Page 69 - Off the Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 1 of 2)

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FESTIVALS AND PARTIES
FESTIVALS AND PARTIES

Open-air concert at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven, Connecticut
International Choir competition during the Eisteddfod, Wales

Festival of Arts The Eisteddfod

& Ideas NEED TO KNOW

LOCATION The Eisteddfod
NEED TO KNOW moves to different locations in
Wales, returning every four "UMBOUJD
LOCATION New Haven years to the capital, Cardiff, in 0DFBO
is located in south-central $ "/"%" the southeast of the country (MBTHPX &EJOCVSHI
Connecticut, on the north shore 4FBUUMF WHEN Eisteddfod takes place 6/*5&% /PSUI
of Long Island Sound, 80 miles ,*/(%0. 4FB
/&8 )"7&/ in the first week of August
(130 km) from New York .BODIFTUFS
4BO 'SBODJTDP /FX :PSL ABOVE Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, from the UK VISITORS PER YEAR *3&-"/%
WHEN The festival takes $"3%*'' #JSNJOHIBN
place in the last 16 days in June 6 4 " 8BTIJOHUPO % $ Around 160,000
-PT "OHFMFT DAYTIME TEMPERATURE #SJTUPM -POEPO
VISITORS PER YEAR heartbeat is New Haven Green, a recreation area 60°F (16°C) in August
Around 17,000 /FX 0SMFBOT named as one of America’s ten most beautiful
DAYTIME TEMPERATURE spaces. Past highlights at the event have included
77°F (25°C) during June .&9*$0
the Metropolitan Opera’s stunning rendition of Taking its name from the Welsh word eistedd (“sit”),
Puccini’s La Bohème; a concert by blues singer this vibrant eight-day festival is an out-and-out
Established in New Haven in 1996 with the aim and civil-rights activist Mavis Staples; and a celebration of Welsh culture and heritage, staged
of highlighting and developing the city’s strong closing-night performance by choreographer and entirely in the Welsh language. First held in 1176
cultural and educational traditions, the International political philosopher Liz Lerman and hundreds of and revived in its present form in 1860, the
Festival of Arts & Ideas is today one of the most “citizen dancers.” Eisteddfod is today the most famous festival in
noteworthy arts festivals in the world. World-class Designed to inspire new ways of thinking, Wales. More than 6,000 people take part in drama,
performers, pre-eminent thinkers, and this unusual and fascinating series of events music, poetry, and prose competitions, held in a
inspirational leaders descend on the pretty embraces the traditional and experimental, the different Welsh location each year. The Eisteddfod
harborside city for the 16-day celebration, which well-known and new. It is socially cohesive, Pavilion, an enormous tent set up in the host
stands out from other arts festivals by virtue of its occasionally controversial, and – as those who town, is the focal point of the event (portable
innovative focus – the fusion of arts and ideas. return year after year will testify – a lot of fun. hand-sets providing English translations are on
Performers from more than 20 countries put offer here). A wealth of performances, exhibitions,
on hundreds of shows and events. New Haven and concerts take place in other nearby venues.
sparkles with activity, and an upbeat summer Practical Information
vibe prevails, not least because 85 percent of the Getting There and Around New York’s La Guardia and JFK airports are located
2 hours’ drive from downtown New Haven; taxis and shuttle buses make the Practical Information
events are free. Visitors flock to see concerts and
trip regularly. Interstate trains and buses run between the two cities, and a Getting There and Around There are regular flights to Cardiff from the
art installations in venues all over the city, ferry service operates from Long Island in New York to Bridgeport in Connecticut, neighboring English cities of Birmingham, Bristol, and Manchester. Long-
including the Long Wharf Theater, the renowned 20 miles (30 km) from New Haven. Downtown New Haven has an efficient distance bus services run between many English and Welsh towns. Check
Shubert Theater, and the famed Yale University. bus system and is compact enough to be explored on foot or by bicycle. timetables for train times.
There are also many open-air shows. The festival’s Website www.artidea.org Website www.eisteddfod.org.uk

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