Australia Tours: The New Festival Frenzy

By Author: Noshir Lavangia
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What better way is there to soak in the culture of a place than a local festival? And we don’t mean the religious kind. Over the years, communities and organisations the world over have taken to conducting festivals to celebrate art, music, food and any other such aspect that highlights the beauty of the place in question. Australia is home to an innumerable amount of these, which isn’t surprising giving the sheer geographic and cultural diversity of the nation. If you’re planning an Australia tour anytime soon, look for travel deals which will let you experience the following festivals:

1) The Sydney Festival
Evidently, Australia’s busiest city isn’t too busy to throw a party. Every January, Sydney comes alive with a host of musical, culinary, theatrical, cinematic and artistic activities. With performers and speakers flying in from across the globe to be part of it, the week-long Sydney Festival does indeed embody the diversity of the city, as the organising committee claims.

2) Homebake
Australia is home to Big Day Out, which has previously been headlined by the likes of Nirvana and Iggy ...
... Pop. But then, Australia is also home to Homebake, a music festival dedicated to keeping things distinctly Australian. Australian musicians, Australian drink, Australian spirit. Homebake is where audiophiles should head if they want a taste some of the distinct sounds of Down Under, spread across an extensive range of genres, from aboriginal folk to heavy metal.

3) Perth Writers Festival
For the literarily predisposed travellers, the Perth Writers Festival is a one of a kind experience. Organised as a subsidiary festival to the bigger Perth International Arts festival, the Writers Festival is an extravaganza of readings, book signings, workshops, talks, interviews, debates and everything else that writers and readers crave and dig; all with a uniquely Australian twist. Be prepared to carry back heaps of Australian literature!

4) Melbourne Food & Wine Festival
Cleanse your palates in February, the head to Melbourne in March. Active for sixteen whole days in that month, the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival is one of the most sophisticated and longest-running food festivals in Australia. Restaurants revamp their menus and the best chefs in the country are hired to serve up cuisine from both Australia and abroad, not mention the overflow of Australian wine, which is slowly gaining recognition from connoisseurs the world over.

5) South Australian Living Artists Festival
If you’ve got a keen sense for visual aesthetics, then you must pay a visit to the South Australian Living Artists Festival. Held for twenty four days every August, SALA, as the fest is commonly know, was initiated in the year 1998 to promote the talents of local visual artists. The year 2011 saw over 4,000 artists participate, and the number will only keep growing.

Most travel deals have yet to warm up to festivals as their main focus, but given the number and variety of fests in Australia, the shift is necessary. Help make it possible. Go festival crazy with an Australia tour for your next vacation!
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Ninad Chaudhari works as a Web UI Designer / Developer with Cox & Kings. In his spare time, Ninad is an ardent photographer and loves the opportunities that travel deals give him to pursue his passion. His albums are replete with pictures of Australia tours.