Can't decide when to go abroad but have the flexibility to choose? Let us help show you why the Fall semester could be the semester for you - full of cultural opportunities and festivities galore! Not to mention, a Fall semester abroad allows you to return to GW in Spring to enjoy the warm weather, the Cherry Blossoms, and maybe even a presidential inauguration. So why not spend the Fall semester abroad?
Latin America
Night of the Museums (La Noche de los Museos), Buenos Aires, Argentina
One night in every November, the city of Buenos Aires bypasses sleep to celebrate the city’s finest museums, galleries, and historic buildings. Tens of thousands take to the streets to see free exhibitions, live music, theater, and other performances throughout the city until as late as 3:00 am. To begin Night of the Museums, one might start at the La Boca waterfront, the World Tango Museum, or Puerto Madero, one of the most artistic neighborhoods in the city. When it comes to getting around the city, major bus lines offer free rides with a La Noche de Los Museos bus pass and free city bikes are available for more independent participants. With over 240 museums and cultural spaces participating in every neighborhood of the city, it’s impossible to see it all.
Fiestas Patrias, Santiago, Chile
For Chileans, September is one of the happiest months of the year because of Fiestas Patrias, a celebration including delicious empanadas, anticuchos, cueca dances, and creole games - traditions that show the essence of Chilean culture. Taking place on September 18th and 19th, Fiestas Patrias marks the beginning of Chile’s fight for independence. Chile’s official national dance is the “cueca,” which can be seen throughout the country at local dance competitions and features traditional Chilean clothes. In the capital city of Santiago, the military put on a huge parade on the 19th which transitions into smaller public parties called “fondas” where visitors can enjoy dancing, eating, playing games, and spending time with family and friends.
World Salsa festivals, Cali, Colombia
Every October, more than 20 international delegations of professional dancers take part in the World Salsa Festival in Cali, Colombia - the salsa capital of the world. South American and Caribbean dance all converge to the stage in Cali, where numerous different salsa styles are showcased. Later in the fall, another salsa festival, Feria de Cali, takes place over 6 action-packed days. Wide-ranging outdoor food stalls treat spectators as the entire city transforms into a colossal salsa-oriented outdoor party.
Looking for more? Check out:
- Mexico City, Mexico: Independence Day Celebration
- Cusco, Peru: Warachikuy, Incan ceremony of Initiation into adulthood
Oceania
Festival of the Winds, Sydney, Australia
In 1978, a group of friends decided to run a kite festival on Bondi Beach and the Festival of the Winds was born, becoming one of the biggest and most loved kite flying festivals in the world. Organized by Bondi Pavilion cultural staff, there are food stalls, kite making workshops, and exhibitions that run alongside the professional displays on the beach. The event, which runs every September, is perfect for people of all ages who want to celebrate the joy of kite flying, Sydney’s best cultural food, or simply a day on the beach.
Tesselaar Tulip Festival, Melbourne, Australia
Every year from mid-September to mid-October, well over a million blooming flowers are displayed in the eastern outskirts of Melbourne. This unique festival celebrates traditional Dutch culture featuring live music, a Historic Cheese Market performance, a Tulip Tractor ride, farm displays, and typical Dutch snacks and treats. At the tulip festival, you may feel inclined to take a break from the flowers and take a photo with Australia’s largest wooden shoe, which happens to be the largest clog in the world.
Looking for more? Check out:
- Auckland, New Zealand: Water Boat Show of Yacht Races and Boat Culture
- Wellington, New Zealand: The Te Wiki (or Te Reo Maori) celebrating Maori language and culture.
Asia
Hungry Ghost Festival, Hong Kong, China
The Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival or Yulan Festival, is celebrated during a month-long period starting in mid-August when various rituals and rites take place around Hong Kong to appease the ravenous ghosts. During Ghost Month, there’s a specific list of things you should and shouldn’t do to avoid upsetting the spirits, from staying away from water to avoiding standing your chopsticks vertically, as it resembles incense used when praying to spirits. As a 2000+ year old tradition, traditions include visiting Taoist or Buddhist temples and burning carefully crafted origami-like paper gifts as offerings to ancestral spirits.
Monkey King Festival, Hong Kong, China
During the eighth Lunar month of the Chinese calendar (corresponding to September), the Monkey King Festival is celebrated in Hong Kong. The origin of the festival comes from the epic 16th century novel Journey to the West, which features the monkey character Sun Wukong, the iconic figure of the festival. To celebrate, most burn incense and create paper offerings. In the Sau Mau Ping district of Hong Kong, the Monkey King Temple recreates Sun Wukong’s battle with the other gods in heaven, a famous scene from the novel.
Loy Krathong & Yi Peng Festivals, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Loy Krathong and Yi Peng are Thai festivals celebrated throughout all of Thailand but the most well-known festivities take place in Chiang Mai. Both festivals celebrate and symbolize (through different lanterns) the process of letting go of past transgressions and negative thoughts and allowing good luck and light to enter your life. Loy Krathong comes from the tradition of making krathong- buoyant, decorated baskets with candles and incense which are then lit and floated on a river. The krathong's floating away symbolises letting go of all one's hatred, anger, and defilements. Many often compete to have the most elaborate krathongs. Many Thais use the krathong to thank the Goddess of Water and River. Yi Peng, celebrated simultaneously, is celebrated with floating lanterns that are released into the night sky. This festival also celebrates the beauty of the full moon. Locals gather at temples to listen to prayers and offer lanterns as a form of devotion and an homage to Lord Buddha. As both festivals relate to the moon, they take place on the on/around the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the Western calendar, this usually falls in November.
Looking for more in Asia? Check out:
- Singapore, Singapore: Lantern Festival - similar to Loy Krathong
- Singapore, Singapore: Deepavali, the festival of lights celebrated in Little India
- New Delhi, India: Phool Walon Ki Sair,procession of the florists
- Akita, Japan: Rose Festival showcasing 500+ varieties of flowers
- Akita, Japan: Kiritampo Festival, celebrating Akita's most famous dish in all its varieties
- Almaty, Kazakhstan: Medeu Skating Park, popular fall/winter attraction
- Kathmandu, Nepal: Indra Jatra, biggest religious street festival in the city
- Seoul, South Korea: Chuseok - Harvest Festival; Seoul Lantern Festival, includes lanterns, outdoor lights, and Christmas markets
- Taipei, Taiwan: Taipei Hakka Yimin Festival, celebrating belief culture through the rite of Hakka
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Tet Trung Thu, lantern festival celebrating spirits of loved ones
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Tet Trung Nguyen (Ghost Festival), traditional food and visits to Buddhists temples
Africa
Kwita Izina, Kigali, Rwanda
During this celebration of wildlife preservation Rwandans name mountain gorillas, in a sign of respect and value. In the last few years, Kwita Izina also became an occasion to celebrate the country's commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism.
International Kite Festival, Cape Town, South Africa
The international Kite Festival in Cape Town is the biggest kite festival and attracts over 20,000 visitors. The Festival usually takes place on Melkbosstrand Beach, and altough there is an entry fee, the proceeds go to a non profit organization, Cape Mental health.
Europe
Signal Festival, Prague, Czechia
Held annually in October, lighting designers from the Czech Republic and abroad create lighting installations in streets and public spaces across Prague, including famous historical landmarks. The unique integration of art, city space, and modern technology draws over 2 million attendees to Prague every fall. With a new theme every year, the award-winning festival continues to push the boundary for artistic expression and fails to disappoint.
The Black Sun, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Black Sun is one of the most magnificent natural phenomena in Denmark that is a must-see for nature lovers. Only a few hours from Copenhagen, thousands of visitors travel to the Scandinavian countryside to watch the sunset being blocked by massive flocks of birds over a few evenings every fall. As the starlings take flight, they fly in synchronized patterns to avoid predators, resulting in a shape-shifting performance for spectators. Those looking to see the largest gathering of birds usually head to Wadden Sea National Park, where the starling activity peaks in October.
The Grape Harvest Festival, Paris, France
The Grape Harvest Festival is an annual event that takes place in the Montmartre district of Paris, celebrating the grape harvest time with several forms of entertainment. Visitors can participate in activities such as wine tasting, art exhibitions, concerts, street performances, and much more. Hundreds of people come together in costume, decorated with bunches of grapes, in a Parisian harvest procession.
Coupe Icare, Grenoble, France
Coupe Icare is an annual event near Grenoble that features aerial acrobatics, hang gliders, paragliders, hot air balloons, and intense flight contests. The contest is world-renowned as a larger theater open to the sky with scenic backdrops such as the Chartreuse Mountains and beautiful French valleys. The event is best known for the masquerade flight contest, in which paragliders and hang gliders fly in costumes to compete for prizes.
Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany
Oktoberfest Munich is the world’s largest celebration of Bavarian folk culture and takes place on the Theresienwiese - a large field where the first-ever Oktoberfest (over 200 years ago) took place. Although named after October, Oktoberfest Munich takes place at the end of September and lasts for about 2 weeks. Traditional Bavarian cuisine offers some of the best food and drink in Germany: pork knuckles, bratwursts, and sauerkraut. To celebrate the traditional side of Bavaria, women usually wear long dresses of all colors and patterns while the men wear “leather breeches” - shorts that are attached to suspenders, worn over plaid button-up shirts.
Rheingau Musik Festival, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
The Rheingau Musik Festival is one of the most unique music festivals in the world and one of the biggest in Europe. Taking place at unique monuments such as Eberbach Monastery, Johannisberg Palace, and Vollrads Castle, the countryside of western Germany turns into concert stages for talented musicians from the classical scene to jazz and cabaret. Oestrich-Winkel and the greater Rheingau region have become the center of excitement for music enthusiasts, and these remarkable venues feature a combination of culture, nature, music, and history.
Culture Night (Menningarnott), Reykjavik, Iceland
Menningarnott, “culture night,” is an annual event held in Reykjavik every August, and is one of the largest festivals in Iceland. All taking place in central Reykjavik, tens of thousands of locals and tourists come to the city center to watch live music, spend time with friends, and enjoy Icelandic culture. At the end, the sky lights up with an extraordinary firework show. For those looking to get the most out of fall in Iceland, the Imagine Peace Tower is regularly lit every evening from October to December. This monument, within public transport of Reykjavik, is Yoko Ono’s homage to John Lennon and stands out as a beacon for world peace in a country that has been ranked as the most peaceful country in the world for seven years in a row, according to the Global Peace Index.
Looking for more? Check out:
- Dublin, Ireland: Bram Stoker Festival, Halloween/October festival celebrating Dracula's author
- Florence, Italy: Festa della Rificolona, traditional Renaissance lantern festival in the streets of Firenze
- Lucca, Italy: Lucca Comics & Games, Europe's #1 comic and gaming convention
- Verona, Italy: Opera Festival, held in 2,000 year old Arena di Verona
- Milan, Italy: EICMA Motorcycle Show, showcasing latest models of motorcycles and gear
- Milan, Italy: Fiera dell'Artigianato, large fair with artisanal foods and products
- Turin, Italy: CioccolaTÓ, city-wide chocolate festival
- Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam City Swim, swimming through the canals of the Old City
- Seville, Spain: Bienal de Flamenco, three-week festival celebrating flamenco
- Madrid, Spain: Fiestas of Lavapies and La Paloma, street festival with music, dancing, & food
- All of Spain: Fiesta Nacional de España, Spain's national holiday
- Lyon, France: Fête des Lumières, city-wide festival of lights with music and food
- Stockholm, Sweden: Skansen Autumn Fair, market with old-fashioned games, music & dancing
- All of the United Kingdom: Bonfire Night
- Christmas Markets, everywhere in Europe!
Researched and compiled by Dominic Savarino, Study Abroad Community Ambassador