Festivals are an organisational nightmare, but a fan’s annual dream and across the globe there are more festivals than you can shake a stick at. So for the avid traveller - or plain old festival addict - I have come up with what you should be checking out during the first week of April.
Semana Santa (Holy Week)
Festival-goers
When: Easter Week
Where: Antigua, Guatemala and Seville - Spain
What: We know that Easter week brings oodles of joy all across the work, but there’s no doubting that the Spaniards get slightly more into the festivities than other parts of the world.
There are parades galore as the cities inhabitants pay homage to Christ and the sacrifice he made for us; usually in the form of huge parades and floats bearing all manner of tributes of the Virgin Mary and Christ.
Not exactly the greatest day out for those Atheist's amongst you, but it’s always a great adventure watching the massive floats parade around the streets for hours on end,; but if you want to cut the parades and just enjoy the ‘best bits’ be sure to hang around outside a local church as the exit or entry of the floats is always something to be marvelled at.
World Marbles Championships
When: Good Friday
Where: The Greyhound, Tinsley Green, England.
What: Now I know most of you would run a mile at the idea of heading down to a marble championship, and I don’t blame you, but come on, wouldn’t you love to just try it once? Yes, I know you do!
Basically, once a year, the car park of The Greyhound is turned into the Wembley of marbles as 140 participants battle it out for the chance to be crowned the winner - and obviously for the glory of telling everyone that he clearly hadn’t lost his marbles…
What else?
Golden Mask Festival
When: Throughout April
Where: Moscow, Russia
What: They don’t have know how to have a good old knees up in Russia - especially due to the gallons of Vodka they churn out every year - so if you’re in the vicinity you might want to check out this little bundle of fun by Russia’s premier drama, opera, dance and musical performers, all cumulating in a lovely awards ceremony.
Carnival Des Soufflets
When: First weekend in April
Where: Bellows Festival, Nontron, France.
What: Now this is something I wouldn’t mind getting involved in, well, provided I had some foxy underwear and was surrounded by hot men.
Every year the townsfolk of Nontron use bellows to blow air up each others night shirts in the hope of blowing away all the evil spirits. Now I’m not really convinced that evil spirits lie up there… I think it’s the beer goggles that lead to the evil finding it’s way into my nightshirt…
Perhaps we should blow away the pub landlords instead…?
One World Unity Party
When: Easter
Where: Rustler’s Valley, South Africa
What: It’s not quite festival season in the UK yet, so for those of you who are already itching to got for days without a shower and looking like you’ve been dragged through a very smelly hedge backwards, you might want to check out this music festival set in a stunning valley in Africa.
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison