Carnivals


The Mother of all Carnivals in Trinidad

Reggae, socca & calypso grooves at Easter Carnival

The legendary Samba carnival in Rio De Janeiro, carnival capital of the world.

Mystery and intrigue of the masked Venice Carnival

The ultimate pre-lent party with a French Creole twist at the New Orleans Mardi Gras

The wild and colourful Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia

Group singing, wild dancing and playing of homemade instruments makes for a crazy time at the Rara Peasant Carnival

Spiritual Street Dancing at the Ati Atihan Mardi Gras festival

Party Cuban-style at Miami's Calle Oche Festival

Sports festival


Wrestling, archery, horse racing at the Nadaam Festival tribal gathering, Mongolia

Celebrating the beginning of Spring with a mini-winter Olympics at the Festival of the North

Risque, Racy and downright daring: The Bay to Breakers Foot Race

A pilgrimage to the mecca of motorcycling for the Sturgis Bike Rally

Spurring horseracing at the S'Ardia festival,Sedilo, in honour of St Constantine

Running with the bulls in Pamplona, a test of skill and bravado

tossing the caber and other great traditions at Scotland's Highland Games

The medieval town of Siena is transformed into a makeshift racetrack for the Palio Horse Race

Dirty wrestling in olive oil at the world famous Kirkpinar Wrestling Festival

The brilliant blue desert sky above the city becomes kaleidoscopically pregnant at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Force your opponent to the ground WWF-style in the Traditional Bakweri Wrestling

A gruelling high altitude marathon for Mount Cameroon's Race of Hope

Real life bumper cars at Monroe County Demolition Derby

A celebration of BASE jumping extreme sport at the Bridge Day Festival, West Virginia

Parade and races of gondolas in celebration of Venice's seafaring traditions at Regata Storica

Tribal festivals


Fetes Des Masques in Mali, a celebration for the dead and good harvest.

The Marriage of Man and Sun: The Inca festival of Inti Raymi

Collision of cultures and corn spirits at the Tarahumara Indian Feast

The colourful Ncwala First Fruits Festival of Swaziland

Ancient rituals at Ghana's Aboakyer deer hunting festival

Spirit catching the prayers of the Valley and serious partying at the Kalash Choimus Festival

Celebrating the many tribes of PNG at the colourful Goroka Show

Colorful costumes and tribal dances every March at Micronesia's Yap Day festival

Historic festivals

Battle of the Moors & the Christians - The annual re-enactment fiesta in Alcoy

Celebrating the firebreathing Patron saint - the Bolivian fiesta of San Miguel

Go tar barrel rolling on Guy Fawkes Night at Ottery St Mary

Join a grand, medieval parade with jugglers and jousting at the Flemish Ommegang

Yell a big 'Yahoo!!' and doff your cowboy hat at the Calgary Stampede

Bucking bulls and bareback riding at the celebration of settler heritage, the Pendleton Round-Up

Experience everyday life in a 17th century French trading post at the Grand Portage Re-enactment

Human chess, jousting and Medieval celebrations at the Giostra della Rocca festival

Chariot races commemorate the arrival of the Queen of Cyprus at the Palio Asolo

Polish your armour, climb aboard your steed, and canter down to Berkeley Castle to join the Joust festival

Incredibly strange festivals


Touch the phallus at the Hounen Matsuri fertility festival

S & M and other things rubbery at the Folsom Street Fair

Celebrate the extraordinary strength of the beast at the Surin Elephant Round Up

A tribute to the King: Elvis Week in Memphis

Crazy antics chasing Santa Claus with whips and bells at the Klausjagen Festival

Cracking coconut and traditional Polynesian costumes at the Heiva festival

The Golden Shears Festival is where all the sheep, and those whose lives revolve around them, get together for a competition and a knees-up

Anastenaria, the ancient fire walking festival of St Helen, Greece

Meet Madame & Monsieur Gayant at the Giants of Douai Festival

Lady Marmalade: glorious food fights at the Ivrea Orange Festival

Run for your wife! (or someone else's) at the Wife Carrying Championships

An experiment in temporary community at the new age desert Burning Man Festival

A feast of hearty lumberjack action at the Hoquiam Loggers Play Day

Lumberjack sports for real men at the Paul Bunyan Show

Medieval-style shin kicking at the Cotswold Olympick Games

Religious festivals


Hindu

A Hindu pilgrimage to Mathura to celebrate the 3,500th birthday of Krishna

Pilgrim bathing and processions at the Kumbh Mela Festival

Penance, piercing and pageantry at the Hindu Kavadi Festival

Holy Ganges cleansing at the Sagar Island Pilgrim Bathing Festival

Buddhist

Take to the street and repel evil at the Tet festival in Ho Chi Minh City

Cleaning and Water Fights at the Songkran Festival

Parading the Tooth Relic: The Buddhist festival of Kandy Esala Perahera

Dancing, Shaolin Daredevils, and a belching procession at the Mazu Goddess of the Sea Festival

Islamic

Ritual sheep sacrifice at the Muslim Aid El Kabir Festival

One of the five 'pillars' of Islam: fasting for Ramadan

Blood letting and flagellation at the Ashura festival of penanance

Ritual beating with flagellation whips at the Moharram Holy Week of Mourning


Christian

A Catholic Pilgrimage to the Virgin of the Valley, Argentina

Worshipping Mexico's very own patron saint: Our Lady of Guadelupe

Body of Christ: Ritual Good Friday Crucifixions in San Fernando

Take a pilgrimage to the Black Madonna

Celebrate the glorious Christian Epiphany festival of Timkat in Lalibelia

Easter


The Passion plays and floral pageant of Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala

On Easter Day, Christians of all ethnicity gather in Jerusalem's Old City to follow in the footsteps of Christ

Semana Santa in Seville, a holy commemoration of the events of the Passion

Reggae, socca & calypso grooves at Jamaica's Easter Carnival

Food festivals


Re-living food fight fantasies at the Tomatina tomato throwing festival

The Chateauneuf des Papes celebrates all things wine

Hold your nose! It's the Gilroy Garlic Festival

Any cause for epic celebration and feasting:a Syrian lamb sacrifice

Dancing pigs at the farming fiesta of Virginia State Fair

Arts and cultural festivals


Awa Odori, dance the dance of the Fools in the tiny Japanese islands of Tokushima.

Authentic traditional Korean culture of masks and dance in Hahoe Village

A tribute to the green green grass, Get Happy at the Mardi Grass Festival

Nashville of the Antipodes: Boot-scootin' at the Tamworth Country Music Festival

The Festival of the Sahara, a spectacular celebration of arts and traditions of the desert people.

Each May superstars, directors and wannabes descend to France for the Cannes Film Festival

A cultural extravaganza of dance, theatre, art and music at the Edinburgh Festival

Celebrate the song festivals and traditions of Estonia

Float Your Boat at the Amsterdam Gay Pride Festival

Get loved up at the Love Parade - Europe's biggest dance party

Oktoberfest - The world biggest and best Beer Festival for boozing, bawdy and plenty of oom-pah

Burning of papier-mache icons at Las Fallas

Desert arts to haute couture: the Dubai Shopping Festival

Be illuminated by the 10,000 magic lanterns of the Kanto Matsuri Festival

See the colourful floats of the warrior parade at the Nebuta Festival

A century of cutting-edge contemporary art at the Biennale Internatial Art Fair

Party at Glastonbury Festival - the world's largest outdoor music and performing arts festival

Learn traditional dances and how to speak Creole at Festival Kreol, the Seychelles

Festival round-ups


Caviar and Honey: a summary of Russia's most unique pagan festivals

Summary of Kenya's best festivals, from carnivals to motor cars