World Calender

A Kaleidoscope of Spring Events

Executive summary by darmansjah

According to the President

Premiere of Camp David, arena stage, Washington, D.C. March 21-May 4. Pultizer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright brings the backstory of the 1978 Camp David accords center stage. Based on events recorded in Rosalynn Carter’s diary and President Jimmy Carter’s archives, the play offers an inside look at some of the small moments (like an impromptu Gettysburg trip by Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin) that kept the unprecented Middle East peace talks on track.

Color My World

Holi Festival, India, March 17 Unleash your inner eight-year-old at the often wet-and wild-festival of colors. The color comes from bright red, pink, green, and orange gulal (dry powder) tossed in the air and smeared on faces. Add buckets of water and you’ve got a whirling, dripping sea of neon-tinted bodies.

Tuning in to Texas

South by southwest Austin, March 11-16 Big-name acts get the buzz (the 2013 lineup included Justin Timberlake, Prince, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), but the main focus at SXSW always is on what’s next. With over 2,200 artists performing on more than 100 stages, it’ll be easy to create a Spotify playlist filled with favorites that few of your friends have heard-yet.

Fired Up in Spain

Las Fallas De Valencia, Spain, March 15-19 Sleep isn’t option at Valencia’s raucous and roaring “welcome spring” fling. The five-day frenzy of parades, parties, fireworks, and flames comes to a blazing conclusion on La Crema (“the burning”). That’s when the festival’s more than 300 polystyrene and wood satirical statues, stuffed with explosives, are torched. The winning entry is spared and displayed.

Let’s Make a Deal

Affordable art fair, Brussels, Belgium, February 7-10 Can’t tell a Picasso from a paint by number? This is your chance to learn about contemporary art, fall in love with an original such as Caroline poulet’s resin sculpture “Royal Blue”, and actually afford to bring something home. Prices start at around $65. If none of the thousands of paintings, prints, and sculptures speaks to you, create your own masterpiece at a hands-on workshop.