April
Beltane Fire Festival, Scotland
Ritual Fire
The May Queen, Green Man, Red Chaos and White Order welcome spring in this pagan ritual held in Edinburgh's Calton Hill. It's a modern reincarnation of the ancient Gaelic celebration of Beltane. "Beltane" means bright sacred fire in the ancient language.
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BYOBW Big Wheels Race (USA)
One Weird Race on the World’s Crookedest Street
Easter Sunday might convey images of hot cross buns, Easter egg hunting and church. But not in San Francisco as every Easter Sunday, there is a race of epic proportions down the steepest and crookedest street in the city.
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Coachella, California (USA)
The Biggest Names in Music Under the California Sun
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival brings nearly 75,000 people to California’s Inland Empire desert to see some of the biggest names in music perform under the sun and stars. Each year the festival takes place for 3 days in April and has drawn mega-artists including Jay-Z, Pearl Jam, Beck, Paul McCartney, Rage Against the Machine, Prince, and Radiohead.
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Gourmet Summit, Singapore
Bon Appetit
Each year the World Gourmet Summit brings the finest chefs, food, and wine to Singapore for two weeks. The Singapore Tourism Board and Peter Knipp Holdings Pte Ltd co-sponsor the summit where attendees can take a culinary journey around the world while taking in the sights and sounds of an amazing Southeast Asian metropolis.
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Jazzfest, New Orleans (USA)
Celebrate the Birthplace of Jazz
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, or Jazz Fest, has been celebrating the musical styles of New Orleans with a culturally rich music festival for over 40 years!
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Kanamara Matsuri, Japan
“Festival of the Steel Phallus" Stands Up to the Hype
During the first week of April, the streets of Kawasaki, Japan put penis on parade as part of a festival dating back to the early 1600s.
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Lucidity Festival, USA
You Must Be Dreaming
This April, the first incarnation of Lucidity will fill the mountains of Santa Barbara, California with art and music as part of an “open-source” festival calling on the participants to help shape the experience.
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Night of the Witches, Germany
Dance Until Dawn on Witch Mountain
Walpurgis Night or Walpurgisnacht is a festival to experience yourself and a springtime tradition in Northern and Central Europe. Finland, Estonia, Sweden and Germany all have their own variations of this mysterious holiday. Much folklore lies around the date of May 1st as a known time for witches and wizards to convene with the devil in dance around the fire know as the Hexentanzplatz or “witches’ dance”.
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Onbashira Festival, Japan
Got Wood?
Japanese men ride dangerously giant logs as part of the Onbashira Festival once every six years in Nagano for one of the most outrageous traditions on earth!
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Queen's Day, Netherlands
A Very Happy Birthday!
Each April 30th, throughout the Netherlands and around the world, the Dutch show their national pride and celebrate the birthday of their former Queen!
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Rouketopolemos, Greece
Easter Mass Rocket War
Looking for a way to break tradition this Easter? Consider venturing to the town of Vrontados in Chios, Greece for the spectacular Rocket Festival. The parishes of Panagia Erythiani and Agios Markos fill the skies of this Northern Greek island with tens of thousands of handmade rockets in an unique Easter celebration.
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Splashy Fen, South Africa
South African Musical Safari
Sleep at the base of the highest peaks in South Africa and enjoy the country’s longest running music festival, Splashy Fen. The Drakensberg mountain range provides a scenic backdrop for this rare family-friendly camping festival featuring the country’s best performers►.
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Tribeca Film Festival, USA
Big Screen Big Apple
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded as a response to the impact of the September 11, 2001 attacks on Lower Manhattan and the neighborhood of Tribeca. Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff were the principle founders and inspiration behind the creation of Tribeca in 2002.
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Water Festival, Thailand
Thai Water Fight!
The Songkran Water Festival in Thailand is a nation-wide water fight held in the name of spiritual cleansing and prosperity. The festival’s date formerly corresponded with the New Year of many Southeast Asian nations’ calendars. Now it’s set as a national holiday for April 13th-15th each year.
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