Five Festival Destinations You Should Put on Your Bucket List
Maybe randomly pointing on the map with your finger is a bit outdated when choosing the next travel destination. Maybe it is time to get more inspired and plan the vacation around a worldwide festival destination. Being in the right place at the right time can erase all the stressful details of organizing each day of the vacation, and just let the festival organizers worry about your level of fun. Thus, the destinations that have an exciting festival as the main attraction can spare you of worries, and you can just let them entertain you.
Burning Man
There’s a new fresh reason to see the Nevada desert with your own eyes, and that is the most acclaimed festival of Burning Man. Thousands of people are gathering together here to enjoy their life through art, self-expression, and self-reliance. The attendants are advising people just to participate in the festival without questions, but we’ll try to describe why you should join the next edition.
This event creates a friendly place for nonconformity in the most unwelcoming environment, which is in the middle of the desert of Nevada, Black Rock City. Every year the late August is bringing the best mix of artsy entertainment, where the desert is turned into a canvas for young artists to express their inside storms. Each year there is a different theme that connects the artworks together, and the 2016 main theme was Da Vinci’s Workshop.
Around this, participants created art carts that take you on a fascinating adventure on the back of a snail or unicorn. Each cart has a weird, eccentric, and fun style which picks up random strangers and drives them to unimaginable journeys that are filled with free booze and high definition audio system. Imagine the 3 AM hour surprising you with fictional scenery, being surrounded by imaginary characters while you enjoy a beautiful sunrise later. That’s a true definition of a perfect inexplicable vacation destination.
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The Carnival of Rio de Janeiro
It usually takes place around February or March, but once it breaks out, there’s no turning back. This Carnival is a famous emblem of Brazil, and it is a Spanish expression of freedom. The foreign visitors of this carnival are around 500,000 a year so you can’t say that you’ve experienced the feeling of liberty entirely if you haven’t ever joined this festival.
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All the Carnival happens on the streets which sends a comfy feeling that everyone is invited. The piece of résistance of this festival is the Rio parade which is filled with beautiful and skillful samba dancers from prestigious schools spread around Rio. You can let yourself loose and wander around the seductive dance worshipers and become a part of the festival itself. So, there are enough reasons to make room for this decadent festival next February. This is when the Southern Hemisphere summer is at its peak, and the Carnival with all its enjoyable excesses is at its core a message of farewell to carnal pleasures.
White Nights Festival
Russia may be seen as a closed society, but once a year it becomes a festival of romantic light. It is a real delight to see the nights become a festival of people that never sleep. This celebration of lights usually takes place from May to July and the streets of Petersburg are illuminated with light shows through the nights. An international celebration of arts and music where the famous Russian ballet and opera are just mesmerizing the participants with incredible performances. The nostalgic classic dance routines are mixed up with contemporary art, and the result is just spectacular.
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The profound voices of soprano that cracks the most indifferent hearts, which is followed by contemporary dance versions that bring The Nutcracker and Cinderella to life, are sufficient reasons to purchase online tickets in advance. The whole show climaxes with fireworks that explode in the middle of an epic pirate battle.
The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
Summer does not dominate the festival scenery. The idyllic image of winter days with hot chocolate and the heart melting fireplaces can be restored with the international festival destinations. And the king of winter lovers is definitely the Harbin festival. This festival is famous for its impressive sculptures and giant ice carved replicas. So, if you are a winter fan and have always looked for a powerful reason to visit the exotic China, this is your golden ticket.
Usually held in January, the Hardin ice festival will warm stone hearts with 750,000 cubic meters of ice sculptures. The weather of minus 23 Celsius will barely be noticed due to the spectacular images that the ice can create. The ice sculpting develops under the eye of traditional crafts and folklore, so the ice replicas are describing the wonders of Chinese society. The marvelous icy work or arts are intertwined with numerous competitions and interesting activities such as the famous lantern shows, winter sports contests, ice sailing, and trade fairs.
Dia de LosMuertos
The daredevils are not in pursuit of death, but they are searching the reasons to live in the most adrenaline pumped games. Taking the same logical path, the Mexican Day of the Dead is, in fact, a celebration of life. The ephemeral nature of every person is what makes life more enjoyable. If we were all immortal, then what would the point of living even be?
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This spellbinding festival takes place particularly in Central and South Mexico on November 1st and 2nd. It is a time to remember the departed souls, but not through sad mourning, but through fun memories that the gone people have marked their friends and families with. The cemeteries are filled with food and beverages that create lively private altars. In fact, there is the assumption that dead would be insulted by sadness. What they truly want is to reenact their most treasured activities that enjoyed during their lifetime. Death is considered an extension of birth and the circularity of new life. So the purpose of the festival is to reunite the living with the dead through fun traditions.
The rustic streets of Mexico are filled with fascinating skulls and skeletons portrayed in extravagant dressings or sweet candies. There is not only that, but tourists can enjoy workshops, crafts, altars, and traditional cuisine.
In conclusion, the worldwide known festivals are ensuring enough entertainment for tourists and locals alike to represent a good reason for a time off from work. The presence in an exotic travel spotlight would be enough to gather Facebook likes. However, a festival destination will sustain enough fun to make the trip a lifetime memory that is powerful enough to steal your smile in the saddest moments.
About the Author
Phoenix Hutton Phoenix Hutton is a freelance photographer and a passionate travel writer. When she’s not busy scouting the globe for her next visual project, she loves sharing her experience and offering essential travel tips on Luxurytravel.info.
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