INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL

Over two days, the streets come alive with the scents of delicious food during the annual Ninth Avenue International Food Festival. About 1 million visitors descend on the area between 37th Street to 57th Street to sample the many culinary delights on offer. But attractions go far beyond food and include a programme of live entertainment, music and dancing. This is a fun event for all the family.

INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL

Dance Festivals held in Blackpool both at the Winter Gardens and the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, plus the dancers that attend each year.

Four of the five Dance Festivals are held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens and the Junior Dance Festival held at the stunning Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

Our 'Useful Links' section is a great feature where dancers can access a directory to find the best costumes, equipment, accessories & accommodation to help them compete in the prestigious Blackpool Dance Festival's.
'The Worlds First and Foremost Festival Of Dancing

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. The films may be of recent date and, depending upon the focus of the individual festival, can include international releases as well as films produced by the organisers' domestic film industry. Sometimes there is a focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., gay and lesbian film festivals) A number of film festivals specialise in short films, each with its defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events.

The world's first major film festival was held in Venice in 1938; the other major film festivals of the world (Berlin, Edinburgh, Cannes, Moscow, and Karlovy Vary) date back to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival in the UK was established in 1947 and is the longest continually running film festival in the world.

The first North American film festival was the Columbus International Film & Video Festival, also known as The Chris Awards, held in 1953. According to the Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco, "The Chris Awards (is) one of the most prestigious documentary, educational, business and informational competitions in the U.S; (it is) the oldest of its kind in North America and celebrating its 54th year."

FESTIVAL OF NEW YEAR

The New Year is the day that marks the end of one year and the beginning of the next year, and is the day on which the year count is incremented. In many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner


In countries which use the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is usually celebrated on 1 January.
The order of months in the Roman calendar has been January to December since King Numa Pompilius in about 700 BC, according to Plutarch and Macrobius. However, Roman writers identified years by naming the year's consuls, who did not enter office on 1 January until 153 BC. Since then 1 January has been the first day of the year, except during the Middle Ages when several other days were the first (1 March, 25 March, Easter, 1 September, 25 December).
With the expansion of Western culture to the rest of the world during the twentieth century, the 1 January date became global, even in countries with their own New Year celebrations on other days (e.g., China and India).
At present, the celebration of the New Year is a major event worldwide. Many large-scale events are held in major cities around the world, with many large fireworks events on New Year's Eve (31 December

EID-E-MILAD-UN-NABI

The legal and religious status of celebrating the birth of the Holy Prophet (saw) in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah:
And indeed everyone rejoices except for Shaytan and his counterparts, because:
Iblis cried loudly four times, first when Allah declared him as cursed, second when he was thrown out, Third When Prophet (salallaho alaihi wasalam) was born and fourth when Surah Fatiha was revealed [Ibn Kathir in Al Bidayah wan Nihayah, Volume 2, Page No. 166]
Muslims rejoice on birth of Prophet (salallaho alaihi wasalam) because Allah has told us to rejoice on his bounties and mercies, This following text shall be based on A) Quran and its sciences B)Hadith literature C) Sayings of eminent scholars and fuqaha D) Counter refutation of proofs cited against Mawlid.

Valentine's Day Festival

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the English-speaking countries, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.
The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th century America, where many Valentine cards are now general greeting cards rather than declarations of love, was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States. It's considered one of the Hallmark holidays.
The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend on average twice as much money as women