
Find out more »Camel Festival (Temeenii Bayar) Mongolia 2019
During the Camel Festival, held in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, nomadic herders show off their skills during the biggest camel race in the world, alongside cultural activities…
Find out more »Frozen Dead Guy Days, Colorado, USA
Over the first full weekend in March, Nederland in Colorado hosts one of the quirkiest festivals in the US, if not the world. Frozen Dead Guy Days features frozen festivities with dozens of live bands and such offbeat icy escapades as polar plunging in fancy dress costume and ice turkey bowling. Bredo Morstol and the Origins of Frozen Dead Guy Days Marking its 18th incarnation in 2019, Frozen Dead Guy Days promises to be something of an ice-cool spectacle. Almost certainly…
Find out more »Japan’s Cherry Blossom Season 2019
The Cherry Blossom or sakura is one of Japan’s top highlights every year when locals and visitors gather to admire the stunning, blooming cherry trees in parks and streets. The entire 3,000-km-long country turns topsy-turvy with lots of hanami or flower viewing picnics taking place underneath the spectacular cherry trees. This explosion of colour is a true national treasure in the country and is the pride of every Japanese. The red and white flowers during the famous Cherry Blossom come…
Find out more »Holi Festival 2019 India
Holi Festival 2019 is a riotous two-day Hindu celebration where crowds douse each other with colour and water – and is probably India’s most vibrant and fun festival. Holi sees family, friends and strangers come together...
Find out more »National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington DC
Anyone who has visited Washington DC during the Spring will find it impossible to forget the overwhelming sight of hundreds upon hundreds of delicate flowering cherry trees...
Find out more »Persian New Year (Nowruz Festival) 2019
Experience the opulence of Nowruz – or Persian New Year – with an abundance of food, music and hospitality in one of many Persian-heritage countries...
Find out more »Tallinn Music Week 2019, Estonia
Tallinn with its stunning medieval centre, dating from 1248, and its thriving galleries, restaurants and bars is a must for the traveller. However for one week in March it is transformed into one of Europe’s most eclectic contemporary music festivals - the Tallinn Music Week, part of the Baltic nation's festival season. Over recent years the concept behind The Tallinn Music Week has broadened out. Always seen as combining Eastern, Western and Central European contemporary music, it now also encompasses…
Find out more »April 2019
Fiesta de la Vendimia Chile 2019
The vendimia is a generic word for harvests, though it usually refers to Chile’s wine harvest. Arguably, the centre of the fiesta de la vendimia Chile is the Maipo Valley, which is conveniently close to the communication hub of the capital, Santiago, although there are several other wine valleys that celebrate the festival including Colchagua Valley. Of the 7,000 acres of vineyard in the Maipo Valley most is used to make Cabernet Sauvignon. In April, across the province, the wineries…
Find out more »Kanamara Matsuri, Japan Penis Festival, 2019
The Japan Penis Festival is arguably the country’s most amusing event when tens of thousands of revellers roam the streets of Kawasaki city pay tribute to fertility in an age-old ritual, amidst thousands of phalluses of all sizes, shapes and colours. Kanamari Matsuri means Festival of the Steel Phallus and is becoming more and more popular every year amongst Japanese and foreigners alike, to whom it is more commonly known as the Japan Penis Festival. The modern day purpose of…
Find out more »Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, 2019
Held in Palm Springs, USA, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a fusion of art and music that includes global headliners, such as Childish Gambino, Ariana Grande...
Find out more »Songkran, Thailand Water Festival, 2019
Songkran 2019, or Thailand's water festival, is an occasion of great fun especially in the major cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The whole country grinds to a halt as people are sprayed with industrial water guns or whatever comes most easily to hand. Celebrated from April 13 to 15, it's best to turn up in swimming gear and wrap your fun, money and credit cards up in plastic so as to fully participate in the festivities. Songkran Water…
Find out more »Zythos Bierfestival 2019 in Leuven, Belgium
The Belgian university town of Leuven turns into a mecca of beer when the country’s largest beer festival, the Zythos Bierfestival (ZBF), returns for its 16th edition on 27 and 28 April. One of Europe’s biggest beer festivals, the Zythos Bierfestival 2019 will host 106 Belgian brewers with no less than 588 different beers. The beers are divided into three categories: “Primeur beers” are those beers that are presented for the first time to the public. They include the whisky-infused…
Find out more »May 2019
Zurich Tanzt Dance Festival 2019
Zurich will be the home to a city-wide festival of dance in May. Held from May 3 to 5, Zurich Tanzt assembles some of the finest contemporary dancers in the Swiss city, to display their innovative dance routines and practices. Now in its seventh year, Zurich Tanzt takes place over three days with original works as well as an extensive programme of courses that everyone can join in. Last year's festival attracted over 20,000 people with performances in some 30…
Find out more »Faroe Islands Seafood Festival 2019
The Faroe Islands Seafood Festival returns to Tórshavn on May 4. Over 8,000 people attended the event in its third year in 2017. A vast array of different seafood is served, such as lobster, mackerel, shrimp and porbeagle, to name only a few. The best bit? It’s all free of charge. People have the opportunity to choose their own seafood and grill their own food, or try the splendid fish soup, prepared and served by seafood chef Birgir Enni, owner…
Find out more »Cheung Chau Bun Festival, 2019
If you love eating Chinese buns, then the Cheung Chau Bun Festival could be right up your alley. Held annually on the island of Cheng Chau in Hong Kong, the festival attracts tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists to join the island’s 25,000 inhabitants, making it one of the most important cultural events in Hong Kong. What is the Cheung Chau Bun Festival in Hong Kong? Believed to have grown out of Taoist rituals celebrating the end of…
Find out more »Rocket Festival Thailand (Bun Bang Fai) 2019
Home-made rockets roaring into the skies, dirty humour, cross-dressing parades, mud fests and lots of rice wine – the centuries-old Rocket Festival Thailand, or Bun Bang Fai...
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