Festivals

Bavaria's National Beer Festival

Germany, Munich, Theresienwiese

Many special trains of the German Federal Railway bring in visitors from Germany's main towns and also from abroad. Thousands of coaches run special trips to the 'Wies`n', to give the Oktoberfest in Munich its traditional popular name. When the Oktoberfest opens in Munich, all the brewers and publicans march in procession through the town accompanied by gaily decked carts and brewers' drays, drawn by teams of hefty dray horses. No motorised vehicles are tolerated in ...

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Smithsonian Folklife Festival

United States of America, Washington, District Columbia

The two week Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes place at the beginning of July each year. Over a million visitors flock to the National Mall, which is filled with music, entertainement, crafts and food. The Independence Day festivities of the 4th of July always fall during this festival period, bringing a real vibrancy to the city. The Festival is a research-based educational 'museum without walls' devoted to grassroots cultural heritage and each year's event focus on different ...

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International Jazz Festival

Canada, Montreal, Quebec

Montreal is a hotbed of fun in summer and the International Jazz Festival is its shining star. Best combine music-filled days with the lasting charms of this dynamic city - culture, shopping and nightlife galore, but also lush parklands and ther outdoor diversions in and arround the Laurentian Mountains. The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (FIJM), also called the Jazz Fest, is the largest jazz festival in the world. It is typically attended by over ...

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New River Gorge Bridge Day

United States of America, Fayetteville, West Virginia

It's almost that time of year again, time to head for the mountains of West Virginia for the fall foliage and for watching people parachute into the New River in the annual celebration called Bridge Day. And while you're there, you can hike forest trails, see a couple of the wildest whitewater rivers east of the Rockies or find a place to just relax. Bridge Day takes place the third Saturday in October every year in ...

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Galway Oyster Festival

Ireland, Galway

Oysters and Guiness are the staple diet of guests at the Galway Oyster Festival, which hits this charming Irish city at the end of every September. ...

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Festival of Native American Culture

United States of America, Sedona, Arizona

The first annual Festival of Native American Culture will be held from June 5 through 13, 2009 in Sedona, Arizona. The Festival is designed to encourage a greater understanding of our land's indigenous peoples, and to preserve their cultural heritage in the Verde Valley. The Festival, in association with the Sedona International Film Festival, begins with a Native American Film Festival featuring documentaries, fiction and music videos by Native American filmmakers. The Yavapai-Apache Nation will be showing ...

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Le Off Avignon Theatre Festival

France, Avignon

Bazaar, party, fair, a theatre supermarket, the Festival Off is all that and more. During the 4 weeks of the festival, the living arts take over the city, theatres flourish in the bosom of the city, sometimes in some improbable locations, and the number of shows offered may seem inordinate to the simple spectator. No prior selection takes place; from inexperienced amateurs to the most famous of actors, all converge on Avignon to present their ...

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Wild West Stampede

Canada, Calgary, Alberta

It's the longest eight seconds in the world - an eternity ticking by, as a cowboy grips with hand and knees and heart to the bull or the horse that's twisting and tuning beneath him, doing everything in its power to buck him off. The Calgary Stampede, which bills itself as The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, is a large festival, exhibition, and rodeo held in Calgary, Alberta for 10 days every summer from early to ...

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Dragon Boat Festival

China, Beijing

The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is a significant holiday celebrated in China, and the one with the longest history. Dragon Boat races are the most exciting part of the festival, drawing crowds of spectators. They commemorate Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet who drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Chinese citizens now throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the rice rather ...

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