The Italian Street Painting Festival

Only 25 minutes north of San Francisco at the historic Mission San Rafael Arcangel, hundreds of madonnari (street painters) transform the streets of San Rafael into a color-splashed gallery for 60,000 visitors each year on the second weekend in June.
Using chalk as the medium and asphalt as the canvas, artists create over 200 images in various styles and sizes. This feast for the eyes is complimented by entertainment on two stages and a wide variety of Italian fare.

Founded in 1994, the Youth in Arts festival is renowned as one of the finest street painting festivals in the world. The Festival is both a fundraiser and a gift to the community--a popular celebration of art, music and culture. Festival sponsors not only make this free event possible, but also help us provide programs for Marin students year-round.

At the close of the Festival on Sunday, the Pamela Levine Arts Education Leadership Award is presented to one or more community members who have done exemplary work in creating arts learning opportunities for Marin youth.

Robin Hood Festival

In honour of its most famous outlaw, Nottingham holds an annual Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest. Throughout the week visitors are entertained by jugglers and jesters, strolling minstrels and street theater performers, a falconer and experts in medieval combat.

The event kicks off in customary style with the Sheriff of Nottingham and his cronies attempting to put a stop to the event. No Robin Hood Festival would be complete without archery and, down by the Major Oak, costumed longbow archers are on hand in full costume to demonstrate their skills and give visitors a chance to test their prowess.

Madeira Island’s Flower Festival

The Flower Festival, that takes place in spring when the flowers are at their best, has been one of the major attractions for both tourists and locals for a long time. This enchanting festival with a parade and floats through the streets of Funchal exhibits and perfumes the air with a multiplicity of floral species of the island, spreading a fairy tale ambiance all over the city center. In every year’s edition each group presents their costumes accompanied with dances to a newly conceived choreography.

In the past few years a new addition was made to this event. At the 'Largo do Colegio' (Colegio Square) people will find the so-called 'Wall of Hope' – a wall where children place their own flowers with the objective of building a big flower wall symbolizing the hope for a better and more peaceful world.

As part of this event there are other activities like the making of flower carpets in the streets, awarding of prizes for the best-decorated shop window, performances of traditional music groups, a flower exhibition at the 'Ateneu Commercial'. classical music concerts and a number of variety shows.

Holland Festival, Amsterdam

Holland Festival is the Netherlands' largest international artistic festival established in 1947, and taking place each year in Amsterdam. It covers wide scope of cultural events from the fields of theater, opera, music and dance and additionally always brings interesting films and artistic shows. Its approach is anti-elitist but at the same time trying to show the current top. This gives an interesting choice of the newest and sometimes unknown events combined with already recognized artistic achievements. Holland Festival has usually one general theme like Oppression & Compassion. Holland Festival also aims at bringing artistic events which would be popular with wider public (as pop music concerts) and breaking the barriers between so called 'low art´ and 'high art´.'The future is with impure art´ - states its program. Holland Festival organizes interesting meetings, conferences and issues its own publications.

National Day of Kuwait

This is one of the most important national festivals of Kuwait, which reflects the true patriotic feeling of the Kuwaitis. National Day is celebrated on the 25th of February, which signifies the inception of Kuwait as a nation in 1961. The Kuwaitis wear national dresses on this day and also meet with their dear ones.

Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandha is a Hindu festival, which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. It is celebrated on the full moon of the month of Shraavana(Shravan Poornima).

The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her as she presents sweets to her brother. The brother and sister traditionally feed one another sweets.

It is not necessary that the rakhi be given only to a blood brother; any male can be "adopted" as a brother by tying a rakhi on the person, irrespective of whether he is cousin or a good friend. Indian history is replete with women asking for protection, through rakhi, from men who were neither their brothers, nor Hindus themselves.

The story of Rani Karnavati of Chittor and Mughal Emperor Humayun is the most significant evidence of this in history. During the medieval era, around the 15th century, there were many wars between the Rajputs, Mughals and Sultans. Rakhi at that time meant a spiritual binding and the protection of sisters was foremost. When Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of the king of Chittor realised that she could in no way defend the invasion of the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, she sent a rakhi to Emperor Humayun. The Emperor was so touched by the gesture, that he abandoned an ongoing military campaign to ride to her rescue.

The rakhi may also be tied on other special occasions to show solidarity and kinship (not necessarily only among brothers and sisters), as was done during the Indian independence movement.

Gasparilla Pirate Festival

The Gasparilla Pirate Festival is an annual celebration held in the city of Tampa, Florida. Held each year in late January and hosted by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the City of Tampa, it celebrates the apocryphal legend of Jose Gaspar (Gasparilla), supposedly a Spanish pirate captain who operated in Southwest Florida. The theme is an "invasion" by Gasparilla and his men, which begins when the "Krewe" (made up of residents of the city) arrives on a 165' long pirate ship, the Jose Gaspar, in Tampa Bay and land near downtown Tampa. The mayor of Tampa then lends the key of the city to the pirate captain and a parade ensues down Bayshore Boulevard, one of Tampa's major streets. The krewes throw beads, coins and other items while shooting blank pistols from floats during the parade. Krewe memberships are highly sought after in many social circles in Tampa, and many celebrate ethnic and cultural themes. The Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, the organization which founded and sponsors the parade, is the oldest krewe in Tampa, and among its most prestigious. Members of the many krewes that now participate spend a great deal of money on beads and floats.