Are you spoiled for choice about where and when to go on your next adventure? To narrow down your options you might want to think about wild and wonderful world events you've always wanted to be a part of. Ever imagined yourself with a caiprinha in one hand and your camera in another shaking your rear to the samba beats at Rio’s Carnival? Or had an image of yourself enveloped by a chalky colourful cloud at India's Holi Festival? Timing your trip to a country or region to coincide with a major festival will add an exhilarating twist to your experience and provide a memorable immersion into unique celebrations around the world.
Rio Carnival- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (28th Feb- 4th Mar, 2014)
The costumes, the dancing, the partying, the spectacle! The ultimate expression of the spirit of the Brazilians, Rio Carnival is a world-famous 4-day extravaganza that should be on every fun-seeker's bucket list. Dating back to 1823, this festival, which takes place in the lead up to Lent, provides travellers with a dizzying array of street festivities so you can mingle with Cariocas (Rio’s natives) doing what they do best- partying! The pinnacle of the festival is the Samba Parade which is an absolutely stunning display of all that Rio’s samba schools have to offer.
http://www.rio-carnival.net/
Holi Festival- India (March 17th, 2014)
On the day after the full moon in March locals and tourists all over India hurl coloured powder and water at one another to celebrate the victory of good over evil by Lord Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation, and to mark the arrival of spring. A riotous explosion of colour and an expression of the exuberance of the Indian people, Holi is a not to be missed experience; the vibrancy and enthusiasm of the Indian people is at its purest during this joyfully festive time.
For a safe, fun and organised experience, make your way to the Holi Cow event just outside Delhi and sip on a bhang lassi, (a cannabis paste laced yoghurt drink), if you dare and grab a handful of coloured powder and join in the madness of the ‘Festival of Colours’.
http://www.holifestival.org/
Burning Man Festival- Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA (25th Aug- 1st Sept, 2014)
If you feel like breaking free from the everyday then this is the festival for you. An annual celebration of alternative lifestyles and efforts to build a different kind of civic-minded community in the Nevada desert, Burning Man is a gathering that defies description and can be anything you want it to be. The event's website attempts to define Burning Man as "..an experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance".
Think massive art installations, crazy costumes, music stages, dancing, camping, bartering for supplies and skill sharing in a desert city, culminating in the burning of a massive wooden effigy of ‘the man’. I’m sure that everyone else who has been there would have a different description of the Burning Man experience and none of us could be said to be wrong!
http://www.burningman.com/
La Tomatina- Bunol near Valencia, Spain (27th Aug- 2014)
Dubbed the 'World's Biggest Food Fight', La Tomatina is a week long festival, paying homage to Bunol's patron saints, that culminates on the last Wednesday in August in an hour long frenzied tomato throwing fight in the town centre. Participants are asked to 'pre-squish' their tomatoes and they're advised to wear old clothes, that they don’t mind destroying, and even goggles! From exactly where this tradition of splattering complete strangers with fruit derives is unclear.
What we do know is that it started in the mid 1940's, was abolished during the Franco era, and reinstated in 1970's. Such is the popularity of the event these days, (up to 50,000 people attended in 2012), that this year's participants will need to purchase a 10 Euro ticket ( You can buy Euros here ) to ensure entry to join in painting the town's square red. .
http://www.latomatinatours.com/
Oktoberfest- Munich, Germany (20th Sept- 5th Oct, 2014)
Germans, particularly those in Munich, really know how to make (and drink!) beer so they’re the perfect hosts for this fun celebration of all things beer related. The locals don their lederhosen without irony or embarrassment and get into the seriously fun business of drinking beer and feeling the “Gemutlichkeit” (relaxation/fun).
Revellers gather under huge beer tents and sit at long trestle tables drinking copious amounts of beer served by dirndl clad wenches with the wrists of steel required to brandish so many steins at once! There are up to 14 themed tents offering different slants on traditional Bavarian foods- a massive pretzel is my favourite salty accompaniment to the tasty beverages.http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/
You've got the dates now, so get out your calendar and start marking off the days until your next adventure!
Written by Lynda Roderick
Culture & Lifestyle Journalist - Currency Today
