Event, Festival activities in Europe
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Festivaletteratura
For five days each September, central Mantua is taken over by the Festivaletteratura, with open-air bookstalls, and readings and author discussions (some in English).
reviewed
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Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest costs around €8, payable with special tokens sold by the tents) More than 6.2 million people guzzled 6.7 million litres of beer during Oktoberfest 2007. Blame it all on the 'Mass'; that towering mug holding a full litre of golden nectar that sets you back about eight euros - and right back on your heels. Oktoberfest is indeed the world's largest drink-a-thon where normally prim and sober citizens from every country in the world lurch around like drunken rats.
'Tradition' may be everything at the Oktoberfest, but 'convention' gets thrown right out the window.
It's all eerily disciplined, even quiet, until - at the stroke of noon - the Munich mayor opens the…
reviewed
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Spas - Day of Transfiguration of the Saviour
Grabarka's biggest feast is the Spas (Day of Transfiguration of the Saviour) on 19 August. The ceremony begins the day before at 18:00 and continues with Masses and prayers throughout the night, culminating at 10:00 with the Great Liturgy, celebrated by the metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in Poland. Up to 50,000 people may come from all over the country to participate.
On the 18 August the surrounding forest turns into a car park and camping ground. Cars and tents fill every space between the trees. Despite this wave of modernity, the older, more traditional generation comes on foot without any camping gear and keeps watch all night. The light of the thin candles adds…
reviewed
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Kaustinen Folk Music Festival
The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is one of the most beloved of summer festivals in Finland, attracting huge crowds. It's the place to be if you're interested in Finnish folk music and dance, since some 300 Finnish bands (and many international acts) perform more than 250 concerts during the week in mid-July. At any time between 10:00 and 03:00 there are several official concerts and half a dozen impromptu jam sessions going on.
Folk dance performances are also an integral part of the festival, with everything from Celtic and Latin dancing alongside Finnish dance.
reviewed
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Ravello Concert Society
You don't have to come in high summer to catch a concert. Ravello's programme of classical music begins in March and continues until late October. It reaches its crescendo in June and September with the International Piano Festival and Chamber Music Weeks. Performances by top Italian and international musicians are world-class and the two venues (Villa Rufolo and the Convento di Santa Rosa in Conca dei Marini) are unforgettable.
Tickets, bookable by phone, fax or online. For further information and reservations, contact the Ravello Concert Society.
reviewed
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Fête du Citrons
Menton's fabulous two-week Fête du Citrons in February sees sculptures and decorative floats made from 115 metric tonnes of lemons (plus another five tonnes used to replace damaged fruit during the festival) weave processions along the seafront. Afterwards, the monumental lemon creations are dismantled and the fruit sold off at bargain prices in front of Palais de l'Europe. Each year the festival follows a different theme (Asterix, Alice in Wonderland, world carnivals).
reviewed
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Jameson Dublin International Film Festival
If you're around in early spring, most of Dublin's cinemas participate in the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, a two-week showcase for new films by Irish and international directors, and a good opportunity to see classic movies that hardly get a run in cinemas. A major criticism of the festival, however, is that many of the films included in the schedule would have earned a cinema release regardless, making it more difficult for small-budget films to find a slot.
reviewed
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Cannes Cinephiles
Tickets to the Cannes Film Festival are governed by a complex system of passes and unless you're a high-flyer in the film industry, you're unlikely to get one. What you can get are free tickets to selected individual films, usually after their first screening. Look for the Cannes Cinephilesticket booth outside the Palais des Festivals. For the film festival programme, consult the official website, www.festival-cannes.org.
reviewed
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A
Anna Livia International Opera Festival
Classical music is small fry, but it's getting better all the time, thanks to the efforts of promoters who attract performers and orchestras from abroad; one local success has been the Anna Livia International Opera Festival, which celebrates its fifth edition in September 2008 with two productions running on alternate nights for two weeks: Verdi's Rigoletto and Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saëns.
reviewed
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National Championships in Scything Boggy Meadows for Nature
One of the most celebrated festivals in the park's calendar is the National Championships in Scything Boggy Meadows for Nature, held on the second weekend of September. Teams from all over the country turn up with scythes in hand, all eager to be the quickest to cut 100m of bog meadow. It's both a fun day out and ecologically sound - if the grass was left to grow, birds would have trouble nesting in the meadows.
reviewed
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Arts Festival
Akureyri's annual arts festival runs from late June to late August and attracts artists and musicians from around Iceland. There are special exhibitions, concerts, free jazz on Thursday, theatre performances and everything from clay-pigeon shooting to historical walks. It all culminates in a weekend street party and parade. For details on events and exhibitions, contact the tourist office.
reviewed
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Wexford Festival Opera
The Wexford Festival Opera, an 18-day extravaganza normally held at the Theatre Royal in October, began in 1951 and has grown to be the country's premier opera event. Rarely performed operas and shows are staged for packed audiences, and fringe street theatre, poetry readings and exhibitions give the town a fiesta atmosphere. Many local bars even run their own amateur song competitions.
reviewed
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Procession of the Misteri
Good Friday sees a colourful Procession of the Misteri. A wooden statue of Christ and the Madonna Addolorata, along with life-sized tableaux of plaster and papier-mâché illustrating events leading to Christ's crucifixion, are carted across the island. Men dress in blue tunics with white hoods, while many of the young girls dress as the Madonna.
reviewed
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Patra Carnival
Patra's citizens party hard during the annual Patra Carnival. The programme begins in mid-January, and features a host of minor events leading up to a wild weekend of costume parades, colourful floats and celebrations in late February or early March. The event draws big crowds, so hotel reservations are essential if you want to stay overnight.
reviewed
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Dublin Fringe Festival
Initially a festival for those shows too 'out-there' or insignificant to be considered for the main festival, this is now a three-week extravaganza with more than 100 events and over 700 performances. The established critics may keep their ink for the bigger do, but we strongly recommend the Fringe for its daring and diversity.
reviewed
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Ravello Festival
Between June and mid-September the Ravello Festival turns much of the town centre into a stage. Events ranging from orchestral concerts and chamber music to ballet performances, film screenings and exhibitions are held in atmospheric outdoor venues, most notably the famous overhanging terrace in the Villa Rufolo gardens.
reviewed
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Reindeer Races
It doesn't get much more Lappish than Reindeer Races - they're held in Inari, sleds and all, over the last week of May on Inarijärvi. It's a local event with festivities, betting and a winner's cup. The reindeer are antlerless, and the sport looks a little like crazy waterskiing (with the reindeer as boats).
reviewed
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Les Instants d'Été
August brings open-air performances (theatre, cinema, cabaret, circus, video projections etc) to Parc Jourdan, Théâtre de Verdure du Jas de Bouffan (av St-John Perse), and the Carrières d'Ocre in Rognes (21km N of Aix) during the month-long Les Instants d'Été.
reviewed
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Laundry Day
Smack in the heart of Antwerp's St Andries fashion district, this party with an unlikely name sees seven stages set up on and around Vrijdagmarkt and Oudaan, with 50 DJs pulsing throughout the day and into the night. It all happens in mid-September, the week after Antwerp is Burning.
reviewed
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Kiruna Snow Festival
Held in the last week of January, the Kiruna Snow Festival is based around a snow-sculpting competition. The tradition started in 1985 as a space-themed snow-sculpture contest to celebrate the launching of a rocket (Viking) from the space base Esrange.
reviewed
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Buxton Festival
This renowned festival takes place in July and is one of the largest of its kind in the country. As well as opera, literary notables such as Louis de Bernières hold sway. All the big events in Buxton revolve around its beautifully restored Opera House.
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Africa Festival
The Africa Festival is held on the meadows northwest of the river at Mainwiesen, complete with markets, food stalls and, if it rains, lots of mud. It's a 15-minute walk from the Hauptbahnhof, or take tram 2 or 4 to Talavera and follow the drums.
reviewed
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Bulmers International Comedy Festival
The highlight of the comedy year is the annual Bulmers International Comedy Festival, which takes place at 20-odd venues over three weeks, usually in September, and features a barrel-load of local and international talent. Big laughs.
reviewed
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Karlovy Vary Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary Film Festival in July always features the year's top films as well as attracting plenty of (B-list) stars. It's rather behind the pace of the likes of Cannes, Venice and Berlin but is well worth the trip.
reviewed
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Anna Ball
In July the Anna Ball is held in the Sanatorium, near Gyógy tér; it's a prime event on the Hungarian calendar. Concerts and other events accompany the ball; keep your eyes peeled if you're here during July.
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