This document provides information on several festivals happening around the world in early 2019, including: The Kanathoor Nalvar Bhoothashanam festival in Kerala, India celebrates Theyyam dances between December 6th and January 6th. The Rose Parade in Pasadena, California on January 1st features flower-covered floats. The Wakakusa Yamayaki festival in Nara, Japan involves lighting a hillside on fire on January 26th. The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah runs independent films from January 24th to February 3rd.

1. FESTIVALS - 2019

2. Kanathoor Nalvar Bhoothashanam – India
Theyyam festival is celebrated by the people of Kerala
known as Kanathoor Nalvar Bhoothasthaam. Men of
the northern Kerala perform the ritual dance during
the festival. These traditional dances thus provide the
visitors a great opportunity to have a closer glance to
the culture of the local people. These performances
are specially performed on the eve of New Year.
Theyyam has almost 400 kinds of historic characters
dedicated to it. The other attractions of festival are the
various costumes used, Art of Body Painting, the
performances of various heroic characters. These
shrines and mythological place adds to purification of
the surroundings.

3. Kerala also termed as God’s own
country celebrates Kanathoor
Nalvar Bhoothasthanam festival.
This festival is celebrated on the
occasion of the eve of New Year
and is linked to the Theyyam
festival. Generally it is celebrated
between 6th December and 6th
January. This festival attracts
numerous tourists and gives a
splendid view to devotees who join
this festival. It is majorly expected
to be performed from 28th of
December to 1st of January. The
dance performed in the festival is a
real treat for the eyes of the
visitors who plan their trip specially
to be part of the festival.
Time for Kanathoor Nalvar
Bhoothasthanam Festival
When:28 Dec 2018 – 1 Jan 2019
Where: Kanathoor village,
Karasgod district, Kerala.

4. Rose Bowl Parade – California
The Rose Parade will start at 8:00am PST.
On January 1, 2019, the world focuses its
attention on Pasadena, California, USA,
home of the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl
Game. It’s a celebration more than a
century old – a festival of flowers, music
and sports unequaled anywhere else in
the world. It’s America’s New Year
Celebration, a greeting to the world on
the first day of the year, and a salute to
the community spirit and love of
pageantry that have thrived in Pasadena
for more than 100 years.
An event as large as the Tournament of
Roses requires about 80,000 hours of
combined manpower each year. That
manpower is supplied by 935
When: January 1
Where:California

5. members of the non-profit Tournament of Roses
Association, a volunteer organization dedicated
to presenting an internationally-recognized New
Year’s celebration. Each volunteer is assigned to
one of 31 committees, with responsibilities
ranging from selecting parade participants to
directing visitors on New Year’s Day, to hosting
the press headquarters for media coverage of the
Rose Bowl Game, to giving presentations about
the Tournament to community groups.

6. WAKAKUSA YAMAYAKI – Japan
The Wakakusa Yamayaki is an
annual festival during which the grass on the
hillside of Nara‘s Mount Wakakusayama is set on
fire. The mountain is located at the eastern end
of Nara Park, and when it is set alight it can be
seen throughout the city. The burning of the
mountain itself is preceded by a fireworks display.
The festival takes place every year on the 4th
Saturday of January, but may be delayed to a
later date in case of bad weather.

7. Todaiji Temple, Kofukuji
Temple and Kasuga Shrine are
all involved with the ceremonies
of the festival. The Wakakusa
Yamayaki has been taking place
for hundreds of years and its
precise origins are unclear. One
theory claims that the burning
of the mountainside began
during boundary conflicts
between Nara’s great temples,
while another claims the fires
were used to drive away wild
boars.
Where: Nara, Japan
When: January 26, 2019

8. SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL – USA
The Sundance Film Festival, a
program of the Sundance
Institute, is a film
festival that takes place annually
in Park City, Utah. it is the largest
independent film festival in the
United States Held in January
in Park City and Salt Lake
City, Utah, as well as at
the Sundance Resort, the festival
is a showcase for new work from
American and

9. international independent filmmakers. The festival
comprises competitive sections for American and
international dramatic and documentary films,
both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-
competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier,
Spotlight, Midnight, Premieres and Documentary
Premieres. The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place
from January 19 to January 29, 2017
Where: Park City, Utah – USA
When: 24 January – 3 February 2019

10. CARNIVALE DI VENEZIA – ITALY
The Carnival of Venice (Italian: Carnevale di Venezia) is an
annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival ends with the
Christian celebration of Lent, forty days before Easter,
on Shrove Tuesday (Martedì Grasso or Mardi Gras), the day
before Ash Wednesday. The festival is world famous for its
elaborate masks.
Where: Venice – Italy
When: 16 February – 5 March 2019

11. RIO CARNIVAL – BRAZIL
The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a festival held
before Lent every year and considered the
biggest carnival in the world with two million
people per day on the streets. The
typical Rio carnival parade is filled with
revelers, floats, and adornments from
numerous samba schools which are located in
Rio. Dressed in beautiful costumes these

12. amazing dancers parade through the Sambadrome; official
balls & parties are held at Copacabana Palace. And the streets
come alive with the mini festivals instigated by locals where
formality and structure are left far behind as music and
dancing become the order of the day.
Where: Pingxi, Taiwan – Republic of China
When: 2 March – 9 March 2019

13. Kumbh Mela 2019
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh
Mela, 2019 is the
upcoming Ardh Kumbh
Mela to be held at Triveni
Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar
Pradesh, India from
January to March 2019.

14. Upcoming Events And Festivals Around The World