Daily Archives: November 3, 2009

Traveling is one of the best ways to experience new traditions, to get lost in another culture and encounter new things.  But experiencing a new culture doesn’t mean you have to hop a plane and fly across the ocean. Many times our neighbors in nearby states have their own quirks and distinct cultures that make a visit well worth the trip.  Traveling to festivals provides the perfect opportunity to not only kick back and have fun, but to also experience, first hand, the spirit of a different community, right here in your own country.

Here are some winter festivals to help heat up the upcoming long, chilly, winter months ahead:

Festival Name: New Year’s Eve in Times Square

Where: New York City

When: December 31^st, 3 p.m.

While New Year’s Eve is  celebrated throughout the world, New York City hosts one of the largest parties to ring in the new calendar loud and proud. Roughly one million visitors gather for New Years Eve in Times Square every year, where they listen to live music, watch the ball drop at midnight and give kisses to loved ones while a ton (literally) of confetti flutters about.

New Year’s Eve in Times Square began in 1904 when the New York Times moved to Times Square and wanted to celebrate the completion of the Times Tower.  With fireworks blazing and excitement buzzing, the first New Year’s Eve was a wild success.  In 1907 the fireworks were banned, thus the birth of the brightly lit ball that drops from 1 Times Square at 11:59 every December 31^st. Recently the ball was replaced with a Waterford Crystal ball that is twice the size and creates 16 different colors, turning the building into a colorful, glowing kaleidoscope.

With stations like MTV and ABC airing the festivities, people from around the world tune into to celebrate the ball drop.  Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve show has been a staple in this American celebration.  Since 1972 he has hosted live coverage of the party in Times Square, with various musicians helping him rock in the New Year.  In recent years Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Fergie and Lenny Kravitz have been featured on Clark’s show, performing their music and giving commentary.  Even past presidents turn out to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Times Square, with Bill and Hilary Clinton hitting the button to drop the ball at the 2009 celebration. The festivities are so elaborate that it’s hard not to get excited about the things to come and say goodbye to things past.

What: Sundance Film Festival

Where: Park City, Utah

When: January 21-31

The Sundance Film Festival has become one of the most prestigious film events in the world.  With major celebrities attending the festival ranging from Spike Lee to Uma Thurman and Paris Hilton to Russel Simmons, it’s possible you’ll rub shoulders with the best and the brightest of Hollywood.

In fact, it is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S., allowing smaller yet talented filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work. The Sundance Film Festival was born in 1978 when Robert Redford, a Utah resident, decided to shed a national light on the importance of independent American films while allowing filmmakers to compete. The festival has been a wild success ever since with many films and directors ricocheting into mass appeal due to the festival.  Movies such as Garden State, Motorcycle Diaries, sex, lies, and videtape, Donnie Darko, and Clerks have all gained cult following while directors such as Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Jim Jarmusch have gone on to direct major box office hits.

Tickets to this season’s Sundance Film Festival are hot, but starting today you can have a chance to score one of the remaining tickets by heading here where you can purchase a festival pass or individual movie tickets.  No doubt the after parties will be hopping too, but you’ll have to cozy up to Uma to get the invite.