Icom's Blog – October 2016 Archive (5)

For over a century, the International Festival of the Sahara has proven that it is possible to throw a party in one the harshest of environments on earth. The festival is the largest and most well-known in the country of Tunisia, and attracts visitors from across Northern Africa and around the world.

The festival is situated in the middle of the rolling sand dunes, in…

Perhaps no other Caribbean nation celebrates its pirate legends and cultural heritage quite like the Cayman Islands, which erupts into a festival of spectacle and pageantry during our annual Pirates Week in November.

Events include mock "invasions" of pirates, along with Heritage Days in each district. Spectators will also enjoy…

Remember, remember,

The Fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot;

For I see no reason

Why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Every year on November 5th, Brits light bonfires and set off fireworks to remember their good luck in stumbling upon Guy Fawkes just before he attempted to blow up Parliament in 1605. Fawkes and his 12 co-conspirators plotted to…

Come the beginning of November, Mexican families throw a feast and invite the dead over for dinner. Though Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is often confused with Halloween due to the proximity in time, this holiday is not about ghouls and goblins, but instead honors the dead and welcomes their souls home as a blessing.

Altars and offerings are a way…

Roots of the Festival

The festival was founded in 1987 by Steven Hager, an American writer, activist, and strong proponent for the legalization of marijuana. He first conceived the event as a harvest celebration to promote the personal cultivation and use of cannabis. With such liberal drug laws in Amsterdam it came as no surprise when the city was announced as the host…