Kitsch, possibly of the unintentional kind, comes out to play at the Cows’ Ball. More than 50 years old, the festival marks a winter homecoming; not of men, but of cattle, which return to the alpine Bohinj valley after a summer spent in green pastures. Daisy and friends are truly the belles of the rural ball, as they are decorated with wreaths and shown off on a parade. Accompanied by herders, cheesemakers, milkmaids and other dairy-farming types, they pass Lake Bohinj and, rising 130m above it, Govin Waterfall. The falls are only active after heavy rain, so hopefully there won’t be any spray to spoil the animals’ get-up.
Car-free day encourages motorists to refrain from using their car for a day. Most cities have their own websites for car-free day – here is one for the world.
Situated near Africa’s southernmost tip, Hermanus has a front-row view of the Cape Whale Route. During migrating season, people flock to the clifftops to glimpse the endangered southern right whale. Given that it overlooks Walker Bay, into which 70 whales have squeezed, the town once took its blubber-related fortune for granted. In an attempt to formalise the clifftop viewing, it started its festival and introduced the Whale Crier. The world’s only such crier, his blasts on the kelp horn are coded to direct eager cetacean-spotters.
World Environmental Health Day addresses environmental health inequalities. While environmental health may be concerned primarily with the impacts of environmental stressors on health, these in turn are heavily influenced by and frequently reflect economic and social factors.
The Galway Oyster Festival is dedicated to Ostrea edulis, the European flat oyster. The local molluscs are left to grow for three years in the clean waters of Brandon Bay and Clarenbridge, blooming into a juicy delicacy. Tens of thousands of the slippery critters are consumed on the Guinness Oyster Trail, on which 30 pubs give out free trays of the seafood with pints of the dark stuff.
World Rivers Day is a global celebration of the world’s waterways. WRD highlights the importance and value of rivers and strives to encourage increased stewardship of the world’s rivers. Go out there and adopt a river 🙂