Great street parties in the USA

Travel February 17, 2011

Did you know that the average American working in the private sector gets just fifteen paid days off per year, nine of them as vacation and six as public holidays such as Christmas Day and Thanksgiving? And that around half of workers don’t even take their entitlement?

So when people in the States let their hair down, they do it in style. Across the country, festivals and street parties bring communities together. In a land defined by centuries of immigration, many of the best parties are driven by immigrant communities. So, in no particular order, we humbly recommend…

Chinese New Year – San Francisco

IMG_3179Photo: Robert Raines

San Francisco’s Chinatown is packed into 22 square blocks and has long been an important part of the city’s multicultural identity. Falling between late-January and mid-February, the Chinese New Year is an incredible spectacle in many big towns, but particularly in America’s most proudly liberal city.

There has been an annual parade since the 1860s, which is now one of the most spectacular night-time parades anywhere in the world. Watch out for Gum Lung, a 75 meter long golden dragon operated by over a hundred martial artists. Definitely not someone you would want to pick a fight with!

Find out more about our English courses in San Francisco.

Calle Ocho – Miami

calle_ochoPhoto: Bob B. Brown

Miami’s Little Havana district is lively throughout the year. As the focal point of Miami’s large Cuban community, it resembles Central American as much as the USA. Every Friday, Little Havana hosts Viernes Culturales, where local culture is celebrated and tourists are more than welcome to sample a taste of la vida latina in Miami. But once a year, Little Havana goes a little crazy.

The annual Calle Ocho Festival is a huge street party that attracts over a million people each March. More than 30 stages and hundreds of stalls keep going way into the night to a soundtrack of salsa, merengue and reaggaeton. In 1988, the festival set a world record when 119,986 people joined in the world’s longest conga chain. No wonder TV stations across the USA and Central America cover the event… but there’s no substitute for being there.

Find out more about our English courses in Miami.

St Patrick’s Day – Boston

st_patricks_day_bostonPhoto: Greenmelinda

Ireland and the USA have always had strong cultural links, and nowhere are these more evident than Boston. A city where the basketball team are the Celtics, the Kennedy clan are local royalty and the bars glow with green neon is the best place outside of the Emerald Isle itself to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 17th March.

Boston held America’s first St Patrick’s Day celebration in 1737 and still holds one of the largest parades in the world.

Find out more about our English courses in Boston.

Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp Quarter – San Diego

mardi_gras_beadsPhoto: princedd

San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is a cool part of a friendly Californian city. While New Orleans may be the home of Mardi Gras in the USA, San Diego has a pretty good go, with the annual event attracting around 40,000 people to party when the sun goes down.  The locals call it “Fat Tuesday” and the events are certainly on a large scale!

Grab a cocktail, catch some beads and join the party.

Find out more about our English courses in San Diego.

US Independence Day – Philadelphia

independence_day_philadelphiaPhoto: Otzburg

Ask any American what August 2nd 1776 means to them and they’ll probably look at you blankly. Odd, because this was probably the date that the United States Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. But history records it as July 4th.

Philadelphia was the home of the US independence movement and is proud of its part in history. July 4th celebrations carry on for 10 days in the form of the Wawa Welcome America! festival, which leads up to the big day itself, when thousands spill onto the streets to enjoy healthy patriotism, slightly less healthy cheesesteaks and spectacular fireworks.

Find out more about our English courses in Philadelphia.

For a complete list of our English courses in the USA, click here.

What’s your favourite street party in the USA?

By Laura Furnari

What do you think?