October festivals (part 4)
Today we’ll be ending our look at October festivals from around the world, so let’s see what we’ve got left.
Fantasy Fest – Duval St, Key West, Florida, USA
This is by far one of the most outrageous parties being held in the lead-up to Halloween. It lasts for ten days ending on the last Sunday in October and has been a fixture of the state sin it started in 1979 when it was nothing more than a ploy to liven up a quiet period for the tourism industry.
The thing is that this Fantasy Fest doesn’t feature your run of the mill fancy dress parties or costume parties, instead there’s a Pimp and Ho Party, a Dungeons and Dragons leather fetish bash, a Party in Plaid and a homemade bikini contest, it’s a crazy-crazy event. Even the venues are made up to look like their clients, and them as well host special themed parties such as the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, or toga parties.
Of course there’s also a Caribbean-style street party which climaxes with a parade of glittering floats.
Durga Puja (Dasain) – Kathmandu, Nepal
From Florida we zoom to Nepal where we can take in fifteen days of celebrations ending on the full moon in late September or early October.
This is the country’s largest annual festival and takes place during the post-monsoon seasons when there is clear sky and clean air, and the rice is ready for harvesting.
This festival however isn’t for absolutely everyone since it involves large-scale animal sacrifices, meant to satiate the bloodthirsty Hindu deity, the goddess Durga. This is meant to celebrate Durga’s victory over the forces of the evil, buffalo demon Mahisasura.
But the festivities being calmly enough, with the planting of barley seeds in carefully furrowed soil. But after about a week of rituals, the goat sacrifices start and last for a night and a day, the bloodletting ending on the 10th day of the festival.
Keep in mind our car rental services when visiting either of these festivals.
