FEATURE
People have been celebrating craft for as long as people have been crafting. All across the world and throughout the year, the compulsion to make things is writ large, brought to life in the form of festivals, where visitors flock to observe the spectacle. Next time you’re planning a vacation, consider the following lineup of events. Who knows — you may end up in costume at Carnaval, or in the Netherlands watching steel silhouettes dancing across a beach.
Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, China One of the world’s premiere winter festivals, this event in Northeast China holds the current world record for the largest snow sculpture: a 115-foot- high, 656-foot-long landscape of Chinese palaces, French cathedrals, and an icy rendition of the Acropolis. Zhaolin Park’s hand-carved ice lantern display is an event highlight. craftzine.com/go/ harbin or harbin-ice.net (in Chinese)
Tasmanian Circus Festival, Australia Clowns, hula hoopers, and acrobats converge on this Australian island for a weekend event fit for anyone who’s ever wanted to run away with the circus. Workshops include tightrope, trapeze, and tips on manipulating objects. circusfest.com
The masquerade parties and costume balls are extraordinary, but it’s the artisan-made papier-mâché masks, a tradition dating back centuries, that earn top crafter points. Today leather, feathers, and gems are also used. carnivalofvenice.com
Brazil’s premier festival features a smorgasbord of colorful costumes fashioned from feathers, sequins, silk, and mirrors. The most elaborate of the bunch serve as accessories to parade floats, which incorporate everything from floral displays to in-flight human butterflies. rio-carnival.net
Impress ’09, Gloucestershire, England Printmaking rules at this inaugural event, where etchings, monoprints, screen prints, and woodcarvings are set for display. Workshops are offered, along with handmade prints, books, and cards for purchase. gpchq.org
Maker Faire, San Francisco Bay Area CRAFT magazine comes to life at this annual event, where crafters can swap and sew clothes, screen-print, make jewelry, learn how to make lace, felt, and LED embroidery, and meet other like-minded creatives. makerfaire.com
References:
Archives