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10 Can't Miss Parties in 2007
Sarah Gilbert December 6, 2006
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Let's face it: a party is a great excuse to travel. Getting swept up in the spirit of a rowdy festival can transform a fun jaunt into a legendary journey. Mexico is fine most any time, but why not visit during the surreal festivities of the Day of the Dead? There's nothing like celebrating with the locals.
We consulted with the party experts to uncover ten global festivals in the upcoming year which promise to be provocative, enlightening, and inebriating. Rather than run down the laundry list of obvious targets (Carnival, St. Paddy's, etc.) we decided to venture into more exotic territory. Some of these celebrations are famous (the Burning Man Festival in Nevada), some are cult favorites (The Festival of Sacred Music in Morocco), and some, we admit, are pretty out there (birthday festivities for Kim Jong-il, anyone?).
See our slideshow of the 10 can't miss parties of 2007.
"I think a lot of travelers are looking for almost pure escapism in a festival," says Martin Dunford, producer of the Rough Guide's new World Party, which reviews over 200 of the world's best festivals. "They want something to really take them out of their comfort zone and put them in a place quite unlike the one they inhabit at home."
• Dia De Los Muertos - Heading to Mexico the day after Halloween will certainly do that. The Mexicans party with their buried ancestors on Day of the Dead, a festival that may seem overly morbid to people who prefer to spend October 31 dressing up as fairies and munching on candy.
• Voodoo Festival of Souvenance -At Easter time in Haiti, the village of Souvenance hosts thousands of pilgrims faithful to the African gods the slaves brought to the Caribbean. Rather than handing out chocolate, white-clad voodoo devotees turn red with blood spilt from sacrificed goats and chickens, and there's partying in the streets with live music and plenty of rum.
• Holi -And if a trip to India is all about discovering a new reality, arriving in time for Holi will turn up the other-worldliness by several notches. The Holi festival is one of the great parties no fun-seeking globetrotter wants to miss, with Indians of all religious stripes getting into the spirit of spring by throwing colored powder water all over each other and drinking a pot-laced beverage called thandai.
• The Mass Games -The police state helpfully directs the party priorities of the North Korean people in the direction of their Dear Leader. For many of them, Kim Jong-il is not so much a power-crazed member of the Axis of Evil as a revered demigod. He gets his festival of public praise at the Mass Games, a display of synchronized gymnastics - not so much a chaotic letting-off-of-steam as a minutely coordinated Stalinist spectacle.
• Sagra dell'Uva -While Italy may be a Catholic country today, a few ghosts of the ancient Roman pantheon are still hanging around. Bacchus hits town each autumn to kick up his heels at the grape harvest. Most Italian villages celebrate the Sagra dell'Uva, a wine and food festival that often incorporates a religious procession. Marino, a hilltop town just outside Rome, hosts one of the best, with fountains in the town square spouting wine at the grand finale.
A full-on festival can totally transform a city and its citizens, and the atmosphere of freedom means travelers can often blend in more easily, feeling less like tourists. "You get to have your holiday when everyone locally is on holiday," says Dunford. "It's much more natural and inclusive."
• Queen's Day -To arrive in Amsterdam on a crisp spring morning, when outdoor cafés set atop stone bridges are crowded with locals and visitors, is to find a calm, car-free and civilized city that has the feel of a particularly sophisticated and cultured village. To arrive on the morning of 30th April is another matter entirely. The streets and waterways teem with orange-clad citizens and boats on the grachtengordel pump house music while revelers greet passing partiers with great alacrity. On Queen's Day, Amsterdam's usually cool and collected inhabitants go nuts, and an orange tee shirt or plastic wig is all you need to be part of it.
• Burning Man -Modern-day pagans get to worship at the altar of art at Nevada's Burning Man. It's a "happening" as well as a community that gathers each year in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada to build installations and theme camps around the concept of interactive and participatory art. The dirty word around here is "spectator," so don't show up without some creative object or performance to share.
Arts festivals are particularly popular with international travelers. Dunford says the best offer great local representation combined with a strong international presence. "Above all, though, they feature great venues," he says. "Often they'll use ancient theaters, open air venues, the street, and buildings not usually used as performance spaces."
• Festival of the Desert -Why get wet and muddy at Glastonbury when you can be lounging in a Saharan oasis at Mali's Festival of the Desert? A traditional nomad meeting has morphed into an international music festival that sees hipsters in jeans sway alongside turbaned nomads. Tourists spend hours traveling rocky and sandy roads from Mali's capital to hear French rappers, traditional Saharan music played by bands of local Tuareg people, and rock legends like Robert Plant.
For more festival suggestions, as well as some truly inspiring photographs, read on.
See our slideshow of 10 can't miss parties in 2007.
