International party people

Photo: Language and culture are no barriers for those who lovea fiesta, writes Guy Wilkinson. AS THE years roll on, many of us have a tendency to cut down onour partying ways. Our hangovers get worse while our lifestyles getbusier. But before you succumb to a life of fluffy slippers, earlynights and steaming mugs of Milo, you might want to considerhitting the road (or dance floor) once more. After all, there aresome truly incredible festivals taking place all over the world atany time of year. Here are some you should definitely mark on yourcalendar. Mardi Gras Advertisement: Story continues below Where: Sydney, Australia When: February 9 to March 2 Many regard this event as the greatest gay and lesbian festivalin the world. This year's event marks the 30th anniversary since itall began back in June 1978. The inaugural march was actually a farless joyous affair than the festival we know of today. In theaftermath of the Stonewall riots in New York, a few thousand peoplefollowed a truck down Sydney's Oxford Street as part of the city'scontribution to the international gay solidarity celebrations. Themarch turned ugly when police began a series of arrests but theevent later became a milestone for gay rights movements. Nowadays, Mardi Gras is far less a protest and more a flamboyantdisplay of gay pride. Among other things, this year's festivalpromises its usual array of outrageous costumes, theatre events,street fairs and, of course, the world famous, eye-popping paradefrom Oxford Street to Moore Park Road. Oktoberfest Where: Munich, Germany When: Mid September to early October You're a big fan of beer. When it comes to a good old-fashioned,thigh-slapping, bench-banging, knees-up, Oktoberfest in all itsbeer swilling glory takes some serious beating. The festival datesback to the early 19th Rosetta Stone software century after a mammoth celebration tookplace to commemorate a royal wedding. Not many people would claimto remember this, however, and the world's largest public festivalis now an unashamed excuse for riotous beer guzzling. With about 14main beer tents to choose from, Oktoberfest attracts an estimated 7million visitors each year. Most tents consist of long tables andbenches, where strangers can sit side-by-side swapping stories to atraditional German musical accompaniment played by men inlederhosen. Visitors may also enjoy being served their favouritebrew by beer wenches in traditional attire. Their ability to carryseveral heavy stein glasses in each hand has to be seen to bebelieved. La Tomatina Where: Bunol, (Valencia region) Spain When: August It's the only place you'll be actively encouraged to pelt thosearound you with rotting tomatoes. Each year tens of thousands ofpeople descend on this normally sparsely populated town to takepart in an epic, yet ludicrous, battle. After shopkeepers andbusiness owners have boarded up their windows, the blasting ofwater cannons signifies the start of an hour-long descent intomushy, red chaos. Held in honour of the town's patron saints, thefestival's origins date back roughly to the end of World War II.

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