Top 10 Summer Cultural Festivals

It's here! Summer is here! And with summer comes the slew of summer cultural festivals around the world. If you are going to be participating in, or attending a cultural festival this summer, make sure to send in a blog post of your experiences on the CultureBlog.

Here then is a list of the top 10 (as declared by the world council of super culturalistas) summer festivals to look out for in 2010:

1. Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington D.C., USA (June 24-28 & July 1-5)
The themes of this annual cornerstone event, which brings artists from various parts of the world to share their culture on the national Mall, are Mexico; Asian Pacific Americans; and Smithsonian Inside Out.

2. World City Music Village, London, UK (June 20 - July 11)
Europe's longest running festival of world cultures celebrates London's role as a hub for diversity with performances across London town.

3. International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven, CT, USA (June 12 - 26)

Featuring local and international artists and thinkers, the festival presents major world premieres, discussions about architecture, bike tours and much more, all with the aim of building community and advancing economic development.

4. The Dreaming Festival, Woodford, Australia (June 11 - 14)

This festival brings together indigenous artists from around the world, and features traditional and contemporary performances, rituals, films, workshops and more from Australia and abroad.

5. Fes Festival of World Sacred Music, Fes, Morocco (June 4 - 12)

This year's annual retreat in the ancient Moroccan city of Fes features artists as diverse as Ben Harper, the Dhafer Youssef Quartet of Tunisia and the Royal Ballet of Cambodia.

6. Cup of Cultures, Berlin, Germany ( June 11 - July 11)

The House of World Cultures in Berlin is transformed into an African soccer center for the World Cup, with match viewings and rooftop concerts, readings and performances.

7. The National Folk Festival, Butte, MT, USA (July 9 - 11)

The itinerant and oldest festival of American cultures ends its three-year run in Montana this July. This year enjoy Bluegrass, Tango, Hungarian Gypsy and many other art forms that have a home in the United States.

8. Bali Arts Festival, Bali, Indonesia (June 12 - July 10)

A full month of Balinese Gamelan and dance, new compositions, guest international performers, competitions between local village ensembles, and the most vocal audiences on earth.

9. Durban International Film Festival, Durban, South Africa (July 22 - August 1)

More than 300 films, including several premieres of South African, African and international films, screened across the city and in townships.

10. International Festival of Street Arts, Amiens, France (June 18 - 20)

Local street artists- clowns, actors, interventionists- host peers from the UK, Japan, Brazil, Burkina-Faso and more, as they take over and transform the streets of the small town of Amiens for a weekend.

What did I miss?

Nico-

Tags: Fes, Fez, Folklife, Smithsonian, cultural festivals, international artists, international festivals

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Comment by Nico Daswani on August 8, 2010 at 3:20pm: Hi Joan, sorry I misspelled both names! DramaOfWorks: http://www.createculture.org/profile/dramaofworks?xg_source=profile...

And Anurupa Roy: http://www.createculture.org/profile/AnurupaRoy?xg_source=profiles_...

Comment by Joan Schirle on August 8, 2010 at 3:02pm: I did a search on the site for both those names, but neither one came up---also looked for them under Culturalistas but couldn't find them....how do I search for a profile if not in the search box?
thanks!

Comment by Nico Daswani on August 6, 2010 at 4:45pm: Not sure Joan, but Anuruoa Roy and Gretchen Van Lente (Drama of Works), both here on Create Culture, will know-- please check out their profiles and get in touch

Comment by Joan Schirle on August 5, 2010 at 5:30pm: I have friends who are asking me where the best puppetry festival in Europe is--got any suggestions?

Comment by Hector Murrieta on July 21, 2010 at 9:02am: Nice, very interesting festivals!

Comment by Nico Daswani on June 26, 2010 at 8:55pm: what a cool addition, Karen!

Comment by Karen Demavivas on June 10, 2010 at 11:46pm: Love the list, especially the one on the streets of Amiens! C'est cool! Wish I could jump on a caravan and travel from town to town. Thought not exactly a festival, this one is certainly a very festive affair: The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market (July 9-11), which is partnered with the Museum of International Folk Art. It's apparently the largest of its kind in the world. Check it out: http://www.folkartmarket.org/.