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Moments worth a fare watch

Once-a-year things around the world, each with its dates and airports already set. Pick one and we watch every fare for it.

Christmas markets

Lanterns and lights

Northern lights

New Year festivals

Sacred festivals

Music festivals

Hot air balloons

Snow and ice

13 events. Ice castles, snow sculptures and winter carnivals

Niagara Falls Winter Festival of LightsNiagara Falls, OntarioNov 14 to Jan 10
Jilin Rime IceWusong Island, Jilin CityMid December to February
Ice caves of Lake Superior at Apostle IslandsBayfield, WisconsinJanuary to February
Harbin ice and snow festivalHarbin, HeilongjiangJanuary to mid February
Kemi sea ice on the Bothnian GulfKemiJanuary to February
Taebaek mountain snow festivalTaebaek, GangwonJanuary to early February
Lulea archipelago ice road seasonLuleaMid January to mid March
Kiruna snow festivalKirunaJan 27 to 31
Sarajevo winter festivalSarajevoFebruary to March
Sapporo snow festivalSapporo, HokkaidoFeb 4 to 11
Quebec Winter CarnivalQuébec City, QuébecFeb 5 to 14
Saranac Lake Winter CarnivalSaranac Lake, New YorkFeb 5 to 14
World ice art championshipsFairbanks, AlaskaFeb 15 to Mar 31

Keep exploring

Northern lights

Aurora season in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland

Happening nowAurora season in LofotenReine and Svolvaer, LofotenOctober to December
Polar night on SvalbardLongyearbyen, SvalbardNovember to January
Christmas and polar night in RovaniemiRovaniemi, LaplandDec 1 to 31
Aurora season in AbiskoAbiskoJanuary
Northern lights in TromsøTromsø, NorwayMid January to mid March
Northern lights over ReykjavikReykjavik and southern IcelandFebruary

Carnivals

Costumes, steel pans and street parties

Tobago CarnivalScarborough, TobagoOct 30 to Nov 1
Somerset Carnival (Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival)Bridgwater, SomersetNov 7 to 21
Carnaval de San MiguelSan MiguelNov 28
Sugar MasBasseterre, St KittsDec 11 to Jan 2
Calabar CarnivalCalabarDec 26 to 30
Victoria Falls CarnivalVictoria FallsLate December
Cape Town minstrel carnivalCape Town, South AfricaJanuary
Carnaval de Negros y BlancosPastoJan 2 to 6

Fireworks

New Year's Eve, bonfire nights and fireworks festivals

Lewes BonfireLewes, East SussexNov 5
Somerset Carnival (Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival)Bridgwater, SomersetNov 7 to 21
Edinburgh's HogmanayPrinces Street, EdinburghDec 29 to Jan 1
Sydney harbour new year's eve fireworksSydneyDec 31 to Jan 1
New Year's Eve bonfires and fireworks in ReykjavíkReykjavíkDec 31 to Jan 1
Réveillon at CopacabanaCopacabana beach, Rio de JaneiroDec 31 to Jan 1
Taipei 101 New Year's Eve FireworksTaipei 101, Xinyi District, TaipeiDec 31 to Jan 1
Times Square New Year's Eve Ball DropTimes Square, New YorkDec 31 to Jan 1

Lanterns and lights

Diwali, lantern nights and light festivals

Happening nowDeepavali in Little IndiaLittle India, SingaporeOctober to mid November
Divali in TrinidadChaguanasOct 30 to Nov 7
St Martin's lantern processions in the RhinelandDüsseldorf and the Lower RhineNov 4 to 14
Diwali in JaipurJaipur, RajasthanNov 6 to 10
Diwali in GeorgetownGeorgetownNov 7 to 8
TiharKathmanduNov 7 to 11
Longleat Festival of LightLongleat, WiltshireNov 7 to Jan 17
Niagara Falls Winter Festival of LightsNiagara Falls, OntarioNov 14 to Jan 10

Film and arts

Film festivals, fringe festivals and book fairs

Happening nowSculpture by the SeaBondi to Tamarama coastal walk, SydneyOct 22 to Nov 8
Happening nowAntalya Golden Orange Film FestivalAntalyaOct 24 to 31
Tallinn Black Nights Film FestivalTallinnNov 6 to 22
Cairo International Film FestivalCairo Opera House, ZamalekNov 11 to 20
Marrakech International Film FestivalPalais des Congres and Jemaa el-Fna, MarrakechNov 20 to 28
Art Basel Miami BeachMiami Beach, FloridaDec 4 to 6
New Delhi World Book FairNew Delhi, DelhiJan 16 to 24
Cairo international book fairNew Cairo exhibition groundsJan 20 to Feb 2

Christmas markets

Mulled wine and wooden stalls, Nuremberg to Chicago

Bryant Park Winter VillageNew York, New YorkOct 28 to Jan 3
Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas MarketBirmingham, West MidlandsNov 5 to Dec 24
Manchester Christmas MarketsManchester, EnglandNov 6 to Dec 22
Vienna Christmas MarketsVienna, AustriaNov 6 to Dec 26
Galway Christmas MarketGalway, ConnachtNov 6 to Dec 31
York Christmas MarketYork, North YorkshireNov 12 to Dec 21
Distillery Winter VillageToronto, OntarioNov 12 to Jan 3
Copenhagen Christmas MarketsCopenhagen, Capital RegionNov 13 to Jan 3

Wildlife

Whales, migrations and nesting seasons

Happening nowCommon crane migrationHortobagy national parkMid September to October
Happening nowArribada at OstionalPlaya Ostional, GuanacasteOctober to November
Happening nowHumpback whales at Marino BallenaUvitaMid July to October
Happening nowWhale sharks off Nosy BeNosy BeMid September to mid December
Happening nowSort Sol starling murmurationsWadden Sea marshes, DenmarkMid September to early November
Happening nowRiver of RaptorsChichicaxtle and Cardel, VeracruzMid September to October
Happening nowHumpback whales in Hervey BayHervey Bay, QueenslandMid July to October
Happening nowSwimming with humpbacks in Vava'uVava'uJuly to October

Parades

Floats, marching bands and street processions

Happening nowFiestas de San JerónimoMasayaMid September to October
Happening nowGrafton Jacaranda FestivalGrafton, New South WalesOct 23 to Nov 7
Happening nowSeñor de los MilagrosCentral LimaOct 3 to Nov 1
Happening nowSalem Haunted HappeningsSalem, MassachusettsOct 1 to 31
Happening nowFantasy FestKey West, FloridaOct 16 to 25
Happening nowPhaung Daw Oo Pagoda FestivalInle Lake, Shan StateMid September to October
Happening nowLai Heua Fai fire boat festivalLuang PrabangOct 24 to 26
Happening nowLanzones FestivalMambajao, CamiguinOct 18 to 25

Hot air balloons

Skies full of balloons, from Albuquerque to Cappadocia

Festival Internacional del GloboLeon, GuanajuatoNov 13 to 16
Balloon season over CappadociaGoreme, NevsehirMid April to mid June
Taiwan International Balloon FestivalLuye Highland, TaitungLate June to August
Albuquerque Balloon FiestaAlbuquerque, New MexicoOct 2 to 10

Blooms

Cherry blossoms, tulip fields and lavender in season

Happening nowGrafton Jacaranda FestivalGrafton, New South WalesOct 23 to Nov 7
Happening nowDesierto florido of the AtacamaLlanos de Challe and Vallenar, Atacama regionMid August to October
Happening nowJacaranda seasonPretoriaOctober to mid November
Jacaranda season in Buenos AiresRecoleta, Palermo and Plaza de Mayo, Buenos AiresNovember
Bua Tong sunflower bloomDoi Mae U-Kho, Mae Hong SonNovember to mid December
Cherry Blossom Festival ShillongShillong, MeghalayaNov 20 to 21
Pohutukawa bloomCoromandel PeninsulaLate November to early January
Red Lotus SeaNong Han Kumphawapi, Udon ThaniDecember to February

Music festivals

Jazz, folk, opera and the big summer festivals

Happening nowWorld Creole Music FestivalRoseau, DominicaOct 23 to 25
Happening nowGuinness Cork Jazz FestivalCorkOct 22 to 26
Happening nowEPCOT Eat to the Beat Concert SeriesOrlando, FloridaAug 27 to Nov 16
Dominican Republic Jazz FestivalCabarete and Puerto PlataLate October to mid November
Iceland AirwavesReykjavíkNov 5 to 7
Nyege Nyege FestivalJinja, source of the NileNov 19 to 22
Hornbill FestivalKisama Heritage Village, KohimaDec 1 to 10
Konark Dance FestivalKonark Sun Temple, OdishaDec 1 to 5

New Year festivals

Lunar New Year, Songkran, Nowruz and more

Tamu Lhosar, the Gurung new yearPokharaDec 30
Beneath the Baobabs New YearKilifiDec 30 to Jan 1
Chinese new year in ChinatownChinatown, SingaporeChinese New Year, Feb 6
Macau lunar new year lion dance paradeMacauFeb 6 to 20
Sydney lunar new year festivalSydneyFeb 6 to 20
Nowruz at PersepolisPersepolis, near ShirazMar 21 to 24
Water Splashing FestivalJinghong, XishuangbannaApr 12 to 15
Songkran water festivalChiang MaiApr 13 to 15

Food and drink

Oktoberfests, harvests and truffle fairs

Happening nowTozeur date harvestTozeur oasisMid October to mid November
Happening nowWhite truffle season in IstriaMotovun and the Mirna valley, IstriaMid September to November
Happening nowOktoberfest BlumenauBlumenau, Santa CatarinaOct 7 to 25
Happening nowAlba International White Truffle FairAlba, PiedmontOct 10 to Dec 6
Happening nowAjloun olive harvestAjloun hillsMid October to November
Happening nowKhorasan saffron harvestTorbat-e Heydarieh and Gonabad, Razavi KhorasanMid October to November
Happening nowWindhoek OktoberfestWindhoekMid to October
Happening nowEPCOT International Food & Wine FestivalLake Buena Vista, FloridaAug 27 to Nov 21

Sports

Grand Prix weekends, majors and marathons

Happening nowIronman World ChampionshipKailua-Kona, HawaiiOctober
Happening nowThe Bodrum CupBodrum harbourMid to October
Happening nowEverest base camp autumn windowNamche Bazaar, KhumbuOctober to November
Happening nowChonburi buffalo racesChonburiOct 17 to 25
Happening nowUnited States Grand PrixAustin, TexasOct 22 to 25
Hawaiki Nui Va'aHuahine to Bora Bora, Society IslandsOct 28 to 30
Mexico City Grand PrixMexico City, Mexico CityOct 30 to Nov 1
Melbourne CupFlemington Racecourse, MelbourneOct 31 to Nov 7

Sacred festivals

Pilgrimages, processions and holy days

Happening nowFiestas de San JerónimoMasayaMid September to October
Happening nowSeñor de los MilagrosCentral LimaOct 3 to Nov 1
Happening nowNaejangsan Autumn LeavesNaejangsan National Park, JeongeupMid October to mid November
Happening nowSiyaha Festival at SiwaSiwa Oasis, Western DesertOctober
Happening nowKullu DussehraKullu, Himachal PradeshOct 20 to 26
Happening nowDashain in KathmanduKathmanduOct 11 to 26
Happening nowPhaung Daw Oo Pagoda FestivalInle Lake, Shan StateMid September to October
Happening nowLai Heua Fai fire boat festivalLuang PrabangOct 24 to 26

Halloween

Haunted towns, horror nights and the Day of the Dead

Happening nowSalem Haunted HappeningsSalem, MassachusettsOct 1 to 31
Happening nowHalloween Horror Nights OrlandoOrlando, FloridaAug 28 to Nov 1
Happening nowMickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween PartyLake Buena Vista, FloridaAug 7 to Oct 31
Day of the Dead in OaxacaOaxaca, MexicoOct 31 to Nov 2

Fall colors

Peak foliage, from Vermont to Kyoto

Happening nowBlue Ridge Parkway fall colorAsheville, North CarolinaOctober
Happening nowAutumn colour at PlitvicePlitvice Lakes, LikaOctober to early November
Happening nowNikko Autumn ColoursIrohazaka and Lake Chuzenji, NikkoOctober to mid November
Happening nowNaejangsan Autumn LeavesNaejangsan National Park, JeongeupMid October to mid November
Happening nowHunza autumn coloursHunza ValleyMid October to mid November
Autumn leaves in KyotoKyoto, JapanMid November to early December
Autumn colour in the Bariloche lakesBariloche and the Seven Lakes road, PatagoniaApril to mid May
Mu Cang Chai golden terracesMu Cang Chai, Yen BaiSeptember to mid October

Snow and ice around the world: dates and fares | SlickTrip