Festivals

I stepped from my airport taxi into an undulating sea of travellers clutching sugar skulls, pan de muerto sweet buns and cheery wreaths of marigolds.  Met by a grinning skeleton with a purple feather boa, he handed me tumbler of smoky agave liquor mescal. 

Aquietude is cast over Murcia at around midday. The capital city, in the province of the same name, pinched between the trodden beaches of Almeria to the south and the heaving resorts of Valencia's Costa Blanca to the north, is dozing. Even the trees that line Paseo Alfonso X El Sabio, one of the sweeping pedestrianised avenues, seem in a state of repose. Al fresco cafe tables groan under the weight of chairs piled atop.

Between June and July the world’s best in body painting comes to Austria to exhibit their skills at the World Bodypainting Festival (WBF). Artist and their model(s) transform the mono chrome body into a colourful work of art in a mixture of photography, fashion, music, drama and dance.  Here you can see how body painting inspires the movies and visa versa. There are awards to be won such as the best Futuristic, Brush, Special Effects, Face Painting and many more.

The Boryeong mud festival was started in 1998 for the sole purpose of advertising the health benefit of Boryeong’s mud.  Fast forward to today and it has grown into one of the biggest festival on the summer festival calendar – in Asia. For one weekend in July the Daecheon Beach comes alive with revilers from all over the world to take part in this muddy but healthy festival.

Fuji Rock Festival Japan
The Fuji rock festival is held in Naba ski resort of Niigata it was founded by Masahiro Hidaka. It is now in its 14th year; Masahiro said it was inspired by a trip to Glastonbury. The festival is Japan’s largest outdoor festivals it attacks over 30,000 fans and is said to be the cleanest festival in the world, with round the clock recycling and round the clock cleaning (smash-uk.com/frf10).