Top 5 autumn festivals to attend

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As opposed to summer festivals which mainly focus on creating a fun and exciting mood through music and dancing, autumn festivals tend to be more varied. There are the staple harvest festivals, which still retain the original idea of autumn festivals, celebrating the bounties of nature.

That does not mean that an autumn festival is nothing more than stands of fruit and vegetables, quite on the contrary, because the concept of ‘harvest’ entails more than produce: there are beer festivals, wine festivals, food festivals, music and arts festivals and many others. So for October, clear your schedule and check out some of the amazing festivals on this list.

Oktoberfest

Many smaller German towns and cities have their autumn festivals, like Lubeck, Koblenz or Nussloch, but the Munich-bases Oktoberfest is the most representative German festival of them all. The festival lasts for 16 days on end, and it is a delight for all your senses.

You eat as much roast pork, pork knuckles, grilled fish on a stick, sausages and potato pancakes as you can, and douse it with generous amount of good, German beer. Small town beer festivals are swell, but you must go to the mother of all beer festivals at least once before you die.

Dia de los Muertos, Mexico

It might seem a bit morbid to make a festival out of a holiday honoring the dead, but in a strange way, the Day of the Dead in Mexico is one of the jolliest festivals you can find. The purpose of this festival is to celebrate life, so everything from streets to graveyards will be decorated with colourful bursts of flowers, calaveras (painted skeleton figurines), and temporary markets are installed to provide the necessary decorations. So enjoy the parades, the traditional dishes and the general joie de vivre permeating the cities.

New York’s Village Halloween Parade

Not really a festival but rather a parade and a night of revelry, this event is the most exciting celebration in New York during the autumn months. The parade stretches over a mile and draws about fifty thousand participants: dancers, artists, circus performers, floats and live bands.

The most amazing feature of this parade are the costumes, which are usually jaw-dropping. Anyone in a costume can join the march, and home-made costumes are usually the most unpredictable of them all. Hoardes of witches, aliens, book characters, animals and celebrities, plus a good dose of costumes which defy description, and lots and lots of fun.

Wigtown Book Festival, Scotland

wiNot all autumn festivals are wild and debauched, there are plenty quieter festivals as well, which will appeal to anyone interested in culture. The Wigtown Book Festival is organized every year in Scotland, and consist of 10 days of readings, exhibitions and debates where you might get the chance to meet your favourite author. Wigtown is the perfect setting for this festival, seeing as it’s Scotland’s National Book Town (because it’s simply chock full of used book shops).

Diwali, India

Diwali is one of the most important holiday in India, and it is celebrated by Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities around the world. Diwali is the festival of lights, when candles and fireworks are lit for five days, and the bonds between family and friends are strengthened.

During Diwali, people cram their homes with as many lights and candles as possible, wear new clothes, eat sweets, and generally celebrate the return of Rama after defeating the evil demon Ravana.

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TopTrips: Fall Festivals & Autumn Travel Highlights | Top Trips wrote on August 30, 2010:

[…] but you’re still not going to fit in wearing jeans and a tee. Get your Dirndl on…Read more> Top 5 Autumn FestivalsFrom Day of the Dead in Mexico to Diwali in India, autumn ushers in some of the most intense […]

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