Pulling out your calendar for ‘A Year of Festivals’

Exhibits to read vs people to meet?
Piped-in music vs live music?
Reproductions of food vs hot-off-the-grill food?

Is it much of a choice between a museum or festival? A new book helps tip the scales in favor of festivals that much more. Put away every preconceived idea of what you thought a festival could be—’A Year of Festivals‘ seems to dispel a lot of them, and that’s the fun of it.

The Lonely Planet book features almost 300 festivals worldwide, organized per month, and even further by week. The familiar ones like the Palio and Burning Man are there, but what makes it a fun flip-through are the lesser-known ones, like Bog Snorkelling (Wales), the Baby-Jumping Festival (Spain), or the Pirate Festival (Cayman Islands). Just in case the photos have convinced you to attend, each description details the pertinent info: Location, Dates, Description, Essentials, Local Attractions, and Levels of Participation (1=spectator to 5=total immersion).

Perceptive Travel happens to be running a contest to win a copy of the book. To enter, just post a comment on the website by September 7th, mentioning any favorite festivals you’ve been to or dream of going to.

And if you’re picking up the book in search of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, consider something else that I ran across: the Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition, an expedition that completes the South Pole trek that Sir Ernest Shackleton couldn’t. A team of Shackleton’s own relatives will be trekking the same 900-mile route, and they’re opening up the last spot in the expedition to a “budding explorer.” (Sorry, only UK and Northern Ireland citizens with a valid EU passport are able to apply). Obviously, it’s no walk-in-the-park—before it even starts, the selection process includes a fitness test, panel interview, and heavy-duty endurance training. You can apply through September 12th.