Festivals can be life-changing experiences which can transform a jaded holiday-goer into the free spirit through art, music, poetry, performance. Here is the list of 10 of the most famous festivals around the world you should look to attend in 2018.
1. Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Venue: Harbin, ChinaDate: 24th February - 25th February 2018
An annual winter festival that takes place with a theme exhibiting a whole new world of ice and snow to its visitors.
2018 will mark the 34th Harbin Festival that will open with a theme 'Harbin Glory, Ice & Snow in Northern China'.
Every year artists from all around the globe participate and build incredible sculptures out of ice and snow, decorating them with lasers and lights. This exhibition has a lot to offer, which one can only find out after visiting it!
2. Chinese New Year
Venue: China
Date: 16th February 2018
A celebration filled with dragons, fireworks, lanterns, flowers, symbolic clothing, food, dancing and lots more!
Also known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year celebration is the longest festival in the Chinese calendar that begins on the Chinese New Year's Eve and runs till the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
3. Pingxi Lantern Festival
Venue: Pingxi, Taiwan – Republic of China
Date: 2nd March 2018
While the Chinese New Year celebration gets most of the attention, many travelers drive all the way down to Taipei to be the part of this festival where almost 200,000 lanterns emblazon a full moonlit sky.
According to the elders of Pingxi, the Sky Lantern Festival originated in the Xing Dynasty, almost 2000 years ago to ward off the evil and disease from the town and to inform people that the town was safe to visit again.
People first decorate the sky lanterns with images and wishes and then release them off into the sky together. The festival magically decorates the sky into a sanctuary of lights. So, just buy a lantern, scribble your desires and ambitions on it, then send it into the heavens!
4. Carnival of Venice
Venue: Venice, Italy
Date: 27th January- 13th February 2018
The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and internationally known festivals dating back to over 900 years.
During the carnival, Venice comes alive with masked party-goers filling the streets. Entertainers, jugglers, and bands are everywhere and the canals are full of colorful boats. The nights are full of parties and masked balls organized all around the city.
5. Rio Carnival
Venue: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date: 9th- 14th February 2018
The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a world famous festival held before Lent every year. It is considered as one of the biggest carnivals in the world with nearly two million people hitting the streets every day.
The typical Rio carnival parade is filled with floats, revelers, and adornments from numerous samba schools located in Rio.
6. Running of the Bulls
Venue: Pamplona, Spain
Date: 6th - 14th July 2018
A part of the famous San Fermin festival, this controversial event involves a practice of running in front of a group of bulls that have been let loose on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a city's streets.
The first rocket that sets off at 8 am marks the opening of the event. The second one signals that all bulls have been released. The next two rocket signals indicate that the entire herd has entered the bullring and its corral respectively, thus, marking the end of the event.
Every year, adrenaline junkies from all across the globe flock to the city to participate in the event. In case you don’t want to participate, you can stand behind the fences along the route of the bull run. Make sure you arrive by around 6.30 am to get the best spots on the top of the fence directly overlooking the run!
7. La Tomatina
Venue: Spain
Date: 29th August 2018
Frolic, fun, dance, and lots of tomatoes! La Tomatina is definitely one of those festivals you absolutely cannot miss. Be it the tomato fight or those enormous water showers that follow it, this event will engage you in the unlimited fun!
8. Oktoberfest
Venue: Munich, Germany
Date: 22nd September - 7th October 2018
It’s all about the beer!
Oktoberfest is the world's largest beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. This 16-day long festival is attended by more than six million people from around the world every year. Imagine being surrounded by those traditional huge glasses of beer served by beautiful waitresses.
9. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Venue: New Mexico, USA
Date: 6th -14th October 2018
Every October, the Albuquerque skies are colorfully painted as more than 700 balloons lift off from Balloon Fiesta Park during the nine-day long balloon fiesta. It's no wonder this visual feast is said to be among the largest and the most photographed events in the world.
10. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Venue: Mexico
Date: 1st- 2nd November 2018
Day of the Dead is an interesting holiday celebrated in Mexico during November.
The day honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations. Dia de los Muertos celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. A great way to remember your loved ones!
Note: This article was originally published by me as - 10 International Festivals to Attend this Year