At the weeklong Cheung Chau Bun Festival on an outlying island of Hong Kong, a competition to grab faux steamed buns from a 60-foot tower isn’t even the grandest spectacle. The stars of the traditional Chinese celebration are the children of the Floating Colors parade. Dressed as deities or cultural figures, the youngsters are hoisted over the crowd, the rigging supporting them hidden by their elaborate costumes, giving the appearance they are gliding.
Had enough salad and gazpacho? Here’s another way to use up tomatoes. The annual “Tomatina” tomato fight was this morning in Bunol, a village outside Valencia, Spain. Drawing from a 160-ton cache, for an hour or so, thousands of people, many of them tourists, lobbed the ripe fruit like snowballs, bathing each other and the surrounding streetscape in pulp and juice.
In Vitoria, northern Spain, even if a resident’s ordinary market is closed for St. James’ Day, they won’t want for garlic. Every year on July 25 producers from all around Spain converge on the Basque Country capital for a traditional garlic fair.
The festival of Maha Shivaratri is marked by Hindus fasting and offering prayers in a night-long vigil.
The Manchester Beer and Cider Festival festival is set up by the Greater Manchester Branches of The Campaign For Real Ale. The festival features over 600 different beers, perries and ciders.
Baltimore is one of the latest world cities to be turned on to large-scale artistic light displays. The inaugural Light City Baltimore, modeled after the Vivid Sydney festival in Australia, is planned for seven days this spring. These photos of the Sydney festival and six others around the world offer a glimpse of the type of treatments the Inner Harbor and locations in five city neighborhoods might get.
The day in photos around the world.
With more than 350,000 drawn to the streets of Baltimore for one weekend, Artscape is almost like Baltimore’s Mardi Gras. America’s largest free arts festival returned this past weekend for its 34th year for three days of concerts, with performers like Michael Franti & Spearhead, visual art exhibitions, the Artists Market and more.
The day in photos from around the world.
Baltimore neighborhoods
Baltimore street photographers
Year in review
Freddie Gray: protests, aftermath
24 hours with...
A. Aubrey Bodine
Viewing Baltimore from above