Festivals You’ve Never Heard Of: Media & Press: Thirsty Swagman
Festivals You’ve Never Heard Of
Are you a festival fanatic? If you are, you've probably heard about the likes of Big Day Out in Australia, Glastonbury in the UK and Warped Tour in the US (just to name a few).
But what about the festivals you've never heard of?
Save yourself the hassle of waiting for festival season to come around, and head around the globe to some of the wildest must-see festivals on the planet.
Although most are still virtually unknown, the turnout for these festivals is absolutely massive, and the memories and personalities of the incredible people you'll meet – even bigger! It's time to make festival season an all-year-round event and mark these ones into your calendar.
Nit De Foc, Spain
When: August
Where: Mallorca, Spain
What: Nit De Foc, or Night of Fire, is one smoking hot festival – literally.
Being a week-long event filled with bonfires, fireworks, 'demons' dancing to rhythmic Mallorcan drumming and loads of wine (of course) – this event is nothing short of impressive.
Held every year in the towns of Palma and Capdepera in Mallorca, Spain, the festival sets out to celebrate a patron saint that was said to have chased the demons out of Mallorca with a burning pitchforks and fires.
It's an unbelievable spectacle, celebrating Nit De Foc, on a breath-taking Mediterranean island where the Spanish really know how to throw a good party.
Snowbombing, Austria
When: April / May
Where: Mayrhofen, Austria
What: For a blizzard of the best musical acts, set in a wild snowy scene that you'll never forget, head to the breathtakingly beautiful Austrian resort of Mayrhofen.
This fast-paced event will have you on the edge of your seat (or at the front of the stage barricade) as you party to an outrageous number of well-known musical artists for four days straight.
This event, which is held in the heart of the Austrian Alps, sees around 6000 of the most dedicated festival-goers every year, and located in a tranquil Austrian village – none of the locals get to miss out on the sound-pounding fun either.
Bauernherbst Harvest Festival, Austria
When: Between August and October
Where: Salzbury, Austria
What: The Bauernherbst Festival kicks off every year during harvest season in Austria.
It's one of those events that the locals are truly proud of and never miss, the foreigners that go will always talk about, but most people have never heard of!
The celebration is huge – with surrounding towns holding countless traditional events to revive each town's oldest harvesting traditions and customs.
At this event, the local creators put on a massive show for the tourists and locals in celebration of the new harvest season, including hiking and bike treks among several huts in the vibrantly green Alpine pastures.
With large amounts of schnapps, wine and traditional Austrian dishes, no festival head will go hungry, thirsty or unsatisfied.
Sziget, Turkey
When: August
Where: Budapest, Turkey
What: Sziget can only be described in one way - as one hell of a party!
Since kicking off for the first time in 1993, the week-long festival now caters for 400,000 visitors every year.
Seeing international superstars such as Prodigy, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, this event just keeps getting better and better. Head to this festival and you'll be getting filthy from head to toe as you dance through mud to get to the front of the stage for your favourite act.
The best thing about Sziget? Taking a break from the music consists of enjoying theatre, cinema, console games, tennis, table tennis, foosball, swimming, archery, bungee jumping, zip-lining, wet t-shirt competitions, foam parties, henna and ink tattoos, thai massages, shisha smoking and loads of other awesome gimmicks – all right there in the festival arena!
