Film festival, carnivals and cultural events around the world that beg you to travel this year and we have them all lined up here…
Sundance Film Festival (January 24 – February 3)
This one is for film buffs. Park City in Utah, USA will turn into a large film ground with the onset of the annual Sundance Film Festival. Described as the ultimate gathering of original storytellers and spectators seeking newer voices and fresher perspectives, the annual winter event will include dramatic and documentary features and short films, series and episodic content and New Frontier. Spectators can also be a part of the daily filmmaker conversations panel discussions and experience live musical events. This year’s Festival will comprise 112 feature-length films representing 33 countries and 45 first-time filmmakers.
Carnevale Di Venezia (February 16 – March 5)
It’s carnival time in Italy’s Venice, with masquerade parties and food fiestas altering the very fabric of everyday life. The Carnevale Di Venezia will open the floodgates of fun for visitors from around the world, to soak in the ambience of mystery and magic that participants in costumes, dating back to 18th century, will weave as they wander the streets. The start of the carnival will be marked by Festa Veneziana, when beautifully lit structures will float along the Rio di Cannaregio waterways. On the Carnival agenda is the Festa Delle Marie, a re-enactment of a traditional Venetian beauty contest; Official Venice Carnival Dinner, and Best Mask Contest, among a host of others.
Rio Carnival (March 2 – 9)
On the popularity chart, the Rio Carnival does top the list. It is believed to the biggest and the most impressive one in the world, attracting around a million people to the animated sounds of the Samba. The yearly party is celebrated in a true Brazilian style with the revelry spreading all over Rio streets. The 2019 event will feature over 400 parties and the parade will have floats and adornments to keep spectators on the streets to enjoy the spectacle. The highlights of the carnival are performances from Rio Samba schools, which will be in action all through the week-long event. The entire event is a joint effort of the Rio community.
Snowbombing (April 8 – 13)
For the biggest party on the snow in Europe, the destination to visit is Mayrhofen in Austria. This annual six-day event is a festival of snow sports and musical thriller, with a line-up of diverse music presented on the slopes Mayrhofen ski resort. It will showcase more than a hundred acts at some of the most unique venues, like pop-up butcher’s shop parties, igloo raves, enchanted forest parties and Austria’s largest fancy dress street party, among others. On the 2019 agenda are sets from Stormzy, The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, Andy C and Bicep.
Songkran (April 13- 15)
Songkran is just what the travel doctor would have ordered for all those who have Thailand on their travel bucket list. Locals gear up for Songkran, the Thai celebration of New Year, which is also known as the water festival. Celebrants use water in a ritual of washing away negativity from the year as well as bad luck and sins from one’s life. While tradition marks the advent of the New Year, in big cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the festivities turn to street parties and fun water fights. One of the most famous street parties of Bangkok is Silom, which covers 4kms of the street and involves thousands of people in water fights.
Comic Con International (July 18 – 21)
Come July and San Diego Convention Center in California will be beckoning all comic con fans. The comic-con franchise has been growing since its inception in 1970, with this year’s edition including a giant exhibit (460,000sqft), film screenings, the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and a host of hands-on workshops and educational and academic fixtures. The four-day event is known to attract thousands of participants from across the world, bringing together comic creators, science fiction and fantasy authors and film and television directors and producers. Downtown San Diego will also be hosting satellite events, including games, anime and the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival.
La Tomatina Festival (August 29)
If a festival can spell revelry and unmitigated fun, it is, by all counts, the La Tomatina Festival, the one-day event that turns the Spanish town of Burnol near Valencia into a red sea of tomatoes. Described as the ‘World’s biggest food fight’, the Festival, held on the last Wednesday of August, every year, will bring in more than one hundred metric tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes onto the streets. However, tickets to the event are limited to 20,000 owing to the lack of space to accommodate all visitors to the place.