The Traveller's Magazine
Summer and festivals always come hand-in-hand around Europe. We travel miles to go to them. We put up with insufferable toilets, sometimes extreme weather and crowds for our love of festivals. We showed our love of festivals this week on Travel Talk on Twitter. Who isn’t mad for a good festival?
More than just music
One of the reasons why festivals fit travellers so well is that there are so many different types of them. He who scoffs at festivals, scoffs at travel! From intimate grape-crushing festivals in rural France, to chocolate festivals in Italy… there’s more to a festival than just great music.
Q2 via @anythingtuscan: Everybody loves music and food festivals – what are the other top scorers?
@openpassports: Ummm beer! So many great ones all over the world-someday I’ll drink at them all-and some great wine fests too!
@cjguest: Film fests!! Like Toronto, Sundance, and Tribeca.
@MalloryOnTravel: The people and costumes are what attract me most to a festival, so street carnivals top my list.
@WhereisAnita: I agree with a few: film festivals, Holi (Festival of Colors) an Diwali (Festival of Light) in #India. Oh, and the #LoveParade.
@HotelPRGuy: Also love Chinese lantern festival.
@mygo2it: Could never attend enough good wine festivals!
@Roopunzel: The annual Light Festival in Jerusalem is pretty spectacular! http://lockerz.com/s/146249647
@simoncrerar: Growing up in Edinburgh, home to the world’s biggest and best arts fest: festivals have always been about culture first.
@MiddleSeatView: Love the National Book Festival, which sets up on the National Mall in DC every September.
@TravelingEditor: Waitangi Day celebrations in London – Circle Line pub crawl & communal Hakka on Parliament Square. Savage or ultimate bromance?
Festivals are wild!
…or at least you can expect the unexpected at just about every type of festival. Something about them just bring out the craziness in people, Burning Man anyone? Check out our post on Top Spring Festivals around the world, some pretty weird and crazy ones included! There’s no telling what you might encounter at a festival at home or abroad and these stories are a testament to that.
Q5 via @himalfootsteps: What’s the weirdest thing you ever experienced at a festival?
@EverywhereTrip: I was almost trampled to death in Taipei watching fireworks.
@backpackergurl: Being in a mock jail cell at the Boryeong Mud Festival where they chuck buckets of mud in your face.
@JustinJones: Oh man, I’ve been to @burningman a few times – too much weird to comprehend! 😀
@adventurouskate: Carnival games that give you beer for prizes in Cambodia!
@lionsandcows: People dressed as pickles at Picklefest in NY State – hilarious!
@Travel4Press: Once I went to a festival in the UK and it didn’t rain!! Now that’s pretty weird right?
@traveldudes: On one of the Love Parade waggons they were filming a porno.
@IdealCruising: A clean porterloo on day 3 of the isle of wight festival, I felt like I had won the lottery!!
@londonescaper: Fell asleep by a fire, was woken up by a man trying to put me on the flames, he thought I was a log!
Crazy right? We want to hear your festival stories (especially the wild ones)! Tell us your favourite festivals around the world and the craziest thing to ever happen to you at one.
