Matsuri Travel

Music and dance festivals

Festivals built on rhythm, from street dance contests and drum processions to all-night music in bars and churches.

FireLanterns & lightCarnivals & paradesReligious & spiritualCultural heritageFood & drinkSeasonal & harvestWaterCompetitions & games
The band Dikta performing under stage lights at Iceland Airwaves
Nov 5–7, 2026

Iceland Airwaves

New music in small Reykjavík rooms, with the northern lights as a possible encore

Reykjavík, Iceland$$$$
A Naga man in traditional dress holding a spear, shielding his eyes, at the Hornbill Festival
Dec 1–10, 2026est.

Hornbill Festival

All of Nagaland's tribes meet in one hill village for ten days of song, dance and games

Kohima, India$$$$
The green dome and minarets of the Mevlana Museum in Konya
Dec 7–17, 2026

Şeb-i Arus (Mevlana Commemoration)

Whirling dervishes mark Rumi's 'wedding night' in the Konya city where he died

Konya, Türkiye$$$$
Fireworks over the Edinburgh skyline during Hogmanay
Dec 29, 2026 – Jan 1, 2027

Edinburgh's Hogmanay

Torches, a castle-lit street party and Auld Lang Syne at Scotland's New Year

Edinburgh, United Kingdom$$$$
Two men in red ceremonial dress preparing for a vodun ritual in Ouidah
Jan 2–9, 2027

Ouidah Vodun Days

Benin's national voodoo celebration: drums, masked spirits and libations on the beach

Ouidah, Benin$$$$
Dancers in blue costumes carrying painted shields at the Sinulog festival in Cebu
Jan 7–17, 2027est.

Sinulog

Cebu dances for the Santo Niño in the Philippines' grandest street festival

Cebu City, Philippines$$$$
A dancer in an elaborate golden-feathered headdress and painted mask at Ati-Atihan
Jan 9–17, 2027est.

Ati-Atihan

Soot-painted dancers and pounding drums fill Kalibo for the Santo Niño fiesta

Kalibo, Philippines$$$$
A giant white bull float rolling through a New Orleans street during a Mardi Gras parade
Jan 29 – Feb 9, 2027est.

Mardi Gras

New Orleans parades, krewes and flying beads through carnival season to Fat Tuesday

New Orleans, United States$$$$
Dancers in blue skirts and bowler hats parade in formation through a crowded Puno street during the Fiesta de la Candelaria
Jan 30 – Feb 9, 2027

Fiesta de la Candelaria (Puno)

Hundreds of dance troupes honour the Virgin on the shores of Lake Titicaca

Puno, Peru$$$$
A carnival float with a giant jester figure during the Cologne Carnival parade
Feb 4–9, 2027

Cologne Carnival

Six days of costumes, Kölsch and the Rose Monday parade on the Rhine

Cologne, Germany$$$$
Drummers and dancers filling a Salvador street during Carnival
Feb 4–9, 2027

Salvador Carnival

Trios elétricos and Afro-Brazilian blocos take over Bahia's capital for six days

Salvador, Brazil$$$$
A colorful parade float at the Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro
Feb 5–13, 2027est.

Rio Carnival

Samba schools, street blocos and the Sambadrome's all-night parades before Lent

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil$$$$
A smiling woman in a feathered costume holding flowers at the Barranquilla Carnival
Feb 6–9, 2027

Barranquilla Carnival

Cumbia, marimondas and the Battle of Flowers in Colombia's Caribbean carnival

Barranquilla, Colombia$$$$
A line of dancers in embroidered costumes at the Carnaval de Oruro
Feb 6–9, 2027est.

Carnaval de Oruro

Devils, condors and miners dance twenty hours to the Virgin in Bolivia's highland carnival

Oruro, Bolivia$$$$
A troupe of blue devil dancers in motion at Trinidad Carnival
Feb 7–9, 2027

Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

J'ouvert mud at dawn, steelpan and soca, then feathered mas bands on the road

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago$$$$
Fasnacht musicians in green-haired clown masks playing trumpets on a Basel street
Feb 15–18, 2027

Basel Fasnacht

At 4am the lights go out and Basel's old town fills with lanterns, fifes and drums

Basel, Switzerland$$$$
A giant dragon figure in the St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin
Mar 13–17, 2027

St. Patrick's Festival

Dublin's parade, céilís and a city in green for Ireland's national day

Dublin, Ireland$$$$
Masked dancers in red and pink costumes performing at a tshechu festival in Bhutan
Mar 18–22, 2027est.

Paro Tshechu

Masked dances in a fortress courtyard and a giant thangka unveiled at dawn

Paro, Bhutan$$$$
Horse-drawn carriages carrying riders in traditional dress at the Feria de Abril in Seville
Apr 12–18, 2027est.

Feria de Abril

A week of sevillanas, flamenco dresses and horse carriages in Seville's fairground

Seville, Spain$$$$
Decorated elephants lined up at night at the Thrissur Pooram
Apr 17–18, 2027

Thrissur Pooram

Caparisoned elephants, duelling parasols and a dawn of fireworks in Kerala

Thrissur, India$$$$
A boat full of people in orange celebrating King's Day on the Amsterdam canals
Apr 26–27, 2027

King's Day

The Netherlands turns orange for a nationwide street market and canal party

Amsterdam, Netherlands$$$$
The Sydney Opera House lit with green projections during Vivid Sydney
May 28 – Jun 19, 2027

Vivid Sydney

Light art on the Opera House sails, drone shows and a harbour-side walk of installations

Sydney, Australia$$$$
Hot-air balloons glow against a violet dusk sky as visitors watch from the grass at Luye Highland in Taitung
Jul 3 – Aug 19, 2027est.

Taiwan International Balloon Festival

Seven weeks of dawn balloon flights and night-glow concerts over the East Rift Valley

Taitung, Taiwan$$$$
Festival-goers covered in grey mud at the Boryeong Mud Festival
Jul 23 – Aug 8, 2027est.

Boryeong Mud Festival

Korea's beach town turns mineral mudflats into the world's messiest summer party

Boryeong, South Korea$$$$
Warriors in body paint and feather headdresses line up at the opening ceremony of the Baliem Valley Festival in Papua
Aug 5–7, 2027est.

Baliem Valley Festival

Highland tribes of Papua stage mock battles a mile above sea level

Wamena, Indonesia$$$$
A street mural of two children on a bicycle in George Town, Penang
Aug 7–15, 2027est.

George Town Festival

Nine August days when clan temples, shophouses and streets become free stages

George Town, Malaysia$$$$
Dancers in traditional hats and happi coats performing Awa Odori in a black and white street scene
Aug 12–15, 2027

Awa Odori

Japan's best-known dance festival, where the fools who watch join the fools who dance

Tokushima, Japan$$$$
A light projection covering a historic building facade at the Singapore Night Festival
Aug 20 – Sep 4, 2027est.

Singapore Night Festival

Sixteen free nights of projection-mapped facades and light art in Bras Basah.Bugis

Singapore, Singapore$$$$
A dancer in a deep woven hat dancing through the night streets at Owara Kaze no Bon
Sep 1–3, 2027est.

Owara Kaze no Bon

Three hushed nights of braided-hat dancers and kokyū strings in lantern-lit Yatsuo

Toyama, Japan$$$$
A giant white hahoe mask sculpture towering over visitors at the Andong Mask Dance Festival
Sep 24 – Oct 3, 2027est.

Andong Mask Dance Festival

About ten autumn days of masked satire: UNESCO talchum and troupes from abroad

Andong, South Korea$$$$

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