Next week there will be plenty of fun to be had in Suhl, Germany, as the 15th annual European Furry Convention takes place at the Ringburg hotel from Aug 26th to 30th. Known as Eurofurence the event takes its name from the US event known as ConFurence, a event that spun off from sci-fi conventions in the late 1980s, but was dedicated to furry anthropomorphic creatures from a guy in a team mascot suit to cartoons of Buggs Bunny or similar. According to their website Eurofurence is the biggest annual European furry convention, an international gathering of people who share an extraordinary appreciation for anthropomorphic animal characters, so it sounds like plenty of fun. Check out their site below. Read the rest of this entry »
The 2009 Munich Oktoberfest kicks off on September 19th and celebrates the 176th year of the world’s biggest party. This year reservations are high, even the ‘Global Financial Crisis’ cant dampen the Oktoberfest spirit – so if you are planning to attend get in early and book your table, you don’t want to miss out. This year beer will cost between 8.30 and 8.60 euro a litre or Mass and there is bound to be about 7 million litres of it served, along with half a million chickens, 150,000 sausages, 60,000 pork knuckles and over 100 oxen. Construction of the huge tents are underway and this year there are some new rides and attractions making it bigger and more fun than ever. Some of the services stats are incredible with nearly 1000 toilets needed, 800 metres of urinals, 27 of Munich’s daily water use and 14% of their electricity. About half a million people are expected to attend every day of the 16 day event.
Burning Man is only a few months away and a new doco about the massive festival is just about out too. Called Dust and Illusions, the documentary traces the history of the festival that has grown from 20 people in 1986 on a San Francisco Beach to almost 50,000 people in the Black Rock Desert last year. If you can’t get to the festival make sure you check out the doco (the film’s trailer is above). Read the rest of this entry »
With new years eve only a few days away we thought we would take a look at some of the celebrations around the world the week on tripandom. One of the most famous new year events is the Times Square Ball Drop where a large ball is dropped down a pole in a similar way as a time ball was once used to alert sailors of the time. The Ball Drop dates back to 1907 and has since become one of the most watched new year events around the world with the event televised across the USA and making the evening news in many other counties. Up to a million people go to watch the ball drop each year creating a bit of a crowd control issue for police in the areas around Times Square.
The Christkindlesmarkt or Christmas Markets are in full swing in Germany and the biggest of them all is in Nuremberg where more than 2 million people flock to the Hauptmarkt to buy their goods from the more than 150 stalls. The stalls run for about a month, and close Christmas eve and are one of Europe’s most magical experiences. Snow, bud lights and beautifully decorated stalls, and not forgetting some great gifts. Crafts,wooden toys, ornaments, seasonal foods like gingerbread, Christmas cake and of course the warm Christmas wines. The markets are held in quiet a few centres around Germany including Munich,Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Berlin other European centres like Toulouse France, Salzberg in Austria and even Leeds in London and Birmingham have their own. Chicago and many US cities have them too. Read the rest of this entry »
When Halloween rolls around in Orlando, all of the amusement parks tend to get a little bit scary and gory for little eyes and ears. So, you can find it comforting to know that there are numerous activities that aren’t SO scary throughout the Orlando and Central Florida area for your family to have fun with! Walt Disney World, and SeaWorld Adventure Park, are just two of the parks offering Halloween options for little ones and those not wanting to get scared. Read the rest of this entry »
The festivals are starting to kick of in Germany, and one of the premier events is the Stuttgart Cannstatter Volkfest. It’s Stuttgart’s answer to Munich’s Octoberfest and last year attracted over 4 1/2 million visitors and over half of them from outside Stuttgart. Now in it’s 163rd year the festival runs from the 26th of September until the 12 of October and is fun for the whole family. There are some great carnival rides and attractions plus plenty of beer, in fact over on million litres of beer is served during the festival and over 700,000 meals. This year the festival has a mascot, he is WasenHasi, who is a cute little bunny, the soft toy market is going to go crazy because he is so cute. Some of the huge tents this year include Grandls hofbrau Zelt, Stamer Hof, Furstenberg Zelt and Schwaben Brau Festireli. The festival takes up a huge 68,000 square metres and is open daily from lunch time to midnight.
Halloween Horror Nights seems to be this country’s best kept secret when it comes to Halloween festivities. It is a huge local event at Universal Studios Orlando, as well as Universal Studios Hollywood. Thousands of horror fans are drawn in to this annual event. Now in its 18th year, it is said to be scarier than ever!
Every year around February tens of thousands flock to New Orleans to let their hair down and party at the annual Mardi Gras celebrations. People come to watch the parades which feature amazing floats which are the centrepiece of the carnival. Although you need to be in the Crescent City during the Mardi Gra to soak up the unbelievable atmosphere, visitors can see some of these beautiful floats all year round. Just over the mighty Mississippi from the city in Algiers is The Blaine Kern Mardi Gras world. Here dozens of the amazing floats and costumes are on display in all their glory. Some are huge there’s the 140 foot long sea monster Levithan and an even bigger 240 odd foot long Captain Eddies SS Endymion which includes tens of thousands of tiny fibre optic lights. Blaine Kern has been making parade floats for over 60 years, and the company even makes floats for some other cities and even Universal Studios where they are used in their Florida theme park’s street parades. Visitors to Mardi Gras world will see how these magnificent sculpture and figures are produced by very talented artists and trades people. Mardi Gras world is a must for anyone visiting beautiful New Orleans Read the rest of this entry »
This week His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and thousands of visitors from all around the world have flocked to Sydney to be part of the World Youth Day celebrations and one of the major locations for the celebrations was Barangroo on the Northern edge of Darling Harbour, offering spectacular views of one of the world’s most scenic cites. Over the coming years Barangroo will be come an extension to the growing city and the Darling Harbour leisure precinct. Darling Harbour is a huge recreational precinct stretching nearly the whole length of the city. Packed with restaurants, shopping, hotels and apartments the area has many of Sydney’s premier attractions including the Star City Casino, The IMAX, Sydney Aquarium, National Maritime Museum and the magnificent Powerhouse Museum, plus many conference and convention centres like the Sydney Exhibition Centre, Convention Centre and Sydney Entertainment Centre. The Precinct is also the gateway to Sydney’s vibrant Chinatown, Australia’s largest. Darling Harbour is linked to the city with a monorail, a light rail system and plenty of watercraft which travel to all parts of Sydney’s magnificent harbour. Read the rest of this entry »
