Event-o-Rama: 10 Must-Dos in August

There are some amazing events on tap all over the world, all the time. Here’s a taste of what you can see and do in August:

• Where can you find more than a million people celebrating Caribbean culture…in England? Head to the Notting Hill Carnival (August 25-26) to savor the flash and flavor as the biggest street festival in Europe takes over West London.
• If explaining the Burning Man Festival (August 26-September 2), which encourages radical self-expression in a temporary experimental community in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, is like “trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind,” I guess you’ll just have to experience the commerce-free event for yourself.
• Shuttlecocks will fly at the World Badminton Championships (August 5-11) in Guangzhou, China. Join thousands of fans to watch the best of the best in badminton compete for titles in men’s and women’s singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
• The Venice Film Festival (August 28-September 7) is one of the world’s premiere cinematic showcases, attracting A-list celebrities and cinephiles from all over. Get in on the action as the prestigious event celebrates its 70th year — and spend time in the famously sinking city while you still can.
• Prepare to be entertained at the Halifax International Busker Festival (July 31-August 5). Watch in awe as stand-out street performers — from contortionists, to comedians, to “fire weavers” — headline this family-friendly extravaganza in the Canadian city’s historic waterfront district.
• For a Scottish take on the performing arts, check out the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (August 2-26). Watch as thousands of artists — from household names to relative unknowns – take to the stage around Scotland’s capital city to take part in the “largest arts festival in the world.”
• Join oenophiles from around the globe at the Fiesta de la Vendimia (August 3-19) in Ensenada, Mexico. Celebrate a two-centuries-long tradition of cultivating grapes as you bounce around the Guadalupe Valley treating your palette to wine tastings, gourmet meals, and al fresco concerts at local vineyards.
• Let your hair down at the Shambala Festival (August 22-25). The annual event draws thousands of “dreamers, thinkers, artists, radicals and romanticists” to Northamptonshire for four days of  live music, cabaret, comedy — you name it. You can even “glamp” in the English countryside.
• Grab a partner and dance on down to Argentina for the Tango Buenos Aires Festival (August 14-27). Brush up on your skills while you’re there by taking advantage of the classes and exhibitions on offer around the city while the best tango dancers battle it out for the world championship.
• Where can you find sculptures made of hay? At the Salzburg Harvest Festival (August 24-October 27), of course. Witness a truly local spectacle as individuals and clubs churn out creative masterpieces made of wood and straw, or partake in one of more than 2,000 events celebrating folk heritage and rural traditions across the region.

What would you add to the list? Let us know what we’re missing by leaving a comment.