Festival Season, World Wide

Where else in the world can you find festivals that celebrate nearly every ingredient of a common plate lunch? Home to the rice, shrimp, catfish, corn and crawfish festivals (to name a few) southern Louisiana has its fair share of celebrated events paying homage to the fruits of our land and waters. Our beloved Festival International De Louisiane unites unique cultures world-wide through music and performance art, and although you’d never have to venture too far from home to find yourself among other enthusiastic festival goers, there are many local and international festivals that are well worth a journey away from home.

Here is a shortlist of renowned festivals worth traveling for.

Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany.  

Oktoberfest is held annually in Munich, Germany and is a 16-18 day festival that usually begins late September and runs until early October. A celebration of Bavaria at its best, it is a beer lover’s dream come true.  

Today, the Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world; with some 6 million visitors who celebrate the Oktoberfest each year.

La Tomatina, Bunol, Spain.  

Held annually on the last Wednesday in August, a saucy city-wide food fight takes place in this otherwise sleepy town just 23 miles west of Valencia. Festival-goers assemble in the city center to enjoy local brews and to throw over ripened tomatoes at one another. As tradition goes, the tomato tossing can only commence once someone is able to climb up the lard-slathered pole in the center of town and take down the large ham that dangles from the top.  After that, it’s basically like Mardi Gras with thousands of parade goers watching as produce trucks drive through the town center releasing thousands of pounds of tomatoes into the streets for throwing!

Pop Montreal, Montreal ,Canada.

Late September will bring more than 400 bands to bars and bandstands in the diverse city of Montreal. Held primarily in the Mile End area, more than 50 venues across the city host an assortment of artists, and run the gamut from indie rock, folk, electro, hip hop, punk, R&B. The festival delivers a plethora of robust concerts, symposium discussions, artisan and visual art presentations, film screenings and even fashion shows. This year Pop Montreal will be held September 26-30th.

Pizza Festival Naples, Italy

This spicy summer event, held June 1-10, 2018 features pizza demonstrations, dough tossing competitions, and exhibits on the waterfront of Naples.  Over 50 historical Neapolitan pizzerias will participate, and over 500,000 visitors will attend, tasting over 100,000 traditional Italian pies.