1 . Food Festivals to Look Forward to This Summer

Taste of Park Ridge

11: 00 am to 10:30 pm, Thursday, July 13, in Uptown Park Ridge, 100 Summit Ave

There will be a variety of foods, including ice cream, Mexican foods, Filipino dishes, corn dogs, Indian and Nepali cuisine, pizza, cupcakes, barbecue, and more. Don’t miss the drinks and wine. Most importantly, there is Giant Turkey Leg Eating Contest at 2: 30 pm. Free.

Antioch Taste of Summer

4: 00 pm to 10: 00 pm, Friday, July 14, at the Antioch Bandshell

You will find the classic pub fare, Crazee Ice, and more, plus carnival (嘉年华) rides, games, sidewalk sales and crafters. Music from The Beach Bum Band is on at 7: 00 pm and themed musical light show at 8: 00 pm. Free.

Taste of Westmont

5:00 pm to 9: 30 pm, Sunday, July 16, on Cass Avenue in Westmont

It features local restaurant food vendors serving Thai, Mexican, and Greek foods, pizza, barbecue, and more. There will be carnival, craft show, kids’ activities, and a car show. Music from Tom Petty band starts at 6: 00 pm. Free.

Sugar Grove Corn Boil

5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Sunday, July 23, at Volunteer Park, Main Street

Wander among corn boil, and other tasty foods, craft show, and carnival while enjoying live music and fireworks. Car show starts from 3:00 pm. This attractive festival takes you to music from The Boy Band Night at 7:30 pm. Free bus service. Reserve tickets before availability.

5 . Four European Festivals You Don’t Want to Miss in 2023

Berck-sur-Mer Kite Festival

For over two decades,more than half a million visitors have come to watch the splendid display of kites flying over the seaside town of Berck-sur-Mer. Taking place every March or April,the festival sees giant dragons, whales, and various cartoon characters in the skies over the sandy beach. The festival also plays host to the International Kite Championships of the World every two years. During this time, experts from all over the world compete against the wind and each other.

Cannes Film Festival

Film lovers will no doubt want to head to the world’s most famous movie festival, the Cannes Film Festival. The red-carpet event was created by a French Minister of Education and Fine Arts. He wanted to establish an international cultural event in France to rival(与……抗衡)the Venice Film Festival. And it’s safe to say, he succeeded. More than 30, 000 professionals, such as directors, actors and actresses from all over the world attend the annual festival.

Menton Lemon Festival

Held over two weeks in February, the Lemon Festival celebrates all things concerning lemons in the city of Menton. More than 200. 000 visitors come to watch the colorful floats(花车)and sculptures created from lemons and oranges. During the daytime, parades of fruit-covered floats make their way through the streets as wind musicians and drummers entertain the crowd.

Nice Carnival

6 . China has named the nation’s first Mars rover (火星车) Zhu Rong. For all of us, Zhu Rong is a well-suited name.

In an ancient Chinese story, Zhu Rong had the face of a man and the body of an animal. H rode on two dragons.

When he had a big fight with Gong Gong, the god of water, Zhu Rong won. But after the fight, the human world came into complete darkness. Then he brought fire from heaven to the world.

“Zhu Rong is regarded as the earliest god of fire in traditional Chinese culture,” a space official said. “The first Mars rover was named Zhu Rong. The name symbolizes light and hope for space exploration in our country, and means to guide humans to continue exploration.”

After leaving the earth last summer, Zhu Rong circled Mars for several months and landed on it in May. In recent years, our country has sent up the world’s first quantum satellite (量子卫星), and Chang’e-4 has made a soft landing on the moon. We have made great progress in space technology and will soon start building our own space station.

7 . The Lunar Calendar (农历) Modern Chinese use the solar calendar (阳历) as English people do. But at the same time, they use their own lunar calendar. Each lunar year is given the name of one of these animals: the rat, the ox, the tiger, the hare, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the chicken, the dog and the pig. This list lasts for 12 years and then starts again.

Each Chinese month starts on the day of the new moon. And the full moon comes on the 15th day of the month. The New Year always starts between January 21 and February 20. On the last day of the lunar year, there is a big family dinner. All members of the family except married daughters try to be present at this meal, even they have to travel many miles to reach the home of their parents. Old quarrels are forgotten, and everybody is happy. After the dinner, the children keep awake to welcome the New Year.

The New Year celebrations last for 15 days, from the new moon to the full moon. On the first day , children and unmarried people go to visit their elders.

8 . Many are fortunate enough to travel and see different cultures. For those who have not yet seen other cultures, here are five things you can learn from other cultures.

New language

Although learning a new language has become simpler through apps or programs, nothing compares to learning a language in the place where it is spoken.     1     Communications with others in another country is also important.

Knowledge

You can read books and even eat food from other countries. But those experience will never compare to the knowledge gained by being in another country.    2     If you are unable to travel, pay attention to cultural events that allow you to increase your knowledge.

Unique (独特的) traditions

    3     A tradition in Mexico is Day of the Dead. The people of Mexico believe that each year, the souls of the dead return to visit their loved ones and celebrate just as they did when they were alive.

    4    

It can be hard to imagine what life would be like if we didn’t have the things we take for granted (认为理所当然) every day, such as reliable transportation, clean water, education and a home to live. Therefore, we should value what we have and that we are able to work to provide for ourselves.

We’re not so different after all.

If you have traveled to another country, the experience is probably completely new. But no matter how much our lifestyles may differ, we are all working toward similar goals in   life.     5     Next time you travel to a new country, discover not only the differences, but also the similarities.