Festivals & Events

Held in Irkutsk every March, the International Baikal Nordic Games festival includes cultural events, meetings, outdoor challenges and sport competitions. The games are hosted in the spirit of international competition, celebrating winter sports, and offers competitors the unique opportunity to race across the frozen ice surface of the world’s largest and deepest lake.

The four-day 'Art Dubai' is one of the most popular international art fairs in the MENASA (Middle East/North Africa/South Asia) region. Established in 2007, the fair has been building a reputation as one of the leading events that showcases contemporary art and provides a global meeting opportunity for artists and art enthusiasts.

A week-long festival filled with dance, yoga and live music, the Bali Spirit Festival in Ubud sells out nearly every year. Workshops, cocktail hours, scrumptious multi-country cuisine and a mix of cultures draw people from all over the world to this international gathering in the month of March.

Every year, visitors from all over Malaysia and beyond converge upon Kuala Lumpur for the biggest celebration of the country’s rich, diverse culture. There is a huge, colorful parade of dancers and musicians from many different ethnic groups, traditional street food, free concerts, and there are flash mobs all over the city.

Since 1995, March 5th is devoted to the promotion of physical culture and sports, an initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev. A series of sporting events are held across the country on this day. 

Held annually in March, the Doha Cultural Festival is the biggest event of its kind in the Middle East, attracting hundreds of visitors each year. The festival programs celebrate the heritage and culture of Qatar, from musical performances and dancing to intimate poetry readings and theatre. Local artisans are invited to showcase their art work, handicrafts, and fashions. There are also dedicated children’s events and activities. 

Easter festivals remain the most important religious celebrations in Armenia, with various observances from March 22 to April 26. Easter time, or Surb Zatik, in Armenia, celebrates the resurrection of the Christian Jesus Christ. One familiar tradition includes painting eggs red with natural ingredients, like onion layers. One required dish for an Armenian Easter is trout with red wine. For the youth, there is a tradition to gather near Yerevan churches for and dance traditional folk dances and singing.

Japan’s cherry blossom festival takes place throughout the country in the springtime, in conjunction with the blooming of the delicate and fragrant cherry blossoms, which lasts for about two weeks. Crowds from all over the country gather amongst the flowering trees, with parties going late into the night.

Also known as ‘Eating Cold Food Day,’ Hansik falls in March or April, marking when warm weather thaws the frozen lands. Modern customs include tidying up family tombs and planting trees, as the holiday also coincides with Arbor Day. In addition to ancestral shrine visits and car, tradition dictated eating cold food such as pickled vegetables and forbade using fire.

Unlike much of the rest of the world, Bali rings in the new year in silence. Nyepi begins three days before the New Year with a cleansing ritual, followed by a fascinating exorcism ceremony. The day after Nyepi is spent socializing and focusing on forgiveness.