Aside from being the birthplace of paella, there is only one thing that the Spanish city of Valencia is famous for – the delightful papier-mâché models, pageantry and fireworks that take over the town for the Las Fallas festival. Staged annually on March 19th, this centuries-old festival has become a four-day extravaganza that attracts thousands of domestic and international tourists to the city every year. The event traces its origins back to a custom of the city’s carpenters, who burned their scrap wood and utensils worn out from the winter in time for the feast of Saint Joseph – their patron saint – on March 19th. The “Fallas” were the piles of combustible materials gathered for the occasion. The modern festival took shape in the ...
Amsterdam’s Queen's Day celebration of the masses in the Netherlands has spread into a night event as well. If you’re looking for a wildly exuberant party on April 30th, and are happy to dress in extravagant orange, then Queen's Day, or “Koninginnedag,” is one of the world's biggest street parties. There’s a sea of orange, with unique ideas for donning Netherland’s national colour, so pack your most outlandish orange outfit! Holland’s Queen's Day was dubbed a celebration way back on August 31st, 1885 with the birth of Queen Wilhelmina. Sixty-four years later after Queen Juliana's accession into the world of royalty, Queen's Day is officially celebrated on her birthday: April 30th. Succeeding her mother, Queen Beatrice continues to call April 30th Queen's Day in commemoration ...
Step into the Bahaman streets in the wee hours of the morning on December 26th, and become encircled in the liveliness of the Bahama's Junkanoo Festival. Thousands upon thousands will be dancing through the streets of Nassau, Bahamas in the most vibrant costumes, which can be spotted from miles away. You will whirl through droves of people in a circle of colour filled with the sweet sounds of music. These rhythmic sounds protrude out of whistles, brass instruments, goatskin drums and cowbells. The Junkanoo Festival in the Bahamas is just like that of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Needless to say, there will be plenty of high energy spirits filling the streets on Junkanoo Day. Junkanoo is celebrated through ...
Thissur in Kerala, India, is possibly best known for it's annual elephant festival, Thissur Pooram. As one of the biggest festivals in Kerala, it is often called the “pooram of all poorams", or the "meetings of all meetings." Devotees and spectators from all parts of the state make a beeline to the Thissur Pooram festival to enjoy the colourful celebration and ornately decorated elephants. Thrissur Pooram is about 200 years old and was introduced during the reign of Sakthan Thampuran, the Raja of Kochi. The legend behind the annual elephant festival is believed to trace back to a time when neighbouring gods and goddesses met up for a day of celebration. Arriving with an entourage of elephants draped in ornaments, tusks decorated, and a panchavadyam ...
If you're looking to experience traditional Hong Kong in one of its most unique and fascinating festivals, look no further than the weeklong Cheung Chau Bun Festival. This whimsical holiday, characterized by folkloric costumes, traditional handicrafts, crowded festive streets, and crowned by the race to the top of the bun towers, is one of the liveliest events in Hong Kong every year. Taking place in late April or early May (it's a lunar festival, celebrated in the fourth moon of the year), the Cheung Chau Bun Festival makes the little island of Cheung Chau (the smallest of Hong Kong's outlying islands) the focus of the entire metropolis. Take the half-hour ferry ride to Cheung Chau during the Bun Festival, and you will be greeted by ...
A dominant image of the Brazilian street party is being swept up in a crowd of joyful participants, abandoning restrictions, and living in the moment. There are throbbing crowds, tropical music, and a beach backdrop. Carnival can be too big for some, so there is a Catholic celebration every January in Salvador de Bahia that offers all that Carnival brings, and more. The Lavagem do Bonfim in Salvador will be the best and craziest Catholic party, if not the best all around party you've ever been to. The roots of the Lavagem do Bonfim festival are tied to an old Baroque church built by the Portuguese in the 1750s in lower Salvador: The Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim. During this time Salvador was experiencing ...
If you’re an art junkie, then you must find a way to get to Brighton for the Brighton Festival, the largest multi-art form festival in England. Take whatever transportation you can, as the 23-day Brighton Art Festival is truly an experience to be had. Starting in 1967, the first exhibit of the inaugural year included the controversial exhibit of Concrete Poetry right alongside fantastic performances by Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence Olivier, and Yehudi Menuhin. Not to be confused with the Brighton Fringe Festival, the Brighton Festival is a series of programmed events; whereas the Brighton Fringe Festival allows access to anyone and everyone who wishes to partake. Both festivals occur during May. The Brighton Festival has plenty of entertainment and various performances to choose from. From ...
Brazil in mid-summer is hot. My wife and I needed to escape the summer doldrums, and so we found a place up the highway where the folks are making music the old way. After reading about a festival of Congo musicians in the local paper, a trip to Timbui up the highway was in store to check it out. In front of the country church, a converging marching band were preparing to parade. Around a street fire, men began playing heavy rhythms, and women started to twirl in white dresses and wave big flags. A shout chorus of Portuguese lyrics lifted into the air telling of religious and agricultural folklore. Among the bands, burly men in harnesses rolled a huge fake boat through the streets ...
The Westman Islands Festival, held annually on the first August weekend in the southern coast of Iceland, is well thought of as one of the greatest parties in the world. This Iceland Festival, also known as the “Merchant’s Holiday” or "Þjóðhátíð", is marked by residents actually leaving their homes to pitch white tents in the middle of a valley for a colossal celebration! At the heart of it all is Herjolfsdalur Valley near the town of Vestmannaeyjar on Heimaey Island. Here natives welcome hordes of people to their temporary tent community from all ages and walks of life, who flock here to experience the craziness that is the Westman Islands Festival. Locals host mainlanders with smoked puffin, hot coffee and of course with some alcoholic ...
When you visit Belgium, make sure to do it on a Tuesday—but don’t just pick any Tuesday. Be sure to choose the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Why? Because on this day, a quiet Belgian town hosts Belgian’s best festival: The Carnaval de Binche. The Carnaval de Binche (Carnival of Binche) is an annual event that takes place in a dreamy Belgian town called Binche, located south of Brussels. The industrialized town is invaded by tourists from everywhere to participate in the festival that involves a lot of street dancing, musical acts, parades and costumed-men throwing oranges at the crowd. The Belgian festival is for everyone, with unwavering focus on unity within the community and people coming together for some honest to goodness fun. The Carnaval ...
