The most interesting and colourful celebrations in the world
Burning Man Festival
Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in Black Rock City, Nevada, United States. The event begins on the last Monday in August, and ends on the first Monday in September. Burning Man does not have a single focus but is described as an experiment in modern art and radical self-expression. About 50,000 people attend Burning Man daily.
The event is a week full of impromptu art installations and music, concerts and wild contests like Mutant vehicle race. The festival climaxes with the burning of a giant wooden effigy on Sunday evening.
World Toe Wrestling Championships
Toe wrestling is an eccentric sport, very popular in the UK. World championships started in the 1970s and are now held in Ashbourne, England.
Toe wrestling is similar to arm wrestling. To play, players must take off their shoes and socks, as the game is played bare feet. Players must link toes and, after a short starting chant ("one, two, three, four, I declare a toe war."), the opponents proceed to attempt to capture their opponent's feet for three seconds. Point are scored by making the opponent’s feet touch the floor.
Chester Midsummer Watch Parade
The Chester midsummer watch parade, which takes place in Chester, England, is one of Britain's oldest festivals, dating back to 1498, when a monk from the local Monastery wrote of a Chester procession in the chronicles.
At every Summer solstice the locals walk through the city carrying torches and wearing costumes. The most popular and often seen characters are the fairies, trolls, the pirates and the angels as well as monsters of all sorts. The pageant also includes brass bands and fire-eaters. The parade takes place on Saturday or Sunday nearest to midsummer, in June every year.
The parade travels from the Cathedral around the city to the Town Hall, where the parade ends with juggling and dancing.
The Redneck[1] Games (Дурацкие игры / Игры простофиль)
The Redneck Games are held annually in East Dublin, Georgia, USA. The games were started by General Manager for the local FM radio station Mac Davis who created this festival to satirize the Olympic Games and set up a charitable fundraising event for the benefit of the community.
The festival turned out to be a great success. While only having a population of 2,000 East Dublin now attracts about 100,000 people who attend the Games. The event brings in lots of money and crowds of tourists. The press coverage is enourmous. All major broadcasters (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MTV) cover the event.
Some events that are held during the Redneck Games include: Toilet seat throwing, Mud pit belly flop, Cell phone throwing, Wet T-shirt contest
For each of the events, a trophy is awarded: a beer can.
TASKS
1. Match the parts of the sentences
The Redneck Games….Burning Man Festival….
Chester Midsummer Watch Parade….. / …. is a week long event.
….dates back to the 15th century.
…are held in a tiny town in America.
2. Complete the sentences
a. Burning Man Festival is an event full of……………..and it climaxes with………………
b. At every Summer solstice the people of Chester walk…………….carrying…………..
c. East Dublin, a small town located in………………., benefits greatly from………………………….which are held there every year.
d. In toe wrestling, which is similar to……………………., points are scored by……………
3. True or False
a. At the Redneck Games the winner is awarded with a bottle of wine
b. Chester Midsummer parade travels from the Town Hall to the Cathedral
c. Toe wrestling is played bare feet
d. Burning Man Festival is held in England.
4. Say where and when you can see…………….
a. many people dressed as pirates and trolls
b. mutant vehicle race
c. people competing in cell phone throwing
d. a man saying:”I declare a toe war”.
[1] Redneck – в американском слэнге слово используется для обозначения человека из провинции с низким интеллектуальным уровнем. Примерно соответствует русскому «деревенщина», «простофиля».