3 . We asked our readers to vote for the top events across six categories: music, general food, specialty food, film, cultural and emerging industries (founded in the past five years). These are some of the winners:

Kutztown Folk Festival

The nine-day Kutztown Folk Festival is the nation’s oldest continuously operated folk life festival, drawing visitors from around the globe. A celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and heritage, the event includes America’s largest quilt sale, 200 craftsmen and folk artists, local food and family-friendly entertainment.

Water Lantern Festival

The Water Lantern Festival is all about connections. Magical nights in cities across the US include food, live music and the beauty of thousands of lanterns decorated with letters of love, hope and dreams floating on the water.

Carnaval of Quebec

The Quebec Carnaval is a 10-day festival of winter, the world’s largest, complete with night parades, ice skating, snow sculptures and a towering ice palace. Other highlight include ice canoe racing, a sugar shack and iconic Caribou drinks.

San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade

San Francisco has celebrated its Chinese heritage during its annual Chinese New Year Festival&Parade since just after the Gold Rush. The parade ranks among the best in the world, with 100 units, fancy costumes, fireworks and a 268-foot Golden Dragon, which takes a team of 100 men and women to march through the streets. It has become one of the largest events of its kind in the world, drawing some three million spectators and television viewers.

4 . Known locally as sakura, the cherry blossoms in Japan are popular with both locals and tourists alike. For the Japanese, sakura hold much cultural and historical significance that goes deeper than their obvious beauty.     1    

Sakura are usually only in full bloom(盛开) for about one week.     2     The flowers are so small and round that when they eventually start to fall, it’s almost like watching snow fall from the skies.

The specific time of the cherry blossom season varies from region to region each year. Luckily, the Japanese Meteorological Corporation(日本气象厅) has done all the work.               Each year it posts forecasts of when the blooming will begin in each region.     3    They also depends heavily on temperature patterns.

    4     There are a number of celebrations, so you’re likely to find a hanami party wherever you go. What makes up a hanami party, besides sakura viewing, is eating and drinking. Groups of people will set up camp in a park and have a picnic under the trees. Some bring home-cooked meals, some make food on the go and others buy pre-prepared food.     5