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European Festivals | European Travel Tips (June 2009)
Frequent European festivals celebrate every conceivable cultural event. A January highlight is the France Grand Parade. Several European artists from Poland, Belgium and Britain, as well as American marching bands, perform here. Sweden celebrates the Kiruna Snow Festival in January: they hold reindeer races and dog sled drifts. Artists create breathtaking ice sculptures. In February, it is time for Italy’s Viareggio Festival, an outrageous and colourful event on successive Sundays, sporting all manner of revelry, enormous puppets and fireworks. France contributes again with the well-known parades of the Nice Carnival on the Cote d’Azur. March marks Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin; it lasts for five days. Since this is the start of spring, Hungary holds its Budapest Spring Music Festival at this time as well. There are music, drama and dance performances and numerous arts exhibitions. Spain’s April Fair is marked by traditional dress, dance performances and parades for six days on end. At the end of April, the Netherlands holds a fascinating festival for lovers of the colour orange and, predictably, it is called the Orange Festival. It is punctuated by huge canal boat and street parties. By May, summer has arrived and the Vienna Festival in Austria is in full swing. It runs for five weeks and visitors are enthralled by performances of the arts, music, dance and theatre, in the magnificent venues the city has to offer. France’s now-famous Cannes International Film Festival also happens in May, as does the well-known Chelsea Flower Show in the United Kingdom. It is arguable the definitive garden and flower event. Greece’s Athens Festival in June might have been just another showcase for music, dance and drama, were it not for the fact that it is held in the breathtaking setting of the 2 000-year old Odeion outdoor theatre at the foot of the Acropolis hill. England’s Glastonbury Festival takes place at the end of June and is an enormous music event. There are several stages, each with a different music performance. July is a big month in Spain, when the annual Bull Running takes place in Pamplona. During this rite-of-manhood festival, six bulls are released into the streets every morning; take part, if you are brave enough! This also appears to be the month of Jazz. Three Jazz festivals take place in July: the Montreux International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Denmark. It is also a busy month in France, but for different reasons: Bastille Day is celebrated with parades, parties and fireworks and, of course, it is the time of the Tour de France. The Salzburg Festival is perhaps Europe’s most prestigious music and opera event and it takes place in Mozart’s hometown. It runs from the end of July through the whole of August. This is also the month when Spaniards go to town, literally, with 25 tons of tomatoes for the famous and very messy La Tomatina tomato food fight. If the Galway International Oyster Festival in Ireland does not sound too exciting, do not fear: Germany’s infamous festival of all that is beer, the Oktoberfest, starts in September already, and is an unforgettable experience. The October prize must surely go to France for staging the Salon du Chocolat, which is just that: a chocolate festival at the Port de Versailles in Paris. It might be cold by November, but this will not prevent the automobile-loving Brits from holding their Veteran Car Run from London to Brighton. Only pre-1905 cars need apply and it is an endearing celebration of vintage cars. December is Christmas time and sets the theme for most European festivals that happen this time of year. This holds true for Finland’s St. Thomas Christmas Market in Helsinki and the Danish Tivoli Gardens Christmas celebrations special event in Copenhagen.
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