festival
Community celebration event
A festival is a celebration, usually public and recurring, marked by special activities, performances, or observances.
Religious festivals commemorate sacred events: Diwali, Easter, Eid.
Secular festivals celebrate arts, music, food, or local culture: a film festival, the jazz festival.
The word suggests abundance and communal enjoyment—multiple events, crowds, a festive atmosphere.
Ceremonial public procession
- carnivalTraveling amusement attraction
- fireworksExplosive light displays
- galaFestive formal occasion
- fiestaFestive public celebration
revelry · jubilee · pageant · fair · jamboree · merrymaking · fanfare · spectacle
Custom passed through generations
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- danceRhythmic bodily movement
costumes · ethnic · indigenous · Carnival · Oktoberfest · lanterns · masks · ancestors
Formal event marking occasions
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- observanceKeeping of customs
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
procession · offering · prayer · blessing · fasting · Diwali · Eid · Hanukkah
Live musical performance
- headlinerTop-billed performer
- stageRaised performance platform
- bandGroup playing music together
- performanceCarrying out a task
setlist · lineup · encore · amplifier · crowd · backstage · soundcheck · DJ
Movie or coating
- theaterVenue for live drama
- fringeOutermost edge or margin
- exhibitionPublic display of items
- performersThose who entertain audiences
screening · premiere · jury · awards · submissions · showcase · independent · documentary
Those who sell goods
- stallsDelays or compartments
- kebabsSkewered grilled meat
- tacosFilled folded tortillas
- churrosRidged fried-dough pastry
samosas · falafel · dumplings · satay · pretzels · cotton-candy · skewers · food-truck
parade
Ceremonial public procession
fiesta · revelry · jubilee · pageant · fair · jamboree · merrymaking · fanfare · spectacle · merriment
tradition
Custom passed through generations
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
dance · costumes · ethnic · indigenous · Carnival · Oktoberfest · lanterns · masks · ancestors · storytelling
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- observanceKeeping of customs
pilgrimage · procession · offering · prayer · blessing · fasting · Diwali · Eid · Hanukkah · Easter
concert
Live musical performance
performance · setlist · lineup · encore · amplifier · crowd · backstage · soundcheck · DJ · rave
film
Movie or coating
- theaterVenue for live drama
- fringeOutermost edge or margin
- exhibitionPublic display of items
performers · screening · premiere · jury · awards · submissions · showcase · independent · documentary · Sundance
vendors
Those who sell goods
churros · samosas · falafel · dumplings · satay · pretzels · cotton-candy · skewers · food-truck · barbecue
thanksgiving
Expression of grateful praise
- autumnPost-summer cooling period
- cropsCultivated plants for harvest
- abundanceAmple supply, overflowing
cornucopia · agricultural · wine · grape · pumpkin · apple · corn · rice · fertility · blessing
- celebrationsgraduation, party, wedding, fireworks, birthday
- eventsevent, events, party, parties, wedding
- festivalscarnival, carnivals, Carnival, fairs, fair
- loisirssport, lecture, cinema, musique, cuisine
- traditionstradition, custom, customs, cultural practices, rituals
- busy placesmarketplace, train station, airport, hospital, school
festivalfuneral
Service honoring the dead
wake · memorial service · mourning · lamentation · vigil
festivalsolitude
State of being alone
isolation · seclusion · hermitage · quarantine · exile
festivalworkday
Standard labor period
routine · everyday life · monotony · drudgery · daily grind
- beer festivalsEvents celebrating craft brews
- music festivalMulti-day concert event
- flower festivalEvent celebrating ornamental blooms
- film festivalMulti-day movie exhibition
- literary festivalEvent celebrating authors and books
- street festivalOpen-air urban celebration
festive, festivity, festivities, festivals, festively, festiveness, festivalgoers, festivalgoer