Star Wars News
Carnival Time is here again and getting the best Star Wars Costume for your local Carnival is important.
We are fully stocked and ready to ensure you look your best this year. Orders anywhere in Europe can be delivered from between 1 to 3 days, so no excuses.
Parrrrrrrrrty Time is here.... and we have created a full list of all the events we know, if we have missed any please let us know.
29 Dec - 1 January SCOTLAND, Edinburgh's Hogmanay - one of world's best New year Celebrations, a truly wild and wooly underwear occasion, with a torchlight procession, a Fire Festival, fireworks, concerts and much insobriety, in a city dark yet strangely light...
1 January FRANCE, Paris Grand Parade - massive and colourful.
17th January, SPAIN - San Anton Festival (Festival of Animals) many events happening all over Spain.
22nd - 26th January SWEDEN, Kiruna Snow Festival - It's all white in the snowy north as reindeers race, dog sleds drift and artists sculpt ice into fantasy forms.
14th February - 4th March [Wednesdays and week-ends] FRANCE, Nice Carnival, the Cote d'Azur - a brilliant event on the lovely promenade of a terrific city, but not every day and parades are basically the same so one is probably enough. And half an hour along the coast Menton is having a small but colourful Lemon Festival during approximately the same period. Le Carnaval de Nice
16th - 23rd February and 2nd, 4th, 9th March ITALY, Viareggio Carnival - Italy's maddest event with parades sporting huge puppets among the kaleidoscope folk, revelry of all sorts and fireworks...BUT mainly on successive Sundays.
22nd February - 4th March ITALY, Venice Carnival - colourful, fascinating, funny and a superbly costumed environment in spectacular St Mark's Square and the misty, magical streets around. For the full flavour, buy a mask, rent a costume and go to a palazzo ball [the best is the Doge's Ball]. Carnival of Venice information.
25th February - 5th March SPAIN, Sitges Carnival near Barcelona - the wildest, gayest party of the year in Spain.
28th February - 4th March CYPRUS, Limassol Carnival - The Karneval season kicks into high gear 12 days before Carnaval Tuesday on 'Tsiknopempti': The word comes from two other words, 'tsikna' (the smell of burnt and grilled meat) and 'Pempti' (Thursday in Greek). Traditionally, everyone must cook and eat meat so that the smoke of 'tsikna' fills the air and everybody knows it's the feast-day when the masqueraders begin their high season of revelry.
27th February - 4th March GERMANY, Cologne Carnival - Germany's answer to Mardi Gras, a huge event marking the beginning of Lent, local festivities and a monster Rose Monday parade (3rd March).
28th February - 5th March GERMANY, Dusseldorf Carnival - another massive, outrageous and psychedelic occasion; Sunday is probably the best [wacky dress] parade, with Rose Monday seeing many floats and processions.
2nd - 4th March BELGIUM, Binche Carnival, Carnaval de Binche - one of Belgium's wildest parties, a UNESCO Heritage event, half an hour south of Brussels. Sunday and Tuesday are best.
2nd - 4th March. ITALY, Ivrea Carnival, (Battle of the Oranges), Storico Carnevale di Ivrea, Piedmont district of Turin - another colourful carnival, but with a different ending as the whole town partakes in a monstrous orange fight, Battaglia delle Arance. Wear a tall, red hat if you don't wish to participate [or was it don't wear a tall red hat...?].
2nd March - 12th April (2 weeks around St Joseph's Day) GERMANY, Munich, Strong Beer Festival [also known as Strong Beer Season], Starkbierzeit, a traditional beer-swilling, belly-swinging, guttural-singing, mostly German celebration.
15th - 19th March SPAIN, Fallas de Valencia - a madly explosive carnival/fiesta combination that will blow your socks off. Locals spend 5 days partying - parades, pageants and moderate fireworks then on the last night, they turn off all the city lights and set fire to hundreds of massive papier-maché statues stuffed with fireworks around the city. Kaboom.
14th - 17th March [Parade the 17th] IRELAND, Dublin St Patrick's Festival and St Patrick's Day Parade - a wild, green five days, including a huge parade.
22nd March - 7th April HUNGARY, Budapest Spring Music Festival - all sorts of arts, music, drama, dance, exhibitions, poetry and kid's stuff, local and international, in a fine European city.
7th - 12th April AUSTRIA, Mayrhofen, Snowbombing Festival - a week long live music event, with wild bands and world-class DJs ina fantasy alpine setting. This 'Ibiza in the Snow' is regarded by many as 'the Greatest Show on Snow'. It was the UK Festival Award's 'Best Overseas Festival' winner in 2010.
13th - 20th April SPAIN, Seville and Granada, Holy Week, Semana Santa - hundreds of shuffling pointy-hooded penitents, torchlit processions up to the Easter weekend in gorgeous cities. The premium time is during the night/early morning of Thursday-Good Friday.
20th April ITALY, Florence, Scoppio del Carro - festively exploding a cart in Piazza del Duomo on Easter Sunday, set off by a mechanical dove driven from the Altar during High Mass. What madness is this?
19th - 20th April Easter Weekend GREECE, Chios Island, Vrontados, Church Rocket War, Rouketopolemos - two rival churches fire around 60,000 firework rockets at each other between 8pm on Saturday and midday Easter Sunday. A heaven-sent art atttack?
30th April - 5th May ENGLAND, Gloucestershire, Cheltenham International Jazz Festival - the UK's top jazz fest in a lovely location.
5th - 11th May SPAIN La Feria de Abril [April Fair] in Seville - Seville's best party with traditional dress, parades, dancing and boisterous parties in a gorgeous environment.
