Okay, so I’ve been on this quest to find the absolute coolest performing arts festivals around the world. It’s been a bit of a wild ride, so I figured I’d share my process, bumps and all.
First Steps: The Wide, Wide Web
I started, like most people do, by hitting up Google. I just typed in stuff like “best performing arts festivals” and “top theater festivals” and “unique cultural festivals.” This gave me a HUGE list. I mean, pages and pages of results. I felt pretty overwhelmed, to be honest.
Digging Deeper: Forums and Blogs
After getting the general lay of the land, I wanted to hear from people who had actually been to these festivals. So, I started looking at travel forums and blogs. Reading personal experiences was way more helpful than just reading official festival websites.
I focused on posts and comments that talked about:
- The overall vibe of the festival (Was it super crowded? Relaxed? Family-friendly?)
- The quality of the performances (Were they professional? Experimental? Traditional?)
- The ease of getting around (Was it easy to find the venues? Was public transport good?)
- The food! (Because, let’s be real, festival food is important.)
Narrowing it Down: My Must-Haves
From all that reading, I started to get a better idea of what I was really looking for. I made a list of my personal “must-haves”:
- A mix of traditional and contemporary performances.
- Something that felt a little “off the beaten path” – not just the biggest, most famous festivals.
- A place with a good overall atmosphere, not just great shows.
- Reasonably easy to get to.
Getting Specific: My Shortlist
With my “must-haves” list, I went back to my giant list of festivals and started crossing things off. It became a lot easier to make that I got interested.
I put all my notes, thoughts in one document, so I do not forget that, which I have got interested in, also this process helps to keep everything straight, cause after hours of research, it all started to blur together!
Next Up
I made a really good process for searching the best performing arts festivals globally, I will keep going.
