Events
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July 2010
You may as well tap the entire town of Straubing during Gäubodenvolksfest (try saying that after a few steins). The festival is the second-biggest beer-related event in Germany, and literally foams with hearty beer as over 1 million people fill up the huge tents to sip their brews and take in Bavarian culture. And don’t let the phrase “beer festival” make you think the 11-day event isn’t child-friendly. Rollercoasters and carousels keep the little ones happy – and after a few beers you may just find yourself spinning as well.
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July 2010
Rock and electronic are back for Germany’s famous Melt! festival, which has grown from a small gathering in 1997 to over 20,000 people. But what gets people really excited is the fact that the festival takes place at an open-air museum of industrial parts, including cranes and bulldozers. It’s pretty surreal. Some of the big acts of 2010 include Massive Attack, The XX, Jónsi, Broken Bells, Groove Armada and Booka Shade. The other cool thing about this festival is that they offer a bus to sleep in where you can “melt” into bed after three days of partying.
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July 2010
A hearty mix of seafood, celebration and sermon, this 400-year-old tradition gives thanks for the end to a plague that killed almost 50,000 people back in 1577. Today, the fi reworks display lasts for nearly three hours, showering the city’s alleys with sparkling light. TEXT BY ANDREA DI TONTO
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July 2010
Distinguished international and Finnish productions of drama, dance and street theatre take over Tampere during this annual festival, one of the oldest in the Nordic countries. Theatre festivals are among the earliest type of festival, and classical Greek theatre was associated with religious celebrations dedicated to the god Dionysus, who was always having a good time. Though I doubt the proceedings of his day were able to compete with this Finnish stage — featuring the likes of 1970s-inspired Days of Disco (above). And there aren’t many places in the world where you can sit back and enjoy a show while munching on a plump mustamakkara (blood sausage served with lingonberry sauce).
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July 2010
Word is getting out that this is the UK’s
festival of the summer. Why? It’s big,
but not overwhelming. It’s got a local
feel but world-class style. And it’s not
over-priced. This year’s line-up does
sound great: headlining are Massive
Attack, M.I.A. and Lily Allen (left ). All
of the fun goes down against the
backdrop of Eastnor Castle, which
only adds to the magic. In addition to
the concerts, you’ll fi nd art, comedy
and fi lm performances. They are even
organising car-pooling to help your
carbon footprint. That’s pretty chill.
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July 2010
There are 1,820 inhabitants in Sali, the main town on the island of Dugi Otok. It’s hard to host a party with such a small pool of people, so the fi rst event in its summer cultural festival is a trip to the metropolis of Zadar, where a band plays music to gather a crowd for the return journey. Once in Sali, people enjoy a feast of fi sh stew, grilled tuna and other seafood, followed the next day by concerts and sporting events like scooter races, bag races and a tug-of-war. The fi nal day features a series of donkey races along the quayside. The fastest donkey and rider win a slab of prosciutto while, in typical Mediterranean fashion, the laziest donkey coming in last is also commended for keeping it low-key!
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July 2010
If life is getting dull, never fear, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Move into the light! Every year thousands of pilgrims, still drunk on a glorious epiphany, head to As Neves in Galicia, north-west Spain, to pay their respects to Santa Maria de Ribarteme, the patron saint of resurrection.
To show their gratitude for managing to wangle a return ticket on what is normally a one-way trip, the living are born aloft in coffi ns by family members and paraded triumphantly through the streets to the church. Aft er an emotional service, a statue of Saint Mary is carried through the streets to the cemetery and back, once again cheating death. It’s surreal, moving and, for anyone with a monotonous life, could turn out to be a near-life experience.
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July 2010
All sorts of quacks come out for the annual release of hundreds of yellow rubber duckies at midday in Can Picafort, as swimmers dive in the sea to rescue them for prizes. Before 2007, the event, in the north of the island, would make waves because real ducks were used!
