"…I want all the hands of the world
to knead mountains of bread,
gather all fish in the sea,
all the fruit of the olive,
all the love still unawakened,
and leave gifts in the hands of the day."

"The Gift" by Pablo Neruda, 1971 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature

My mother, pictured at left, participated in many festivals in Greece when she was a child.  Perhaps it was inevitable that I, too, would come to love festivals.

For centuries, festivals around the world have presented to mankind an opportunity to share the spirit of happiness and optimism through artistic and agricultural creations presented as gifts to the world. It is up to each one of us to receive these gifts in the same spirit in which they have been created and to enjoy them together in celebration of our hopes for new friendships and discoveries in a more peaceful world.

The Olive Tree World has compiled a database of festivals held throughout the world.  You may search by month or by region. You may also search by keyword; for example, if you are interesting in finding strawberry festivals, type in "strawberry." You may also search by any combination of region, month and keyword.