Festival Calendar
For a really special travel experience, time your trip to coincide with a local festival. This multifaith calendar provides the "when and where" of some major festivals around the world, including a few non-religious favorites. This calendar is far from comprehensive and is regularly expanded.
Special Festivals: Plan Ahead!
| May-September 2010 Passion Play Oberammergau, Austria Every 10 years |
September 2017 Unveiling of the Madonna of Piedigrotta Naples, Italy Every 50 years |
February |
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| Festival: | Shrove Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras - riotous festival before Lent begins; the final day of Carnival | ||
| When: | March 21, 2008; April 10, 2009 | ||
| What & Where: | Mardi Gras New Orleans, USA Most famous celebrations |
Carnival Cologne, Germany |
Sa Sartiglia Oristano, Sardinia, Italy Three-day carnival ending on Shrove Tuesday |
March-April |
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| Festival: | Good Friday - solemn holiday commemorating the Crucifixion of Christ. It is the culmination of Holy Week. | ||
| When: | March 21, 2008; April 10, 2009 | ||
| What & Where: | Semana Santa Seville, Spain |
Festival of the Grieving Madonna Procida, Campania, Italy Colorful procession across the island |
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| Festival: | Easter Sunday - A joyful festival celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. | ||
| When: | March 23, 2008; April 12, 2009 | ||
| What & Where: | Papal Address St. Peter's Square, Vatican City Major event that draws huge crowds |
Dance of the Devils and Death Prizzi, Sicily Dance recital symbolizing the attempts of evil to vanquish the forces of God |
Festa della Madonna che Scappa in Piazza Sulmona, Abruzzo, Italy A meeting between the Virgin Mary and the Risen Christ is reenacted |
| Festival: | St. Mark's Day - Feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist, author of the second gospel. | ||
| When: | April 25 | ||
| What & Where: | Festa di San Marco Venice, Italy St. Mark, patron of Venice, is commemorated by a gondola race across St. Mark's Basin |
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| Festival: | Festival of the Holy Robe - celebration of Trier's famous relic, the seamless robe worn by Christ on the cross | ||
| When: | April 28 | ||
| What & Where: | Dom St Peter Trier, Germany |
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| Festival: | Sagra Musicale Lucchese - festival of sacred music in Lucca | ||
| When: | April-July | ||
| What & Where: | Lucca, Tuscany, Italy Performances of sacred music in Romanesque churches |
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May-June |
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| Festival: | Festa di San Domenico Abate | ||
| When: | First Thursday of May | ||
| What & Where: | Cocullo, Abruzzo, Italy Includes a procession with a statue of St. Dominic covered with live snakes |
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| Festival: | Greek Drama in Theater | ||
| When: | May-June | ||
| What & Where: | Siracusa, Sicily Festival of Greek drama |
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| Festival: | Corpus Christi - Catholic holiday celebrating the Real Presence of the body of Christ in the Eucharist, instituted in 1264. | ||
| When: | May 22/25, 2008; June 11/14, 2009 (traditionally observed on Thursday, but some celebrate the following Sunday). | ||
| What & Where: | Infiorata Genzano, Lazio Procession through streets carpeted with flowers |
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| Festival: | Feast day of St. Andrew | ||
| When: | June 27 | ||
| What & Where: | Festa di Sant'Andrea Amalfi, Campania, Italy Fireworks and processions |
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| Festival: | Feast Day of St. Peter and St. Paul - joint patron saints of Rome |
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| When: | June 29 | ||
| What & Where: | Rome, Italy | ||
| Festival: | Saison Musique en l'Ile |
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| When: | End of June through August | ||
| What & Where: | Paris, France Founded in 1987, this festival of sacred music hosts choirs and vocal ensembles from around the world who perform in the churches of St Louis en L'Ile and St Germain des Prés. |
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July |
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| Festival: | Corsa del Palio | ||
| When: | July 2 | ||
| What & Where: | Siena, Tuscany, Italy Medieval flagwaving exhibition and horse race in the main square |
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| Festival: | Festa della Madonna della Bruna | ||
| When: | First Sunday in July | ||
| What & Where: | Matera, Basilicata, Italy Lively procession of clergymen and knights in costume |
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| Festival: | Festa dei Noiantri |
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| When: | Last two weeks of July | ||
| What & Where: | Rome, Italy Colorful festival in the streets of Trastavere |
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| Festival: | Opera Festival and Shakespeare Festival | ||
| When: | July-August | ||
| What & Where: | Verona, Italy Renowned opera festival overlapping with festival of music, drama and dance |
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| Festival: | Salzburg Festival |
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| When: | July-August | ||
| What & Where: | Salzburg, Austria Monthlong festival of music, mostly Mozart of course |
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August |
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| Festival: | Khao Vatsa - marks the beginning of the rainy season, when many young men enter Buddhist monasteries for three months | ||
| When: | August | ||
| What & Where: | Laos | ||
| Festival: | Festa dei Candelieri | ||
| When: | August 14 | ||
| What & Where: | Sassari, Sardinia, Italy Festival of the Candles, dating from the 16th century |
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| Festival: | Jewish Summer Festival |
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| When: | Last Sunday of August | ||
| What & Where: | Budapest, Hungary Founded in 1997, includes a book festival and film festival, as well as exhibitions, music and culture from klezmer to opera |
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| Festival: | Venice Film Festival |
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| When: | Late August-early September | ||
| What & Where: | Venice, Italy International film festival on the Lido attracting the biggest stars |
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September |
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| Festival: | Imilchil Marriage Feast | ||
| When: | August/September (depends on the harvest) | ||
| What & Where: | Imilchil, Morocco Up to 40 couples from two different Berber tribes tie the knot in one day, accompanied by a multitude of festivities |
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| Festival: | Ganesh Chaturthi |
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| When: | 7 days in September | ||
| What & Where: | Mumbai, India Thousands of processions converge on the beaches of Mumbai to immerse the holy idols in the sea, accompanied by drum beats, devotional songs and dancing |
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| Festival: | Sagra dell'Uva |
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| When: | Early September | ||
| What & Where: | Rome, Italy Harvest festival with grapes at bargain prices and folk entertainment |
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| Festival: | Festival of Catherine Segurane | ||
| When: | September 4 | ||
| What & Where: | Nice, France Festival in honor of a washerwoman said to have scared off the attacking Turks with her bare posterior in 1543. Her memory is honored with a mass in the Sainte Réparate Cathedral. |
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| Festival: | Festival of the Madonna of Piedigrotta |
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| When: | September 7-8 | ||
| What & Where: | Naples, Italy Procession, performances and masses in honor of the patron saint of sailors, whose image was found on a beach |
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| Festival: | Festival of the Black Madonna of Tindari |
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| When: | September 8 | ||
| What & Where: | Tindari, Sicily Masses in honor of one of the most famous Black Madonnas of Europe are held every hour from early morning to midnight, and the Madonna herself is taken out for a procession in the evening. At midnight the festivities end with a display of fireworks |
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| Festival: | Festa de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios |
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| When: | September 8 | ||
| What & Where: | Parati, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil A giant 19th-century cedarwood effigy of the village's patron saint (Our Lady of Cures), complete with precious jewels and a crown, is carried around the historic district. |
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| Festival: | Romaria de Nossa Senhora dos Remedios |
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| When: | September 8 and surrounding weeks | ||
| What & Where: | Lamego, Portugal Celebrated pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Cures at the top of the town of Lamego, approached by an elaborate Baroque stairway |
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| Festival: | Pere Laval's Day |
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| When: | September 9 | ||
| What & Where: | Port Louis, Mauritius Thousands of devotees flock to the shrine of the missionary Pere Laval, who fought against slavery and whose resting place is today still believed to have his miraculous healing powers |
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| Festival: | Procession of Our Lady of Tournai | ||
| When: | Second Sunday of September | ||
| What & Where: | Tournai, Belgium Procession through the town bearing the ornate trunk containing the Virgin's holy relics and a massive silver statue of the saint |
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| Festival: | Bhadra Purnima | ||
| When: | September – first full moon of month of Bhadrapad | ||
| What & Where: | Ambaji, Gujarat State, India Everyone flocks to their town temple for this festival in honor of the Goddess Ambaji |
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| Festival: | Festival of the Dead (Boun Khao Salak) | ||
| When: | Mid-September (days leading up to full moon) | ||
| What & Where: | Luang Prabang, Laos Families go to temples to make offerings for the deceased, and there is a colorful temple boat race |
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| Festival: | Monkey God Festival | ||
| When: | Mid-September | ||
| What & Where: | Sau Mau Ping Temple, Kowloon, Hong Kong In this strange and fascinating festival, a possessed medium recreates the Monkey God's ordeals by running barefoot over blazing charcoal and climbing a ladder of knives. |
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| Festival: | Miracle of San Gennaro |
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| When: | September 19 (also in May) | ||
| What & Where: | Naples, Italy A sealed glass vial purportedly containing the clotted blood of San Gennaro (St Januarius), is shown to thousands of Neopolitans in the Duomo di San Gennaro. As the container is held aloft during a solemn ceremony, the solid mass sometimes liquefies before everybody's eyes. |
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| Festival: | Festa della Nivola |
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| When: | |||
| What & Where: | Milan, Italy This festival features the surreal sight of the Archbishop of Milan riding a mechanical cloud to the top of Milan's Duomo to retrieve the Holy Nail from Christ's crucifixion. |
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November |
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| Festival: | St. Andrew's Week | ||
| When: | November 25-30 | ||
| What & Where: | St. Andrews, Scotland Festivals and events throughout the city, including a porridge cooking contest, and the only time each year to see the inside of the University, Masonic Lodge and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. |
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December |
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| Festival: | Psychic and Healing Fair |
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| When: | December (also February, April, June and August) | ||
| What & Where: | Glasgow, Scotland Fair at the Royal Concert Hall offering complementary therapies, psychic readings, and much more |
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| Festival: | Scottish Holistic Healing Festival |
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| When: | December (also April and July) | ||
| What & Where: | Edinburgh, Scotland Workshops and seminars in the Grand Freemasons' Hall on everything from Feng Shui to meditation and massage |
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| Festival: | Edinburgh's Capital Christmas |
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| When: | End of November to end of December | ||
| What & Where: | Edinburgh, Scotland Britain's biggest openair icerink is set up annually as part of Edinburgh's Capital Christmas festivities |
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