One of the largest festivals of North America, the Bumbershoot Festival is an international music and arts festival that is held annually in Seattle, Washington over the Labor Day weekend. The festival is ideally held on the seventy-four acres of Seattle’s City Center that had originally been constructed for the World’s Fair of 1962. Performances at the Bumbershoot Festival cover a wide array of musical genres and take place on both indoor and outdoor stages. Artists, crafters and food vendors are set up throughout the grounds. [Read more…] about Bumbershoot Festival :: Seattle, Washington
Festivals
Carnival :: Salvador, Brazil
In 2011, Brazil’s historic Salvador erupted with the unbridled energy of carnival. It is the world’s biggest and greatest street party, featuring two million revelers and six days of music and dance all set within the paradise of Salvador’s colonial architecture and white-sand beaches.
Salvador’s carnival is a descendent of entrudo, or ‘entry’, a pre-spring festival brought to Brazil by the Portuguese. During entrudo, Salvador’s poor residents would take control of the streets, throwing eggs and water at one another in unabashed revelry, whilst the rich looked on with disdain from their mansions. Seeking to replace entrudo, the rich imported to Salvador the carnival traditions of France, such as masquerade balls and street parades. These traditions continue to influence modern carnival in Salvador, but the anarchist spirit of entrudo has never died. Unlike Rio de Janeiro’s equally stunning Carnival which features opulent floats parading through giant stadiums, carnival in Salvador is an entirely street-orientated event, a spectacle in which every participant is the star. [Read more…] about Carnival :: Salvador, Brazil
Carnival :: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
There is no bad time to visit Rio de Janeiro, Brazil´s most beautiful city, but the best time is undoubtedly during carnival. As the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue gazes down from his perch on top of Corcovado Mountain, the city explodes with four days of pageantry, music, and dance. The people of Rio de Janeiro have made this traditional festival uniquely theirs, importing the masquerade balls and parades of Europe and infusing them with the African beat of samba. Luckily for travelers, the city and its people are more than willing to share the experience with outsiders, and the diverse range of events caters for all budgets. [Read more…] about Carnival :: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
St Ives September Festival :: St Ives, England
During September the seaside town of St Ives in Cornwall, England is home to the St Ives September Festival, one of the longest running festivals of the arts in the United Kingdom. The festival has been going on for over 30 years and runs for 15 days (the 2010 festival runs from Sept 11-25). It features a wonderful eclectic mix of music, film, poetry, talks, exhibitions and much more. Started in 1978 by local entrepreneurs and the nearby International Musicians Seminar, the festival has grown to attract thousands of visitors from around the world. [Read more…] about St Ives September Festival :: St Ives, England
Boryeong Mud Festival :: Boryeong, Republic of Korea
Boryeong City in South Korea on the coast of the Yellow Sea was once renowned for its amazing agriculture. Today, however, this same rich earth is drawing millions of visitors to Daecheon Beach in Boryeong City for very different reasons. In 1997, several institutes in South Korea did studies on the soil and determined that not only was the dirt good for plants, it was good for skin too. To market these newly discovered properties, Boryeong decided to engage in a huge festival and invite people far and wide to enjoy their mineral rich mud. But unlike most ad campaigns, this one asked people to come and get dirty. Really dirty. Welcome to the Boryeong Mud Festival! [Read more…] about Boryeong Mud Festival :: Boryeong, Republic of Korea