Checking festival dates

Posted by David Whitley Apr 2, 2007

You know that feeling you get when you’re invited to a great party but you can’t go because you’ve promised you’ll go and see your mother/ you’ve got tickets to see a mediocre band that your girlfriend really likes in concert? That nagging feeling that you’re missing out on all the fun, just because timing has conspired against you?

Well, that happened to me back in February. I was over in Sicily for work, and because of my schedule, I only had one day available in Catania. Irritatingly enough, I arrived to find the town in clear-up mode. The previous three days had been the Festa di Sant’Agata, the city’s major celebration, and I had missed out.

The misery was compounded by talking to a tour guide, who showed me pictures of the celebrations and went into hyperbolic detail about the processions and festivities that had turned the city’s streets into an amazing spectacle. Oh yes, and it was absolutely pouring with rain too.

In fact, I couldn’t really have picked a worse day to have gone – it was a bit like paying an impromptu visit to friends you’ve not seen in ages and finding them all slumped on the couch with hangovers, possessing all the conversation skills of a mute parrot.

Worse was to come, though, as that evening I flew out to Venice, where I had five days to explore. The day I left, of course, was the first day of the carnival. So, somehow, I had contrived to explore this gloriously romantic city when it’s at its coldest, darkest and foggiest, and yet missed the huge party that is supposed to distract everyone from the grim conditions.

Next time I go anywhere I’m going to make quite sure I check the calendar properly…