5 Of The Most Memorable Festivals Around The World To Experience In August
Were we to take festivals, aren’t they simply the best way to grasp one of the greatest secrets of life? You might wonder what that is. The whole essence of festival is rejoicing, of going back to our roots, to our primordial state of celebrating life, and through what better way than that of seeing it through the eyes of a child, with a non-serious eye. And aren’t some of the most profound aspects of life seen in a celebratory way, so as not to miss the whole point?
There are plenty of fish in the sea, and so we have our festivals with religious origins, for instance, or pagan rituals which entwine their cultural significance in traditional activities.
We very well know that the spirit of a place cannot be wrapped, labeled or sealed. Yet so, we try, through these moments trapped in time, to preserve our wish for immortality. To trace down our evolution, and in just a few moments of bliss, to forget, yet remember why we celebrate.
What is your reason for you as a traveler?
Let’s trace down some of the most interesting festivals around the world held in August.
1. Burning Man
When: 30th Aug – 7th Sep 2015
Where: USA
If you are looking for something out of the usual, well there you go a city wherein almost everything that happens is created entirely by its citizens, who are active participants in the experience.
The event begins on the last Monday in August, and ends on the first Monday in September, which coincides with the American Labor Day holiday
“This year’s theme is about mirrors and masks, mazes and merger. It will be a kind of magic show that takes the form of an old-fashioned carnival. This Carnival of Mirrors asks three essential questions: within our media-saturated world, where products and people, consumption and communion morph into an endlessly diverting spectacle, who is the trickster, who is being tricked, and how might we discover who we really are?”
“If there is anything that can be said about dreams and longings, it is that they… are hard to express. It is difficult to transmit into words the oddness of an image, the comic-grotesque distortions of inner time and space, the weird amalgams of feeling that leave people perhaps a little more aware of their deepest responses to life and a little more unsure of the artifice with which they so often cover themselves.”
– Donald Spoto, The Dark Side of Genius
When: 3 week in August
Where: Edinburgh, Scotland
On the Edge of Things or “The Greatest Show on Legs!”
If your thing is lining on the edge and if fringe is where you would like to be, then the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is definitely the right game for you.
The true spirit of this festival is the audacious wish and willpower to stand out.
Fringe Festival has grown to be one of the biggest arts celebrations in the world. A true rendition of the testimony to the spirit of freedom of expressing exactly who you are. A masterpiece of rendering the idea of the independence to be innovative and the impulse do so regardless of place, space or time.
So if you want to give it a go, Edinburgh Fringe Festival takes place all over the city at venues such as the Traverse Theatre, Cabaret Voltaire and the Stand comedy club. And so this year Edinburgh Fringe Festival is expected to hold around 2000 shows with over 30,000 performances!
When: 7th-9-th August
Where: Berlin, Germany
I couldn’t possibly think of a better way to quench ones thirst than with an exceptional pint of beer. So why not experience the delightful mixed variety of the ‘liquid of joy’ from over 180 breweries from Belgium, Germany U.K and 85 other countries.
So don’t get all wrapped up in the tasting department and also go for the unique blend of entertainment, culture, mentalities, people, tastes and don’t forget about the 18 stages setup, offering live music and 20 beer regions culinary specialties to make your day even better. The Berlin Beer Festival is the perfect place for those who want a taste of their delightful food, music and stage shows, to make the beer ‘tasting’ experience the more unforgettable.
Where: Venues around Buenos Aires, Argentina
When: Second half of August
Celebration of life, mystery, perfect embodiment of spirit, passion and lust. . Dancers and musicians perform at various intimate venues giving a glimpse of the realm of tango. As you discover these places, you discover the inspiration and that dormant feeling of completeness. So why not go for the free classes for beginners throughout the 10 days of the festival?
5. Ghost Festival (Nights of the Living Dead)
When: 14th August – 12th September 2015
Where: Chung Yuan, Taiwan
A time to pay homage to the departed souls. But everything takes a slightly different turn when it comes to the Chung Yuan Festival. As you will see an atmosphere of fear and dread surrounds the island. In order to ease the parting, the people set up banquets tables crammed with offerings of meat, veggies, drinks and music to soothe both the living and the dead.
No need to get gloomy, it’s just paying respects to both life and death.
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This article (and more to come) is partly written and/or fully translated by Ruxandra Stăncioiu, my SuperCoWorker.
<I could say about myself that I have a rather audacious sense of humour, summed up by the words of Laurell K. Hamilton: “When in doubt, ignore and be horribly unimpressed”>