Navratri = Nine Nights of Garba and Dandiya on the eve of Dussehra and Diwali.
posted by hadjiboy on Sep 26, 2009 - 3 comments

It's Spring And It's Mountain Oyster Time Probably NSFW
posted by Xurando on Mar 19, 2009 - 36 comments

Top Events USA lists their top 20 events across the USA, the top 10 events and festivals for each of the United States, and lists of the best annual events and festivals by category or theme. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Jan 10, 2009 - 7 comments

Moving Image Source is devoted to the history of film, television, and digital media. It features original articles by leading critics, authors, and scholars; a calendar that highlights major retrospectives, festivals, and gallery exhibitions at venues around the world; and a regularly updated guide to online research resources. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Dec 30, 2008 - 1 comment

Armchair travel via three superb audio slide shows by photographer Reinhard Krause:
Monlam, the Tibetan Great Prayer Festival - Aba China
Catholics celebrate Christmas in rural China
Tibetan prayer meeting in Tongren [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Oct 30, 2008 - 9 comments

"We need sperm donations... you need festival tickets... wanna strike a deal?" Ireland wants your sperm.
posted by takeyourmedicine on Mar 13, 2008 - 32 comments

Diwali: the festival of light. Go ahead, light a diya (no, not that Diya) or something a bit more festive. Burn a few firecrackers, but be careful not to harm yourself. And be sure to have a taste of those mouth savouring sweets.
posted by hadjiboy on Nov 9, 2007 - 25 comments

Celebrating Onam (via Google and Flickr)
posted by hadjiboy on Aug 27, 2007 - 19 comments

The Beltane Fire Society Fire Festival. Happy Beltane! [Some links NSFW.]
posted by homunculus on Apr 30, 2007 - 23 comments

Holi: The Festival of Colours.
posted by hadjiboy on Mar 2, 2007 - 8 comments

The art of Rangoli:
posted by hadjiboy on Jan 20, 2007 - 25 comments

Looking for somewhere to go and see how humanity celebrates being alive? Or maybe you're just interested in nettle eating, a parade of the unmarried women, wife carrying championships, sand sculpture or kinetic sculpture. If you're gonna make an omlette, you have to break some eggs.
posted by lalochezia on Mar 18, 2006 - 6 comments

Sweetwater Texas Rattlesnake Roundup! An annual tradition since 1958, people from miles around come to look at the thousands of collected rattlesnakes, join in the hunting, watch them get milked, killed, and skinned, and then eat them. Check out Chris Hamilton's engaging b&w photo essay.
posted by donovan on Mar 11, 2006 - 41 comments

Renaissance Festival Books. The British Library has digitized 253 books about European festivals and ceremonies that occurred between 1475 and 1700. "From marriages, coronations and births to official visits and saints’ days, celebrations staged by the royal courts of Europe were occasions to be remembered. Festival books could be compared to souvenir programmes, or magazine accounts, documenting through eye-witness accounts and philosophical reflections the key events in the lives of princely and elite folk – the celebrities of the day." The collection is aimed at both lay and scholarly types. via
posted by peacay on Aug 16, 2005 - 12 comments

Monthly multifaith calendar of religious holidays and festivals.
posted by matteo on Jun 3, 2005 - 4 comments

Ever noticed how silly those people dancing in music videos start looking when you turn the sound off? Next June, see that live as a spectator at the Glastonbury festival, which will feature a Silent Disco this year in an effort to sidestep noise curfews.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Mar 29, 2005 - 23 comments

Loglands. Ongoing mobile phone cam coverage from the rainy mud Lowlands Festival taking place this weekend.
posted by sebas on Aug 19, 2004 - 2 comments

The Harbin Snow and Ice Festival The temperature in Harbin, China reaches forty below zero, both Fahrenheit and centigrade, and stays below freezing nearly half the year. The city is actually further north than notoriously cold Vladivostok, Russia, just 300 miles away. Rather than suffer the cold, the residents of Harbin celebrate it, with an annual festival of snow and ice sculptures and competitions. The main link actually shows the 2003 sculptures; here are some from this year.
posted by orange swan on Mar 30, 2004 - 5 comments

Tonight, for several Asian cultures, is the Mid-Autumn Festival. People gather to watch the full moon, tell stories, and eat mooncakes. San Francisco Chinatown is holding its own Moon Festival as well.
posted by casarkos on Sep 11, 2003 - 4 comments

Ever had the urge to don a pair of tight pants, oil yourself up and grapple another man? Then you should head on over to the Kirkpinar Greased Wrestling Festival in Edirne, held each year at the end of June. But beware; the moves can be highly dirty and involve battering your opponent around the head, pulling their ears and even pushing your hand into your opponents shorts and squeezing their testicles. This sure isn't your father's wrasslin'!
posted by debralee on Jun 26, 2003 - 8 comments

Hoorah! Fairy Congress '03 is almost upon us. With the admiral goal of Promoting Quality Human & Fairy Relations and special guest Dotty Maclean of Findhorn Community fame who apparently has done more than any other person in the 20th century to popularize the idea that humans can communicate with devas, in attendance you'd be crazy to miss it. Sure looks like fun...
posted by zeoslap on May 30, 2003 - 17 comments

The Hay Festival of Literature begins tomorrow. Lasting for ten days, and touted as the world's largest literary festival, it is located in Hay-on-Wye (Y-Gelli), the world's first booktown and self-proclaimed Independent Kingdom. Hay-on-Wye is a booklover's paradise (or hell, depending on the state of your credit card), with over 40 incredibly well-stocked bookshops (in a small town of only 2500 people, this means about three bookshops per block). This year's Festival offers a chance to hearfrom the likes of DeLillo, Atwood, Said, Childish and Hitchens, and while some are obviously on-tour and will be standing next to a table of their newest product, the events aren't free. Would you pay to hear your favourite authors read? Has hearing an author changed the way you read his/her book? Which authors have been as entertaining in person, and which have turned you off reading their books forever?
posted by spandex on May 22, 2003 - 10 comments

It's finally here. You're certainly familiar with the festivals in New Orleans and Rio, but what about Haiti, Germany, and Watertown, Tennesee? Also called Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras has ancient origins with links back to Lupercalia and other pre-Christian celebrations. Carnival translates as "farewell to the flesh," which speaks to the surrender of beloved things during the season of Lent.
So, what will you do for beads, babe?
posted by moonbird on Mar 4, 2003 - 9 comments

Hounen Matsuri is Japanese and means Festival for a prosperous year.
There are many festivals in Japan. But this one is quite different. Not many Japanese know about this Matsuri, and they are very surprized [QuickTime video] when they hear about it for the first time. Well, what is it?
posted by hama7 on Feb 22, 2003 - 11 comments

Retro-Garage, Proto-Punk, Rock-Boogie, Glam-Rock, Alternative Hip-Hop ? From the NY Times [reg req] review of the third annual Coachella Art and Music Festival in Indio, California "...with music slightly further out on the cutting edge than predecessors like Lollapalooza and the Woodstocks of the 90's." Is so much "new" stuff really going on, or is this just reviewer's fever?
posted by Voyageman on May 5, 2002 - 10 comments

Olympic Farce "...there has been an attempt over the past few years to hijack the Olympic spirit, to minimize national pride and turn the events into a UNICEF-style celebration of global harmony and cooperation. The organizers are trying to turn the Olympics from a series of sporting contests into a multinational festival..."
posted by bunnyfire on Feb 11, 2002 - 29 comments

My Mom just got back from the Ionesco festival in New York. It sounds cool - it's usually hard to find stagings of even Ionesco's most famous plays, but these people seem to be doing everything.
posted by crunchburger on Sep 28, 2001 - 2 comments

The World's Largest Music Festival starts today and runs until next Sunday. With acts ranging from Wilco to the artist once again known as Prince, there's usually at least one band worth seeing for everyone. Plus it's cheap, if you go at the right time. But the question remains, what events do you look forward too each summer?
posted by drezdn on Jun 28, 2001 - 23 comments

Maha Kumbh Mela from space I know it has been covered, but this kinda thing always gives me goosebumps...
posted by snowgoon on Jan 26, 2001 - 4 comments

Being judgemental about (presumably) religious practices again...
posted by rushmc on Jan 14, 2001 - 5 comments

Happy Saturnalia, everyone. (See also "The Saturnalia: its Legacies")
posted by D.C. on Dec 17, 2000 - 0 comments

This site, for an Australian concert series akin to Lollapalooza over here in the states, has one of the coolest flash intros I've seen. I love those clouds.
posted by mathowie on Jan 12, 2000 - 0 comments