festival

Imagine walking down the streets of Thailand enjoying the magical beauty of your surroundings. You see the ornate temples and hear the birds chirping overhead while you bask in the warm sunlight. And then, all of a sudden, the peacefulness of your moment is shattered—you are drenched in water, head to toe! This is Songkran, also known as Thailand’s Water Festival, and it is a splash that will stay with you for a lifetime.

The Bayanihan Festival celebrated in the Philippines today celebrates the Filipino spirit of cooperation and community. The festival’s name comes from the word bayanihan (pronounced buy-a-knee-hun), which refers to a community’s tradition in which the members help one another to transport their houses.

“April showers bring May flowers”—and with them, flower festivals. These events are found in many different countries and cultures, so no matter where you are in the world, you’re certain to find a flower festival nearby and people with whom to celebrate the advent of spring.

When it’s 102 degrees in the middle of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, everything burns. The Playa, as it is known to those who brave the bleak desert conditions, is a dry lakebed, a desolation of acidic dust, and a place of raw self-discovery. Each year at the end of August, this seemingly uninhabitable domain becomes a thriving and vibrant city filled with around 70,000 participants living in tents, RVs, and yurts. Each participant is radically devoted to the Burning Man tenet of selfless gift-giving. Though the desert itself is in some ways a furnace, the real burning happens inside the participants, also known as Burners, as the Playa refines them and pushes them beyond their limits.

“I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.”—Henry David Thoreau

After a day of work in Osaka, Japan, Laurel Armstrong of Minneapolis, Minnesota, got on her bike to head home, winding through the city’s busy streets toward her high-rise apartment complex. She had been living in this Japanese metropolis for almost a quarter of her one-year work contract and had grown accustomed to the gray, austere metal of the city’s skyline and its almost incessantly overcast weather.

There’s something about the crunch of leaves underfoot and the hints of an upcoming winter that makes people want to celebrate. But don’t limit yourself to the traditional Americana of Halloween and Thanksgiving. The United States is home to many ethnic enclaves with a variety of cultural festivals. It turns out that, for all the cultural differences, deep down we all just want an excuse to eat, dance, and celebrate.

Summer is a time for food, fun, and festivals. Here are some of the coolest and weirdest festivals going on this summer all over the world. Bolas de Fuego: Balls of FireSan Salvador, El Salvador It’s sundown in Nejapa, San Salvador. Two teams line the streets, their faces smeared in war paint. Suddenly, shouting and running at each other, they raise their arms and throw balls of fire! Dressed in wet clothes and wearing thick gloves, Nejapans hurl gasoline-soaked cloth balls until the flames go out. There are three stories about the origin of this fire fest, but the most popular story is that it commemorates a fireball battle between St. Jerome and the Devil. Come join the spectacle on August 31.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8233304.stm

Every spring, Washington, DC, wakes from its wintertime slumber in dazzling shades of pink and white bursting from the blossoms of thousands of cherry trees. Millions of visitors flock to the nation’s capital to admire the blossoms and celebrate spring with the National Cherry Blossom Festival. But the attraction is more than just beautiful flowers. Over the 100 years since their planting, these cherry trees have come to symbolize friendship, hope, and—in true spring fashion—renewal.

Hundreds of colorful dragon boats fill the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers in Phnom Penh. In many ways, it seems travelers come to Cambodia to see what is dead—the land is literally dotted with temple ruins and landmines. Siem Reap is most famous for its ancient temple ruins from the twelfth-century Khmer empire, including the iconic Angkor Wat. Thousands of people travel to Cambodia every year to see the intricate carvings of dancing Apsaras (nymphs), Khmer kings, and scenes from the Ramayana on ancient temple walls—scenes of power, wealth, and riches that have mystically disappeared from the land, leaving only ruins as their last testament. Many visitors also take time to visit the historical sites of the infamous Khmer Rouge regime. Killing fields, marked by pillars of human skulls; the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Pehn; and schools for child victims of landmines remind visitors of the destruction and crimes against humanity that once took place here. However, there is more to Cambodia than just its temples and brutal history. Though Cambodia still wears its battle scars, both ancient and modern, there are many reasons Cambodia is still thriving today. Its joy and survival as a nation are best demonstrated by its largest celebration every year—the Cambodian Water Festival, where both past and present are celebrated.Bon Om TukSome call the Khmer Water Festival the greatest celebration in Southeast Asia. In 2010, Bon Om Tuk, as it is called in the Khmer language, attracted over three million people from all over Cambodia and the world to join in the merriment. Even Buddhist monks, gracing the crowds in their saffron-colored robes, come to watch the boat races from a safe distance. Each October or November (depending on the arrival of the full moon) Phnom Penh and Siem Reap both host extraordinary boat races, carnivals, and ceremonies, marking the reversal of the Tonle Sap River from upstream to downstream. This natural phenomenon takes place as the current shifts at the end of the rainy season, and all the water that once flowed upstream into the swelling Tonle Sap Lake changes direction to flow back into the Mekong River. This annual flooding of the Mekong River provides vast quantities of freshwater fish, fertility to the land, and livelihood for many Cambodians. Thus, the water festival is a celebration of thanksgiving for the life and sustenance that the river provides.

“Keep Austin Weird” is an unofficial slogan for Austin, Texas—and the locals take it very seriously. The city prides itself on its eclectic, creative atmosphere that fosters small businesses and supports artists, musicians, music festivals, and pretty much anything independent.