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Rockland, Maine, USA
This year marks the 64th annual Maine Lobster Festival taking place in the historic fishing town of Rockland on the coast of Maine. Taking place in downtown Rocklandīs Harbor Park from August 3 to 7, 2011, over 20,000 pounds of fresh Maine lobster is served up for the enjoyment of locals and visitors. You can also expect parade floats, cooking contests, carnival rides, pancake breakfasts
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Clinton, Montana, USA
If youīre hungry for something exotic, head over to Clinton, Montana from August 3 to 7, 2011 during its famous Montana Testicle Festival. Taking place at the Rock Creek Lodge, events include wet t-shirt contests, hairy chest competitions, live music, and of course the festival highlight: copious amounts of breaded, deep-fried bullīs testicles. More than 15,000 people visit each year and consume over 2.5 tons of bullīs testicles.
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Kandy, Sri Lanka
Every year in the town of Kandy, Sri Lanka, the Esala Perahera festival – or the Festival of the Tooth – takes place. The festival is the largest Buddhist festival in the world and celebrates the Relic of the Tooth, located in Kandyīs Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic), which is believed to be the canine tooth of the Buddha. Various colourful parade processions including music, dancing, and elephants takes place over approx. two weeks. This yearīs festival begins July 31 and goes until August 14, 2011.
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Bunol, Spain
Not only is La Tomatina festival one of the most popular festivals in the world, but itīs also known to be one of the worldīs largest food fights. Itīs no wonder – what else do you expect when over 40,000 people throw over 150,000 tomatoes in the small town of Bunol? Taking place the last Wednesday of August, participants come to throw tomatoes – goggles are recommended – while some aim to take home the ham placed atop of a greased pole. The fight lasts for an hour from 11am to noon.
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Oulu, Finland
The very first Air Guitar World Championship Contest took place in 1996. The purpose of the championship is to 'promote world peace .. wars would end, climate change stop and all bad things disappear, if all the people in the world played the Air Guitar.' With a focus on showmanship, charisma, and costume, 7,000 to 8,000 gather to watch the show each year.
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Killorglin, Ireland
The Puck Fair is known as the oldest and longest-running fairs in Ireland. Every year, it is held on August 10, 11, and 12th in Killorglin in County Kerry. The first festival can be traced back to 1603 and although the legends of its origins have changed, the Puck Fair celebrates the goat and gives the community a good excuse to get together and celebrate its history and culture. From Irish dancing workshops to free shows/entertainment, craft fairs, folk music, and the crowing of King Puck, a wild goat caught from the mountains.
Similarly in Trie-sur-Braise in the French Pyrenees, Pourcailhade, the Festival of the Pig takes place to celebrate the pig– including a Pig-Squealing Championship.
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Grottaglie, Italy
During the first week of August in the village of Grottaglie in Puglia, Italy, European men (and women?) with the most outstanding facial hair meet for bragging rights at the European Beard and Moustache Competition. Any style, shape, or length of facial hair – beard or moustache – is eligible for entry. From the typical to the atypical (think facial hair art and overuse of styling product), thereīs also music and food for everyone else to enjoy.
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Memphis, Tennessee, USA
For all things Elvis, be sure to make your way to Memphis, Tennessee from August 10 to 16, 2011 for Elvis Week. Visitors and rabid Elvis fans come from around the world to celebrate the music, movies, and legacy of Elvis with special events taking place in and around Graceland Plaza. What to expect: Elvis Tribute Artists Contests, Graceland Trivia, an Elvis 5K Run, gospel singing, a candlelight vigil, and of course, bingo at the Elvis Presley Heartbreak Hotel.
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Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
Taking place from August 29 to Sept 5, 2011, the Burning Man festival is a weeklong event in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada. What started on a beach in San Francisco in 1986 to its now 48,000-participant event has always had its roots in creating an experimental community where people are free to express themselves via art, theme camps, clothing (or lack thereof), or any medium available to them. Every year on the Saturday evening of the festival, a wooden man is burnt – hence 'Burning Man' – a metaphor for life, passion, and radicalism.
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Edinburgh, Scotland
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is considered the worldīs largest arts festival and takes place over four weeks every August in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. This yearīs festival takes place from August 5 to 29, 2011 and will showcase arts and culture from Scotland and around the world, including theatre, comedy, dance, and music. The first Fringe took place in 1946 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival and remains a venue were experimental works can be showcased.
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Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
To a lot of places in northern Canada, October not only means the beginning of another long spell of cold weather and freezing temperatures – but in northern Manitoba, it means polar bear season. From late September through mid-October, the small town of Churchill is flooded with tourists who are there to see polar bears in their natural element – wandering around on the frozen tundra by the Hudson Bay, waiting for the ice to form. Bear-viewers hop on a tank-like 12-foot-tall tundra buggy and bear-watch with the help of a naturalist guide.
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Budapest, Hungary
New and old, classy yet bohemian, Budapest has a festival for everyone nearly every month of the year. One of the biggest is the Budapest Autumn Festival where contemporary art takes center stage across the city. This yearīs theme is 'Present Tense' and will feature film, photography, computer arts, video, theatre, music, dance, and stage productions. Artists from more than 12 countries participate in hundreds of venues, including public squares. The festival takes place this year from October 8 to 17, 2011.