Fest300, the world’s most comprehensive guide to the planet’s best festivals, today unveiled its highly anticipated first annual list of the 300 most-loved festivals in the world. Included are some well known events like Rio’s Carnival, Burning Man in the U.S. and Glastonbury in the U.K., plus some very unusual suspects like Spain’s unique El Colacho. You can view Fest300’s complete 2015 list here.
The Fest300 team deliberated over countless festivals to curate a world class list of 300 events. The team curated 270 top tier festivals but the final 30 were suggested by festival goers themselves in a crowd sourced campaign held in November. There’s something for everyone on the list, giving adventure seekers and music lovers alike a road map to fill the year ahead with some of the world’s most unique experiences.
“Fest300 is the best URL to help people have an amazing IRL (In Real Life) experience. The more digital we get, the more ritual we need and festivals everywhere are experiencing huge growth in attendance. We’re providing a great experience online so that people can discover the best festivals offline,“ said Fest300 cofounder Chip Conley.
Designed to connect people with rich experiences, Fest300 is a vibrant virtual community that fosters more in-person face time and encourages cultural curiosity. Along with expert and thoughtfully curated event lists and spotlights to help members comb through the ever-growing number of festivals around the world, Fest300 provides a platform for attendees themselves to reminisce and recommend.
Fest300 offers a telling snapshot of today’s festival scene:
● You’re always close to a top festival . Down south, back east, on the west coast, or somewhere in the middle, every region of the U.S. features a major event.
● The most-loved festivals are global. In fact, the Fest300 list includes best fests from every continent but Antarctica.
● We’re all in this together . Unlike other best-of compilations, like the Fortune 500 and Forbes 400, Fest300 does not rank its list. Each of the 300 festivals stands on equal footing and offers the potential for connecting with a like-minded community.
● Music makes the world go round . The vast majority of the 30 top votegetters are music festivals, underscoring people’s undiminished love for experiencing music communally. However, only half of the 300 are music festivals as the list includes arts and cultural festivals, film and food festivals, health and wellness festivals, and religious pilgrimages.
Fascinating to note – 6 festivals in Canada made the list:
- Banff Snowdays – In Banff National Park’s winter wonderland, celebrate the best of snowy fun, sports and food for an entire month.
- Calgary Stampede – The Calgary Stampede is a western show like no other, encompassing parades, rodeo shows, stage coach races, a fair – and pancakes. Lots and lots of pancakes.
- Osheaga – Big-time artists and up-and-comers take the stages together outdoors at this alternative rock fest.
- Pemberton Music Festival – Take in the sounds—and unbeatable sights—at one of Canada’s most scenic festivals.
- Quebec Winter Carnival – With an outdoor amusement park, ice slides, dogsled rides, parades and more, there are more than enough reasons to bundle up and go out to play at the Quebec Winter Carnival.
- Shambala – Thanks to the Bundschuh family who open the gates to their 500-acre Salmo River Ranch each year, the largest EDM festival in Western Canada, (Shambhala) has a down-home family vibe.
