Gala Day is a one-day festival held in many towns over the world.
One of the biggest is held in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The festival raises money for the Geelong Hospital, and was known for the street parade through central Geelong which featured local community groups, amusement rides in the main street, a sideshow alley, and showbag stalls.
The first Gala Day was held on Friday, 3 November 1916, at the height of World War I, to raise money for the Red Cross Society. [1] Described by the Geelong Advertiser as "the biggest fete the city had ever seen, the most perfectly planned function, the gayest spectacle, and the highest in patriotic purpose", the first parade raised 5500 pounds - a staggering amount for the day.[ citation needed ]
After the success of the first festival, Gala Day was adopted as an annual event, the second festival being held on 2 November 1917. It was not until 1927 that the Geelong Hospital took over responsibility for running the festival. [1] The festival was traditionally held on a Friday, and students at local schools were given a holiday.
From 2006, the festival was changed, being renamed the Gala Appeal "Family Fun Day" and moved to the first week of December. The festival is now held in Johnstone Park, and has been accused of being "watered down" from the old event by some.[ citation needed ]
In 2008, the event was again changed, with the Gala Day Parade and Family Fun Day moved to a Saturday. Schools, community groups and corporate groups can enter a float in the parade. The Family Fun Day returned to the city's spectacular waterfront at Steampacket Gardens, featuring market and food stalls, rides, show bags and roving performances from local artists, including renowned interpretive dance duo Barnes and Tommy, who received the 2015 GMHBA Encouragement Award for a spirited routine to John Farnham's "Two Strong Hearts."[ citation needed ]
Many cities that observe Gala Day in 2020 will go virtual on grounds of COVID-19 pandemic, as will 2021, especially in Geelong.[ citation needed ]
Carnival is a Western Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide. Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Participants often indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. Traditionally, butter, milk, and other animal products were not consumed "excessively", rather, their stock was fully consumed during Shrovetide as to reduce waste. This festival is known for being a time of great indulgence before Lent, with drinking, overeating, and various other activities of indulgence being performed. For example, pancakes, donuts, and other desserts are prepared and eaten for a final time. During Lent, lacticinia and animal products are eaten less, and individuals make a Lenten sacrifice, thus giving up a certain object or activity of desire.
A pride parade is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The events sometimes also serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage. Pride events occur in many urban areas in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and Australia. Most occur annually while some take place every June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, a pivotal moment in modern LGBTQ social movements. The parades seek to create community and honor the history of the movement. In 1970, pride and protest marches were held in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco around the first anniversary of Stonewall. The events became annual and grew internationally. In 2019, New York and the world celebrated the largest international Pride celebration in history: Stonewall 50 - WorldPride NYC 2019, produced by Heritage of Pride commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, with five million attending in Manhattan alone. The most recent New York pride event was NYC Pride March 2022, which occurred on June 26, 2022.
Moomba is held annually in Melbourne, Australia. Run by the City of Melbourne, it is Australia's largest free community festival. The Melburnian tradition is celebrated over four days, incorporating the Labour Day long weekend, from Friday to the second Monday in March. Moomba is culturally important to Melbourne, having been celebrated since 1955, and regularly attracts up to a million people, with a record attendance of 3.8 million set in 2018.
Numerous festivals, shows and exhibitions are held annually in Toronto. They include:
The Kentucky Derby Festival is an annual festival held in Louisville, Kentucky, during the two weeks preceding the first Saturday in May, the day of the Kentucky Derby. The festival, Kentucky's largest single annual event, first ran from 1935 to 1937, and restarted in 1956 and includes:
The Bendigo Easter Festival, also known as the Bendigo Easter Fair, is an annual event held in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, since 1871 with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival includes the Easter procession which sees Dai Gum Loong, the world's longest imperial dragon, dance through the streets.
A ute muster is an Australian festival which brings together large numbers of utes and their owners. These events typically include competitions and other side events, occur annually, and normally last several days and are held in rural and regional areas of Australia and New Zealand.
Birmingham Pride is a weekend-long LGBTQ+ festival held annually in the Gay Village, Hurst Street, Birmingham, England, over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Birmingham Pride is the UK's largest two-day gay pride festival.
The Granny Smith Festival is an annual festival held in Eastwood, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It began in 1985 and is now the largest annual event of its type in Sydney's Northern District, attracting over 80,000 people each year. The festival is held on and around Eastwood Oval on the third Saturday of October to commemorate 19th-century pioneer Maria Ann "Granny" Smith, credited with producing the Granny Smith apple and celebrated for providing the Ryde-Hunters Hill area with prosperity. The festival begins at 9:00 am and concludes at 8:30 pm.
The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a festival held every year before Lent; it is considered the biggest carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets. The first Carnival festival in Rio occurred in 1723.
The Alexandra Blossom Festival is an annual event that is held for 17 days each September in Alexandra, New Zealand that celebrates the advent of Spring. The Festival is the longest-running community event of its kind in New Zealand.
Marion Bridge is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
Applefest is a yearly village-wide food, entertainment and crafts fair, taking place in several towns in Canada, the United States and England.
The Yarmouth Clam Festival is an annual three-day event which takes place in Yarmouth, Maine, starting on the third Friday every July. Established in 1965 as a successor to the town's late-August Old Home Week, it is hosted by the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of raising money for approximately thirty local non-profit organizations, churches, and school groups. The event draws visitors from all over the country. As a result, Yarmouth, a town with a population of around 9,000, accommodates approximately 120,000 people over the course of the weekend. A section of the former population have made it a tradition to stake out their Friday-evening parade viewpoint with a chair several weeks before the event — even as early as May, though this may be in an ironic fashion.
Manchester Pride is a leading charity that campaigns for LGBTQ+ equality across the United Kingdom, predominantly in Greater Manchester. The Charity offers dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities focusing on LGBTQ+ rights.
The Bilton Gala is a community event that takes place in Bilton, Harrogate, North Yorkshire on the first Bank Holiday in May each year.
The Three Rivers Festival is an annual multi-day event held in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The festival spans nine days in mid-July, starting on the first Friday after Independence Day. It is a celebration of the heritage of Fort Wayne, established during the French and Indian War at the confluence of three rivers - the Maumee, St. Marys, and St. Joseph. Events include concerts, a community parade, amusement rides, a bed race, art and craft shows, children's and seniors mini-fests, an International Village, and a fireworks finale.
Be in Belhaven was an annual music festival that was held in Scotland at Belhaven Park, situated in the town centre of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire. The festival ran from 2008 to 2012 and the inaugural event was held on August 2, 2008. The festival was organized by the Be in Belhaven Planning Group, which was an amalgamation of various local volunteer groups, including Wishaw Patch Voice and Friends of Belhaven. The event was held as a charity fundraiser, with donations collected on the day of the festival going towards a chosen charitable cause. The primary beneficiary of the festival was Maggie's Cancer Centers, with a particular focus on supporting Maggie's Lanarkshire Interim service at University Hospital Wishaw.
The Leith Festival is an arts festival held in the Leith area of Edinburgh and takes place mainly in the EH6 and EH7 postcodes of Edinburgh which cover the old burgh of Leith. It is a community based festival that takes place annually. It is run by the Leith Festival Association. It had been previously run by Leith Festival Club. The Edinburgh Short Film Festival, LeithLate and Leith Jazz and Blues Festival also run along the same time as the Leith Festival.
Fierté Simcoe Pride is an annual festival held in Simcoe County, Ontario, during the end of July and beginning of August each year. It is a celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in Simcoe County. It is one of the larger regional gay pride festivals in Canada, featuring flag raisings and proclamations from across the County, educational events, artistic and cultural events, and a large closing event. Since forming, the organisation has expanded gradually, involving more year-round events. In 2016, the organisation celebrated its fifth anniversary Pride.