The 31st annual MayDay Parade and Festival will be Sunday, May 1, 2005 beginning at 1:00 p.m.  In the Heart of The Beast Puppet and Mask Theater's MayDay Parade and Festival is eagerly anticipated by thousands who flock to the parade route and ceremony site to join this joyous spring ritual. For many, this is the highlight of the year, as they donate countless volunteer hours needed to bring beautiful and fantastic puppets and floats to life.

Held on the first Sunday in May, MayDay is a testament to community.  Immense joy is generated as thousands of people work towards a common, energetic purpose.

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater's Website

More than an event. More than a month. Memphis in May: a state of mind, a month-long revelry celebrating the indigenous charms of Memphis—and a different honored country each year. It’s cultural exchange at its best.

Memphis in May hosts the city's largest events like the Beale Street Music Festival, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Sunset Symphony. Memphis in May also produces extensive education, international, and economic programs for the city.

Memphis in May Official Website

The Feast of San Roque street festival dates back to the 18th century, when the people of Valenzuela first gave thanks to their patron saint, San Roque. Women from the various barangays (neighbourhoods) of the town come together to dance in a street procession which lasts all day and night.

Legend has it that if a girl wishes to find a boyfriend or a husband she must join the street dance before her wish is granted by San Roque. Thus, this Saint's Day serves to separate the girls who are looking from those who are already taken, making it much easier for the boys to choose their girl! Inevitably then, the procession of dancing ladies is the cause for great excitement and the atmosphere is always buzzing.

Philippines Tourism

The Bay to Breakers race was born six years after the 1906 earthquake as a way to boost the city's battered spirits, and has endured long after the scars of shaking and fire have disappeared. A showplace for the city's irrepressible color and its affection for eclectic traditions, Bay to Breakers is today one of the most beloved civic festivals.

Over the years, the race has mushroomed in size: popular enthusiasm for running in the 1980s pushed race participation to 110,000 by 1986 - making that year's race the world's largest footrace, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Although runners come from across the country and around the world, the race is still a typically San Franciscan marriage of the philanthropic (proceeds benefit a host of worthy local organizations) and the bizarre (airborne tortillas) - a true reflection of life between the breakers and the Bay

Official Bay to the Breakers Website

Monument Valley is a world class destination decorated with iconic rock formations. In the warm light of sunrise and sunset , it comes alive like no other location on the planet. Towering sandstone monoliths rise from the valley floor standing like sentries against dramatic Arizona skies. It is a location ideal for landscape photography. A full day and a half will be spent with a Navajo guide allowing us to visit locations not otherwise open to the public.

Arches National Park presents some of the most dramatic topography in Utah. It houses the densest concentration of sandstone arches found anywhere in the world. Sculpted by wind and rain, the dramatic formation of Delicate Arch has graced calendars, postcards and numerous other products. Other photographic destinations within the park that rival it for its beauty will also be visited.

Russ Burden Photography

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Set sail for breathtaking views and unforgettable adventure on the legendary waters of the Mediterranean Sea May 14-21,2005, Popular Photography & Imaging magazine and pro-photographers Rick Sammon and Jack Reznicki, will guide you on an extraordinary tour of Europe's most intriguing and colorful port cities. From the Roman ruins of Savona to the great Alhambra Palace in Granada and architectural splendors of Barcelona, you'll follow in the footsteps of gods and heroes while photographing and indulging in the flavor of these famous, historic cities, once visited by Napoleon himself. Join Popular Photography & Imaging magazine and its team of experienced photographers and adventurers as we board the Swan Hellenic cruise ship Minerva II to capture Europe's most vibrant and tantalizing cities and to navigate the romantic and haunting Mediterranean Sea.

Experience the Mediterranean and it's ports like a true pro photographer. All you have to do is shoot and we will take care of the rest. Our expert location and production team has arranged for exclusive photo ops, special private access passes and permits, dramatic props and models and unique portrait shoots!

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Every year an incredible spectacle takes place in the little town of Gubbio. Three teams of 18-20 fit men assemble amidst complex ritual procedures and much revelry in order to race carrying three heavy wooden statues on palanques up through the city to the Cathedral on top of Monte Ingino.

The statues, five metres tall and weighing in excess of 400 kilos, represent three saints of the city: San Ubaldo, the patron saint of the city, San Giorgio, patron saint of merchants, and San Antonio, patron saint of farmers. The result of the race is preordained - San Ubaldo wins every year, but the contestants put up a vigorous sweaty "fight" anyway. The ritual race is surrounded by an incredible festive spirit, and the various trappings, decorations and ceremonies are full of life.

The origins of this strange and exuberant ritual are shrouded in mystery: the most popular theory links the festival to the patron saint of the city, San Ubaldo Baldassimi, a bishop who died in 1160 and whose remains are still kept in the local cathedral, minus three fingers which were apparently chopped off as a religious souvenir by his manservant. Dissenting scholars argue that it is rather a pagan celebration of Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest, appropriated by the Church in recent times.

Whatever the origins of the ritual, it is clearly a baroque and syncretistic practice, with its roots in many places: some of the little boys who ride the horizontal ceri on the first Sunday of May when they are taken out to be shown wear a fez, and no women are allowed to touch the oversized looming wooden cylinders carried by the men.

Other noteworthy attractions of the city include the Fontana dei Matti in Via dei Consoli, the "Fountain of the Mad" which is reputed to drive anyone who walks around it three times completely bonkers. Don't blame us, we warned you!

Official Corse dei Ceri Website (Italian)

This festival in the farming town of Fruita in western Colorado commemorates a freak chicken-slaughtering accident in 1945.

When local man Lloyd Olsen went out to fetch a rooster from his barnyard for dinner, he was careful to aim his blade to leave a generous portion of neck meat for his visiting mother-in-law. So generous, in fact, that even though he chopped off the head of the rooster in question, he failed to kill it. Retaining just enough brain stem to carry on scratching, preening and clucking, Mike the Headless Chicken lived for 18 months, amazing doctors, barnstorming side shows from Atlantic City to San Diego and even making the pages of Time magazine.

Come to beautiful Fruita, Colorado and enjoy – eating contest, chicken receipe contest, a car show, great music and "chicken dance" contest, more chicken, the 5K “run like a headless chicken”, chicken games which includes "chicken bingo", "Mike's" market (probably the only place in the world you can get chicken noodle soap)…GREAT FAMILY FUN!

Visit Fruita Website

Every year, barefoot villagers of Ayia Eleni near Serres, and of Langada near Thessaloniki, get themselves worked up into a trance before walking over hot coals. It's all in honour of Saints Helen and Constantine, although the tradition of Anastenaria dates back to pagan times.

Those celebrating the Anastenaria are descendants of refugees from Eastern Thrace who arrived in Greece in the 1920s. Each village community of Anastenarides is headed by a "group of twelve" (largely women) who gather in the konaki, which houses the special icons of Saints Constantine and Helen. These are draped with large red kerchiefs (simadia), which are believed to possess the power of the icons.

On the eve of the feast of Saints Constantine and Helen the Anastenarides gather in the konaki, and work themselves into a trance-like state through hours of devotional dancing. They believe that during the dance they are "seized" by the saints. The next day, a ritualistic sacrifice of animals takes place.

After lunch the Anastenarides gather again and resume their dancing. A candle is lit from one of the oil lamps in front of the icons, and is used to light a bonfire. When the wood burns, coal is spread down. Initially the Anastenarides dance barefoot around the hot ashes, but when the saints moves them, individuals run across the burning coals. Sometimes devotees kneel down beside the fire and pound the ashes with the palms of their hands. This continues until the ashes are cool.

During the next two days, the Anastenarides process around the village visiting each house in a counter-clockwise direction. On 23 May they conclude with a second dance over the fire, although this one is in private and not for tourists to gawp at.

Greek National Tourism Organization

The Catholic festival of Corpus Christi is celebrated all over Spain with processions, mystery plays and a wide variety of popular celebrations. The strangest is probably in Castrillo de Murcia - the Baby-Jumping Colacho Festival.

Since 1620 the town has celebrated the day with a bizarre act that sees grown men leap over babies, usually born that year, in an act that is known as El Colacho. Dressed as the devil, carrying whips and sometimes truncheons, it is believed that as the incarnate devils jump they take all their evil with them and the children are cleansed.

The shadowy brotherhood of Santísimo Sacramento de Minerva - the people responsible for organising the celebrations - also chase and terrorise anybody and everybody in the town at regular intervals throughout the day.

How the event originated is vague, but the celebration is an example of the mix of traditional Spanish folklore and religion, and great fun to watch! The celebrations continue for a few days but the most important day is the Sunday following Corpus Christi.

Burgos Provincial Tourist Office

Tunisia's El Haouaria on the rocky shoreline of Cap Bon is the last jumping-off point from the African continent for birds migrating north for the European summer. Over generations, the locals have become skilled falconers. Every year, in late spring, about 150 falconers show off their prowess in training sparrowhawks and female peregrine falcons with a three-day festival of contests held to distinguish whose bird of prey is the best hunter.

During the spring migration, which begins in March and ends in early May, the locals catch young, migrating birds of prey by trapping them in nets in the surrounding countryside. They then use their hard-won expertise, patience and leisure time to train each bird, controlling them with the help of affection and food. The young birds are extremely intelligent and will naturally become hunters in six months in the wild - their training under falconers just accelerates this learning curve.

The best hunters are birds of prey who naturally eat a lot, as this spurs them on to hunt tirelessly. These will be the stars of the festival when they are pitted against one another in hunting contests. The flying displays are accompanied by singing and drums, with the whole village coming to life with celebrations.

At the end of the festival, the birds are kept for the summer until their migrating relatives return in the autumn. Once reunited with their fellow birds of prey, they fly south once more.

Tunisian festivals are based on a calendar different to that of the West. They rely on harvests and natural manifestations, making it difficult to predict the exact date they will occur each year. The dates given are a guide only. The Tunisian Tourist Office and Whatsonwhen suggest that you exercise caution and ask locally when you travel - even we can't predict the vagaries of the weather system!

Tourism Tunisia

It's human powered art and engineering all wrapped up in the most imaginative racing machines you ever laid eyes on! It's thousands of fans lining the highways, climbing sand dunes and cheering along shorelines for and 85-foot salmon, a giant chocolate eclair and a yellow submarine. It's a festival of entertainers, bands and booths filled with souvenirs and race memorabilia. It's a giddy experience guaranteed to make your face ache from smiling so hard.

The race course is long and grueling, the racers in top shape - or hope to be. The machines are subjected to extreme stresses; some planned and some unplanned. The largest sculptures may have up to 106 gears using top-of-the-line bicycle components as well as have been custom welded and adapted recycled parts. Only the most durable and lucky reach the finish line - a testament to exceptional skill, perseverance, experience or just plain good fortune. Racers and sculptures are judged on a set of criteria ranging from innovative engineering, creative art and whether they intend to Ace or not. While it's been called the "Triathlon of the Art World," it's also serious business - a major community-wide event - that promotes good fun, creative thinking and charitable causes. 

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Photographers wishing to add spectacular images of rugged coastlines, sea stacks silhouetted against dramatic sunsets, tide pools teaming with life, fern and moss entrenched rain forests and dramatic sea cliffs carved by the Pacific, should participate on this trip. Wide angle seascapes, short telephoto images of birds and possible sea lion photography may occur. Additionally, there will be many opportunities to wear out your macro lens shooting close ups, flowers and plant life.

On this tour, we'll visit the most dramatic coastal state parks, the most popular light houses, areas known for dramatic wave action and other locations that beckon motor drives to remain on continuous high. Besides the dramatic sunset, lighthouse and tide pool shots, images of driftwood patterns, rain forests, crashing waves, capes with patterned dune grasses, sand patterns, sea birds and myriads of other great photographic subjects lure the photographer to Oregon.

Russ Burden Photography

This beautiful summer ceremony in Castleton is well worth a visit if you're in the area. In an extremely merry procession the Garland King, on horseback, carries a bell-shaped garland of flowers to the market.

The garlands are made in the village at midday and then, after everyone has been home to rest and change into their finest clothes, the King and his consort make their first appearance at 5.30pm, when they beat the bounds of the village on horseback. The king then leads a dancing procession, accompanied by the local band and garland girls doing the garland dance, which stops for a drink at every pub on the way to the market.

Once there, the garland bell is hoisted up to the church tower, the garland girls begin the maypole dance, and the celebrations continue throughout the night.

British Tourist Office Website