The world is a festival

From cultural fests to bunny pageants, the world might be getting smaller, but also a stranger place. Aviva Dharmaraj picks four of the world's best

January: Sydney Festival
Spread over three weeks in January and touted as Australia's 'largest annual cultural celebration', the Sydney Festival features around 80 events and 500 local and international artistes from the fields of dance, theatre, music and the visual arts.



Highlights include the Festival First Night, which sees the city's streets transformed into a performance arena that will be overtaken by dancers, drummers, DJs, as well as feature a 12-storey high multi-media projection artwork based on Captain Cook's exploration of the South Pacific titled First Contact, this year.
From: 8 to 30 January
Where: Main theatres across the city, including Sydney Theatre, CarriageWorks, the Seymour Centre, City Recital Hall and venues at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Australia
Log on to www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2011/

February: sapporo snow festival
Japan's annual weeklong snow festival is held in the city of Sapporo. The popular festival is known for its colossal snow statues and ice sculptures. The event sees participation from around the world, and is seen as a means to promote international relations.

The theme of the statues varies, and can feature an event or iconic personality from the previous year. The number of statues displayed is around 400.
From: 7 to 13 February
Where: Odori Park and Susokino, Sapporo, Japan

March: Paro Tshechu (Spring Festival)
Paro Tshechu is the harvest festival of the Bhutanese people. It is a religious festival that sees the locals dress up in their finest attire in celebration of a year's hard work. The festival is held in honour of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). Religious idols are taken out in a procession, which is marked by traditional dances performed by monks.

The highlight of the festival is the unveiling of a very large thangka or silk brocaded painting of the Padmasambhava. This is done in the wee hours of the morning in keeping with the tradition of not allowing sunlight to fall on the image.
From: 17 to 30 March (dates are subject to change, as they are based on the lunar calendar)
Where: Paro and Thimpu (and other districts in Bhutan)

April: Iowa Rabbit Festival
Bordering on the bizarre, Iowa's one-of-a-kind Rabbit Festival sees rabbits hop over obstacles, a Miss Bunny pageant, lots of music and dancing, and even a cook-off (no, rabbit is not a main ingredient!). The event, which was founded over two decades ago by rabbit breeders, sees participation from at least 400 bunnies at the Louisiana State Rabbit Show. P

roceeds from the event go towards community non-profit groups, schools, and youth organizations. The event is in celebration of the positive economic impact rabbits have on the community.
On: 18, 19 and 20 March
Where: Iowa, Louisiana
Log on to www.iowarabbitfestival.org
aviva.dharmaraj@mid-day.com