Favourite and worst world festivals and events?

[shortstop14]

Really enjoyed the Palio, in Siena, Italy. It's a horse race held in the central plaza of the small city. The racers represent the various wards (contrade) of the city, with lots of pageantry and parades and festivals in each ward in the days leading up to the race. It started sometime in the 14th century, so there's a lot of history there.



We also enjoyed being in Siem Reap, Cambodia during Khmer New Year last year. Our Airbnb hosts invited my daughter and I to their celebration, which was a lot of fun, even with the language barrier. The kids really had a good time dusting the foreigners in talc powder.


Not quite world festivals, but the Christmas Markets in Berlin and Prague were a lot of fun.



Really did not enjoy accidentally crossing paths with the Love Parade in Berlin in the early 2000s - hundreds of thousands of young party types there for a huge techno and electronic music festival and raves. The press of people in the city was really uncomfortable, along with the heat. We had to forcibly remove passed out drunks from our train seats when we left the city the next morning.

 

[gamboolman]

Due to still working ….. We will miss this years, but will try to attend next years.

16/17-Oct-20 for the 33rd Annual Buford Pusser Festival honoring the memory of legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser.


Buford Pusser Park, Adamsville, TN. Call 731.632.4080


Dam the virus !


The Jacksonville, Texas Chamber of Commerce says the annual Tomato Fest and Tops in Texas Rodeo have officially been canceled for 2020 due to COVID-19. Tomato Fest will resume in June 2021 and the rodeo will also take place next summer.

 

[MichaelB]

Not from personal experience, but earlier this week I read in The Economist about a festival that is “something completely different”. A joint celebration in neighboring border towns of Steward BC and Hyder Alaska. Article here (subscription required) https://www.economist.com/the-ameri...nadas-border-with-alaska-has-split-twin-towns

Few american towns are as remote as Hyder, a settlement of 65 people in the panhandle that juts south from the rest of Alaska between Canada and the Pacific. Its only road connection passes through Stewart, British Columbia, 2km away. For generations, Stewardites and Hyderites paid little attention to the border. They celebrate Canada Day on July 1st in Stewart, then move the party to Hyder, “the friendliest ghost town in Alaska”, for the United States’ Independence Day three days later. Activities include an ugly-vehicle contest and the “chicken-sh!t board”, in which bets are placed about which square in a grid a chicken will defecate on.

 

[REWahoo]

The Jacksonville, Texas Chamber of Commerce says the annual Tomato Fest and Tops in Texas Rodeo have officially been canceled for 2020 due to COVID-19. Tomato Fest will resume in June 2021 and the rodeo will also take place next summer.

And up the road a few miles another festival falls victim to Covid 19:

It is with our greatest regret, that we inform you the Yamboree Firework Show and the 83rd East Texas Yamboree have been canceled for 2020.

The East Texas Yamboree celebrates the sweet potato, also known as the yam. The event has been held in Gilmer since 1935, and is one of the longest-held festivals in all of Texas.

https://yamboree.com/

 

[OldShooter]

We actively avoid most of the things mentioned here as a result of a policy to avoid tourist crowds. DW in particular hates it to the point of refusing to go to our state fair.

We have, however, enjoyed very peaceful and non-tourist-oriented festivals: Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai Thailand

and Timkat in Lalibela, Ethiopia

In both cases the local celebrants outnumber the tourists by huge ratios. 100:1? I don't know.

 

[whatnot]

Went to the Jazz Festival in New Orleans a few years back.
Simon and Garfunkel performed! Garfunkel had a bum voice, but he did a couple of songs. Amazing! The whole event was great! As is the city of New Orleans.
Also, went to NYC for US Open and Paris for French Open.
Would like to go to Wimbledon but not following tennis like I used to. So it’s a maybe.

 

[projectmaximus]

Light Festival in Prague stands out as one that we stumbled upon by chance but was quite awesome. Actually, same thing in Georgetown, Penang but that one wasn't as spectacular.

 

[yakers]

Milwaukee has a festival grounds on the shore of Lake Michigan that is home to Summerfest, a nine-day music festival that attracts almost 1 million people annually. I used to attend quite often when I was younger. A former co-worker who is a musician would take a week of vacation every year so he could go every day.

The grounds host a number of ethnic festivals too, including Irish Fest, which claims to be North America's largest celebration of Irish culture (they used to claim it was the world's largest, so somebody must have one-upped them somewhere). The president of Ireland has attended. If you're Irish you'd enjoy it (I'm not, and I still find it fun and interesting).

Memories, went there in 1969, saw, among others, Blind Faith, still remember the Ginger Baker drum solo. Had some other experiences, probably OK to mention now the the statue of limitations has long passed.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Oktoberfest in Munich. Good times and reasonably cheap, if you can score affordable housing. I went to the "Fest" twice the week I was there, but in the mid-afternoon since I didn't have a table reservation, so I may not have gotten the full experience.

Mardi Gras in Saint Louis, MO. Said to be the third largest in the world. However, it has changed from when we first started going and we have gotten older. Last year, we watched most of the parade then did one circuit in the Soulard neighborhood and left. It's really for the under 40 crowd these days.

 

[Chuckanut]

The Memorial Day Folk Life Festival in Seattle is always fun. Alas, it fell victim to CV19 this year.

 

[1242Vintage]

The week long FEQ music festival in Quebec (marketed as Canada’s largest music festival) every July is pretty sweet. Nothing better than sitting on the grass in a park eating putine and listening to a lovely singer belt out jazz in French. Festival has multiple venues with a huge variety of music.

We stumbled on this festival a few years back when we were wandering through Quebec. Stayed for a week and have kept going back.

Hoping that the festival in 2021 will be held.

 

[RetMD21]

Wurst festival in Dorr Michigan. I doubt it is one of the best https://festivalnet.com/74497/Dorr-Michigan/Music-Festivals/Wurst-Festival-Ever

 

[Badger]

A decade or more ago my wife and I were camping around Nova Scotia at the time the 3 day Antigonish Highland Games were being held. We have made the trip 2x from our home in Florida. This year would have been the 157th year they were held except for once in WWI and this year due to the pandemic. So they made a virtual Antigonish Highland Games video. Here is part I of that video.

Cheers!

 

[Scrapr]

Is this a trick question?

From my home town...Turkeyrama!!! The Kiwanis set up pit charcoal in the park & grill turkeys & sell them. Main street is closed for rides & booths. There used to be a big turkey presence in McMinnville. A turkey health scare in the 70's(?) took out several of the big producers. Now converted to Wine growers

*I'm not sure if this is best or worst

 

[braumeister]

A decade or more ago my wife and I were camping around Nova Scotia at the time the 3 day Antigonish Highland Games were being held.

Thanks much!
That has long been on my list to visit. Some of my immigrant ancestors didn't have the money to get all the way to the US, so they stopped off in Nova Scotia and spent over half a century in the Antigonish area before some decided to go the rest of the way. It's certainly a beautiful area.

 

[Koolau]

Did the '86 World Expo in Vancouver. Not bad, but REALly glad we had friend to stay with. Wouldn't do it again.

Did Mardi Gras a couple of times. Once again, without someone to stay with, it would be impossible to find a place to stay - or even find a place to pee in a timely fashion. Too old to do it again, but it was amazing if occasionally scary.

Hmmmm. Wonder if W2R could put us up? Naaaaaahhhhh!

 

[TrvlBug]

Octoberfest in Munich in the 90s and Mardi Gras in NOLA in 2019. Loved both.

Mardi Gras was especially memorable as a friend is a member of a Krewe and we attended their ball at the Convention Center...talk about a parade up close and personal. The parade itself ends after winding through the Convention Center. Lore has it that the Convention Center was built to accommodate floats...it was fabulous. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the ball gown I had to buy. Have it shortened it or simply donate it .

Most miserable: 2019 Aruba Soul Beach Music Festival. We always stay at a beachfront resort and the music festival set up right next to us. It would have been great except for the bass which was cranked up beyond belief. It wasn't only the old folks like us who complained, but also our teenage niece and nephews and twenty and thirtysomethings complaining to the resort to do something. The resort couldn't do anything and it drove us as well as lots of other people off the beach for 3 days. The music would have been great except for that bass. Think of those times you're at a stoplight and the car next to you has their bass cranked up so high it shakes your car...it was that bad. We usually go to Aruba earlier in the year, but that year had to go after school let out as family came with us.