Around the World
October 18, 2010Here’s just a sampling of some noteworthy – and sometimes offbeat – happenings across the globe over the next couple of months.
NORTH AMERICA – Returning October 14 – 24th is the South Carolina State Fair. Established in 1869, the South Carolina State Fair was originally an agricultural show. Maintaining that tradition, it now offers everything from flower displays to comedy acts and dancers at South Carolina State Fairgrounds. This year you can see the Boy Scouts fun and interactive 4,000 square foot exhibit in the Ruff Building, rub shoulders with a Bengal Tiger, an Asian Fishing Cat, a Capuchin Monkey and more in the South Gate exhibit tent. Talented sand artists will turn 75,000 tons of sand into a fabulous Fall Masterpiece. Entertainment is provided by Corey Smith, Miranda Lambert, Boyz II Men and many more, and with 90+ food stands, you certainly won’t be hungry!
http://2010.scstatefair.org/
NORTH AMERICA – Amateur and professional sand sculptors from all over the world descend on South Padre Island every year to create beautiful works of art using natural elements of the beach. This year the 23rd Annual SPI Sand Castle Days event takes places 21-24th October. The not-for-profit event showcases the artwork and an appreciation for the coastal environment, and donates to organizations helping to preserve it. Sandcastle Days annually donates funds to efforts such as Sea Turtle Inc. and other organizations committed to the integrity of the coastal environment. The schedule of events includes Sand Sculpting by Masters, free sandcastle lessons, family divisions competition, SPI Hula Dancers and a Buccaneer Beach Bash!
http://www.sandcastledays.com/contest/index.html
EUROPE – The longest-running motoring event in the world gives spectators the chance to see an array of extraordinary veteran cars making a rare foray onto the streets. Run by the Royal Automobile Club, the RAC London to Brighton Veteran Car Run occurs on the first Sunday of November (November 7th) and brings more than 500 owners of pre-1905 cars from all over the world to make the 60-mile (96-km) run from London’s Hyde Park to the Brighton seafront. Many cars are shipped specially for the event from as far afield as the States and New Zealand. The rally came into being in 1896, in the form of an Emancipation Run celebrating the Locomotives on the Highway Act, which raised the speed limit for ‘light locomotives’ from 4 mph to 14 mph and abolished the need for these vehicles to be preceded by a person on foot waving a red flag. The next Run, in 1927, re-enacted the first; the event was henceforth annual, with the exception of the Second World War years. Sometimes celebrities, including Royals, take part.
On the Friday preceding the rally, auction house Bonham’s stages an auction of veteran cars that are eligible to join in the event, as well as automobiles, while on the eve of the rally a concourse in Regent Street showcases more than 100 of the cars, and some of the vehicles make demonstration runs along Conduit Street and around Berkeley Square. Spectating is free all along the route of the veteran car run: Norbury, Croydon, Purley, Redhill, Horley, Gatwick, Crawley, Cuckfield, Burgess Hill and then towns and villages en route to Brighton. More than a million spectators line this route, so it is essential to arrive early to get a good view.
