3 . Live at Leeds Festival, United Kingdom

A weekend of indie music taking over Leeds for one day in May, Metronomy, Sundara Karma and Tom Grennan will headline, but there’s a focus on the city’s newer bands, with the festival aiming to bring new artists into the spotlight. Events take place across the city, with wristbands giving you access to all the places. And to go to this festival, you need to be over 14 years old.

Time: 4 May, 2019

Midnight Sun Film Festival, Finland

Almost a hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, Sodankylä is where Finnish film director brothers Aki and Mika Kaurismäki rock up every summer for their Midnight Sun Film Festival, a five-day-and-night celebration of new cinema. A mix of silent films, contemporary Finnish ones, recent festival hits and box-office classics are screened around the clock.

Time: 12 - 16 June, 2019

Fuji Rock Festival, Japan

The first ever Fuji Rock Festival was held at the bottom of Mount Fuji back in 1997 and has brought in music and rock fans from all over the world. The festival is now held in the Naeba Ski Resort and is celebrating its 23th anniversary this year. The artists who perform aren’t all rockers. Your wristband has to be checked at the entrance. We offer facilities for children, but they can’t be left unaccompanied.

Time: 26 - 28 July, 2019

The White Nights Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia

The White Nights Festival is held at the city’s famous Mariinsky Theatre and shows some of the world’s best opera and ballet. It’s the best time to visit St. Petersburg because it’s held during the magical summer period when there’s almost 24 hours of sunlight a day.

Time: 11 May - 31 July, 2019

4 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.

On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.

Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.

We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.

Each summer, this influential dance center presents a number of classes and performances by more than 50 companies from around the world. Highlights (最精彩的部分) this season include the Dance Theater of Harlem’s production of Alvin Ailey’s “The Lark Ascending”, which opens the festival.

Many events are free. Ticketed performances start at $22. jacobspillow.org.

This area is better known for mountain biking than for music. But since 1992, it has hosted a private festival that brings classical, jazz, Latin and other types of music to the land. This year there will be 16 concerts, including three “Grotto Concerts”, where guests take a 45-minute boat ride down the Colorado River to performances.

Events start at $25. moabmusicfest.org.

There’s something for everyone at this 117-year-old festival, from an “Indian village” and Old West museum to country concerts. But the competition is still the main attraction, with cowboys and cowgirls competing for major money in the world’s largest outdoor stage.

Competition tickets start at $18, and concert tickets at $23. cfdrodeo.com.

Each summer, opera lovers from around the country (and the world) travel to upstate New York to watch productions that include stars like Nathan Gunn and Ginger Costa-Jackson. This year’s performances include Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” and Verdi’s “King for a Day”, in honor of the 200^th birthdays of both composers (作曲家).

Tickets start at $26. glimmerglass.org.

7 . The “24 solar terms” (节气) originated and was first used in China. It was created thousands of years ago on the basis of practical needs of agricultural. Ancient Chinese people used it to guide agricultural production, explain special climate signs and even come up with healthy living tips. Last year, the 24 solar terms was added to UNESCO's world cultural heritage list(联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产名录). Now, it has been brought to life thanks to a creative designer from Southwest China's Guizhou Province.

On the eve of this year's Qingming Festival, Shi Changhong released (发布) his version of reproduced and packaged characters for each solar term in the form of “moving art” of gifs. Since their first release on Zcool on March 29, the gifs have won great praise among the general public and quickly flooded the social media with millions of hits during the festival period.

To maximize publicity, Shi released his work in three forms: the video, the animation and pictures. The background sounds add to the brilliance.

“When I watch the short video, I can strongly feel the Chinese-style elements hidden in it. And it is really cool to liven up traditional Chinese culture in such a unique way.” WeChat user Xiao Feifei said.

“It is really a comfort to me to see so many people like my latest work. To be honest, it would really surprise me if the work had not aroused great interest among Chinese people. The 24 solar terms is a deeply rooted concept that covers the essence of Chinese wisdom. However, only a small portion of people know all the names or the correct order of those terms. My intention is to increase Chinese people’s self-awareness to learn more about our traditional fine culture. Actually, the 24 solar terms work is only a part of my whole design program ‘Charm China’, which I started a year ago.” Shi told China Daily.

8 . Festivals are a great way to experience a destination in a different way. Whether you are looking for a unique cultural difference or the experience of sheer joy, there is something here for everyone in this article.

St. Patrick's Day

Dublin, Ireland & New York, the USA, March 17th

It has been a cultural and religious celebration held in memory of the death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland, since 1762. On that day, the whole city turns green and many Irish make traditional bread. It is also one of the most fun days of the year, when the whole city turns into a big green party.

South by Southwest (SXSW)

Austin, the USA, March

Founded in 1987, SXSW has been praised by music fans and the media worldwide as one of the top 10 music festivals in the world. It is not only a music feast but also dedicated to the integration of technology and films. You can also enjoy free food, drinks and music. Sounds good?

King's Day

Amsterdam, Netherlands, April 27th

King's Day may well be the best party in Holland and Amsterdam turns a very bright color of orange on April 27th. People celebrate King Willem Alexander's birthday with music, street parties, flea markets, and fun fairs. The king himself travels through the country with his family.

Just for Laughs

Montreal, Canada, July 14th—30th

For comedy lovers there is no other festival in the word better than Montreal's Just for Laughs. The festival concentrates most of its shows in the Latin Quarter. During the day street performers delight the crowds and at night the city comes alive with comedy all over the city.

9 . In the long history of about 5,000 years, numerous Chinese traditional festivals were celebrated in memory of gods or some significant days, some of which are passed down from generation to generation and people always practice special traditional activities in each festival.

Qingming Festival

Qingming Festival is on the 15th day after Spring Equinox, round April 4 or April 5 every year.     1     They remove the weeds growing on the ancestors’ tombs to make them clean, so this festival is also called Tomb-sweeping Festival. In some areas, people are forbidden to use fire to cook food, so they only eat cool food.

Double Ninth Festival

    2    The Chinese character of September is the same as 9, so we get this special name. Chinese people, especially the north Chinese, climb the mountains to the peak to enjoy the wonderful scenery, and admire the beauty of chrysanthemum.

Winter Solstice(冬至)

Winter Solstice is on around December 22 or 23 of solar calendar each year. From Winter Solstice on, the daytime will be longer and longer.     3     In the northern region, people eat dumplings and wonton(馄饨), while in the southern region rice balls.

    4    

In China, this festival is in late January or early February, the last day of the Lunar year. People celebrate it by having a family reunion dinner, setting off fireworks and staying up late. Breaking the dishes and bowls is a thing all the people scare, but if you did it, you have to say: “sui sui ping an”.     5    

10 . Chinese New Year has been welcomed in Britain with its biggest ever program of events and celebrations.

From London's Trafalgar Square to major cities across Britain,tens of thousands of British people have joined Chinese communities to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. In Manchester there was a Dragon Parade(舞龙表演）,led by a very impressive 54-meter long dragon,ending in Chinatown where there was traditional Chinese entertainment, more than 6, 000 lanterns,street food villages and a fireworks show. Celebrations also took place in Liverpool, Birmingham, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle.

Academic Dr Wu Kegang said that the Chinese New Year event in Britain “is now bigger than ever and it is growing every year”. When Wu arrived in Britain 26 years ago from Guangdong,the first thing he noticed was that Chinese New Year was celebrated mainly in towns and cities with big Chinese communities. “You would go to London Chinatown and join your countrymen to celebrate, or to Chinatowns in places like Liverpool and Manchester for events almost only held for Chinese people, ”Wu recalled.

“Now it is so different, and we are seeing local communities all over the country taking part alongside their own Chinese populations, ” he said. “It is clear to me that the celebrations will continue to grow in Britain. Chinese New Year has earned its place in the calendar of events in Britain,and is here to stay. ”