OUR Spotlight On column rounds up the best things to see and do in your favourite holiday destinations – and shines a light on some lesser known spots too.
This week, for our Halloween special, we look at Chester, which claims to be one of the UK’s spookiest destinations.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
Chester is one of the UK’s creepiest cities so here is how to do a city break thereCredit: Getty
MUST SEE/DO
Whether you’re visiting around Halloween or not, you’ll still be able to learn about this city’s haunted history thanks to a year-round programme of nighttime tours with Chester Ghost Tours.
A local guide will steer you around some of Chester’s most eerie haunts as they recount spine-chilling tales of ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night.
The tours last 90 minutes and cost £10 per adult, or £30 for a family of four.
HIDDEN GEMS
Liquor & Co may look like your ordinary, if rather sleek, bar but within this venue is another secret – an even more excellent bar. It’s only open to those in the know, however.
Visitors can explore pestilence-ridden Diagnosis Alley, perform an autopsy and may even encounter the Grim Reaper.
The experience costs £8 for adults and £4.50 for kids.
BEST VIEW
The city walls offer an excellent vantage point to take in the main hub of Chester below.
The complete circuit stretches for about two miles.
Liquor & Co feels like another timeCredit: instagram/liquorandco
Keep your eyes peeled for the ghost of a Roman legionnaire, which has been spotted between the amphitheatre and Newgate.
According to folklore, he fell in love with a local girl and frequently left his post to meet up with her. One night, her angry parents killed the soldiers left on guard.
The lovestruck soldier still haunts his post today.
RATED RESTAURANT
Keeping in line with the spooky theme, try Death By Tacos on Watergate Street.
The birria taco comes crammed full of slow-cooked beef that has been stewed in stout and is topped with grilled cheese, pink pickled onions and salsa verde.
The wings aren’t bad either, smothered in the restaurant’s spice blend
BEST BAR
The 1920s-themed Prohibition bar is a spectacular speakeasy, also on Watergate Street.
Inside are dark wooden bookshelves, red velvet curtains and sultry tones to accompany cocktails.
Try the Peanut Butter Old Fashioned, made from peanut butter-infused bourbon, maple syrup and aromatic bitters.
HOTEL PICK
The Pied Bull, a historic pub with rooms, is apparently home to a ghost that haunts its cellar.
HUNGRY Brits are being led by their stomachs when it comes to booking a holiday – as the UK establishes itself as a nation of foodies.
Research from tour operator TUI has revealed that 41 per cent of us would consider booking a trip that’s all about the nosh.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
We share the best short-haul breaks in 2026 for those who love their grubCredit: Getty
It’s little wonder as, even at home, 39 per cent said they prioritise eating out in local restaurants.
Sophie Swietochowski shares her pick of the best short-haul breaks in 2026 for those who love their grub . . .
AYIA NAPA, CYPRUS
TO get a bit of guidance on your foodie adventure, take a look at TUI’s new Dine & Discover packages, which are designed to send travellers to hotels renowned for their food.
As well as excellent grub and booze within the resorts’ restaurants, visitors will be treated to special extras, such as a complimentary cookery lesson or a cocktail mixology class, as part of the deal.
Ayia Napa, on Cyprus’s south-eastern coast, is the ideal spot for a romantic foodie escapeCredit: Getty
The 5H Amanti, MadeForTwo hotel in Ayia Napa, on Cyprus’s south-eastern coast, is marketed as a couples-only resort and is the ideal spot for a romantic escape.
Travellers booked on the TUI package will receive money off a mountain villages tour with lunch and honey tasting.
Or they can opt for a discount on a halloumi-making and bread baking experience.
GO: Seven nights’ B&B at the Amanti, MadeForTwo hotel is from £1,192pp including flights from Manchester on June 1, 2026. See tui.co.uk.
MOROCCO
IF it’s authentically traditional tastings you are after, Intrepid is the holiday company for you.
Their 12-night Morocco Real Food Adventure is undoubtedly something for the bucket list, showcasing everything from camel burgers to traditional family dinners whipped up in local homes – as well as tours of traditional markets.
Intrepid’s Morocco Real Food Adventure is undoubtedly something for the bucket listCredit: Unknown
Cuisine is at the heart of this trip, but you’ll tick off some pretty cool sights, too, as you pass through Casablanca, Meknes, Moulay Idriss, Chefchaouen, Fez and Midelt before moving on to Merzouga, the M’Goun Valley and, of course, Marrakech.
You’ll stay in hotels, guesthouses, gites and a desert camp.
GO: The 12-day trip costs from £984pp including accommodation, breakfasts, most dinners and some lunches.
Price also includes several foodie experiences such as a goats-cheese tasting and cous-cous demonstration. Flights extra. See intrepid.com.
DOLOMITES, ITALY
HAVING your hand held is no bad thing – and because of this, you know you’ll get the best of the best wherever you go when you book one of Saga’s food-and-wine holidays.
Every itinerary on a these getaways has been carefully curated, to include the top spots and activities on offer in that region, whether it be a visit to a local market or a cookery workshop combining culture and grub.
A couple raise a glass in the tranquil Dolomites in ItalyCredit: Getty
This week-long Dolomites tour is lip-smackingly good, with a visit to a working dairy farm, a wine-cellar tour with olive-oil samplings, and demonstrations at an apple orchard.
When you’re not tasting goodies, kick back at your hotel, the Alle Dolomiti over-looking Lake Molvano – enjoy the pool or unwind in the sauna.
GO: A seven-night Food And Wine In The Dolomites trip costs from £1,525pp on a half-board basis, including flights from Gatwick on September 21, 2026. See holiday.saga.co.uk.
BODRUM, TURKEY
HOLIDAY firm Jet2 has a specific section entirely dedicated to foodie escapes.
It is called Perfect For Dining – and these places really are.
The all-inclusive-plus deals at the 5H Lujo Art And Joy hotel, in sun-drenched Bodrum, cover everythingCredit: Getty
The collection of hotels offer gourmet food, with extensive a la carte menus, and have an emphasis on local flavours.
Unlike many all-inclusive packages, the all-inclusive-plus deals at the 5H Lujo Art And Joy hotel, in sun-drenched Bodrum, cover everything.
That means not being restricted to the buffet each night, as a la carte dining at breakfast, lunch and dinner is available at most of the 11 onsite restaurants and bars.
You will have to fork out extra for the teppanyaki, steakhouse and Asian joints, though.
Kids will be kept happy with a 24-hour ice cream and frozen yoghurt stand.
GO: Seven nights’ all-inclusive-plus costs from £1,828pp based on a family of four sharing and including flights from Leeds Bradford on April 19, 2026. See jet2holidays.com.
PORTOPETRO, MAJORCA
THE Spanish island of Majorca most certainly pips the other Balearics to the post when it comes to a smashing food and drink scene.
If you’re tempted to visit, it’s worth remembering that customers booking a TUI Dine & Discover package also receive 15 per cent off food and gastronomy experiences with TUI Musement.
Majorca most certainly pips the other Balearics to the post when it comes to a smashing food and drink sceneCredit: Getty
And on this gem of an island, that includes a Majorca Winery Visit & Local Food Tasting experience.
You’ll be driven into the heart of the island’s wine country to sample tipples from a small family-run vineyard.
Soak up that booze with homegrown snacks, fresh bread, olive oils and local cheeses.
MEXICO CITY — Amid the constant blare of car horns in southern Mexico City, it’s hard to imagine that Cuicuilco was once the heart of a thriving ancient civilization. Yet atop its circular pyramid, now surrounded by buildings and a shopping center, a pre-Hispanic fire god was revered.
“This is incredible,” said Evangelina Báez, who spent a recent morning at Cuicuilco with her daughters. “In the midst of so much urbanization, there’s still this haven of peace.”
Her visit was part of a monthly tour program crafted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History, known by its Spanish initials as INAH.
Aside from overseeing Mexico’s archaeological sites and museums, the institute safeguards the country’s cultural heritage, including restoring damaged monuments and artworks as well as reviewing construction projects to ensure they don’t harm archaeological remains.
Its historians and archaeologists also lead excursions like the one in Cuicuilco. Each academic expert picks a location, proposes a walking itinerary to the INAH and, once approved, it’s offered to the public for about 260 pesos ($15).
“I joined these tours with the intention of sharing our living heritage,” said archaeologist Denisse Gómez after greeting guests in Cuicuilco. “Our content is always up to date.”
According to Mónica de Alba, who oversees the tours, the INAH excursions date to 1957, when an archaeologist decided to share the institute’s research with colleagues and students.
“People are beginning to realize how much the city has to offer,” said De Alba, explaining that the INAH offers around 130 tours per year in downtown Mexico City alone. “There are even travel agents who pretend to be participants to copy our routes.”
María Luisa Maya, 77, often joins these tours as a solo visitor. Her favorite so far was one to an archaeological site in Guerrero, a southern Mexican state along the Pacific coast.
“I’ve been doing this for about eight years,” she said. “But that’s nothing. I’ve met people who have come for 20 or 25.”
Traces of a lost city
Cuicuilco means “the place where songs and dances are made” in the Nahua language.
Still, the precise name of its people is unknown, given that the city’s splendor dates back to the pre-Classic era from 400 to 200 B.C. and few clues are left to dig deeper into its history.
“The Nahuas gave them that name, which reveals that this area was never forgotten,” said archaeologist Pablo Martínez, who co-led the visit with Gómez. “It was always remembered, and even after its decline, the Teotihuacan people came here to make offerings.”
The archaeological site is a quiet corner nestled between two of Mexico City’s busiest avenues. Yet according to Martínez, the settlements went far beyond the vicinity and Cuicuilco’s population reached 40,000.
“What we see today is just a small part of the city,” he said. “Merely its pyramidal base.”
Now covered in grass and resembling a truncated cone, the pyramid was used for ritual purposes. The details of the ceremonies are unknown, but female figurines preserved at the site’s museum suggest that offerings were related to fertility.
“We think they offered perishable objects such as corn, flowers and seeds,” Gómez said. “They were feeding the gods.”
Echoes of living heritage
According to official records, Mexico’s most visited archaeological sites are Teotihuacán and Chichén Itzá. The first is a pre-Aztec city northeast of the capital known for its monumental Sun and Moon pyramids. The latter is a major Mayan site in the Southeast famed for its 12th-century Temple of Kukulkán.
The INAH oversees both. But its tours focus on shedding light on Mexico’s hidden gems.
During an excursion preceding Cuicuilco’s, visitors walked through a neighborhood in Ecatepec, on the outskirts of Mexico City, where open-air markets, street food and religious festivals keep local traditions alive. A few days prior, another tour focused on La Merced market, where flowers, prayers and music filled the aisles during the feast of Our Lady of Mercy.
October’s schedule takes into account Day of the Dead traditions. But tours will feature a variety of places like Xochimilco, where visitors can take a moonlit boat tour through its canals and chinampas, and Templo Mayor, the Aztec empire’s main religious and social center in ancient Tenochtitlán.
“These tours allow the general public to get closer to societies that are distant in time and space,” said historian Jesús López del Río, who will lead an upcoming tour on human sacrifices to deities in Mesoamérica.
“Approaching the pre-Hispanic past is not only about how the Maya used zero in their calculations or how the Mexica built a city on a lake,” he added. “It’s about understanding how those societies worked — their way of seeing and relating to the world.”
Police say singer is cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
The United States singer David Anthony Burke, known by his stage name d4vd, appears to have cancelled the remaining stops on his US and European tours amid the growing fallout from an investigation into a decomposing body of a missing teenager found in the boot of a car.
Ticketmaster, which issues tickets for artists worldwide, said: “There are no upcoming concerts in United States” for the artist, and his October tour in Europe was cancelled on Sunday.
Recommended Stories
list of 1 itemend of list
D4vd, whose popularity initially grew on TikTok, has built a large following in recent years and is known for his melancholic and genre-blending music, drawing influences from indie, R&B and rock music.
Celeste Rivas Hernandez, 15, went missing last year, and her body was found in a Tesla that US media outlets said was registered to the singer. However, police have not said the car belonged to him.
His representatives did not respond to requests by The Associated Press news agency for comment.
The remains were found in the front boot of the car impounded at a tow yard in Hollywood, California, on September 8 after police were alerted to a strong odour coming from it.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said the remains were Rivas’s. She was from Lake Elsinore, California, outside Los Angeles and was believed to have been last seen in April 2024, according to a missing person flyer seen by US broadcaster CBS.
“She appears to have been deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found,” the Los Angeles medical examiner’s office said.
Police searched a house in Hollywood Hills where Burke had been staying on Thursday, broadcaster ABC reported.
Police have not made a statement on the cause of her death or the singer’s connection, if any, with Rivas. The Los Angeles Times, quoting unnamed sources, reported that police were trying to piece together Rivas’s movements before her body was found and establish if there was a connection between them. Police have said Burke has been cooperating with their investigation.
Burke, 20, performed at Chicago’s Salt Shed just two days before Rivas’s body was found as part of his Withered tour to promote his debut album.
His upcoming scheduled performances in Los Angeles and San Francisco will not go ahead, however. His concerts in Europe, which would have seen him make about a dozen appearances beginning in Norway, also appeared as cancelled on Ticketmaster.
Later shows in Australia in November still appeared available for purchase.
The story, which has been in the headlines over the past few weeks across the US, has led to a surge in interest in his music. His 2022 song Romantic Homicide climbed to 29th on Spotify’s global list of the 50 most streamed songs.
Aug. 12 (UPI) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has visited the CDC headquarters in Atlanta where a police officer was killed in a shooting that is believed to have targeted the national public health agency.
Kennedy was led by CDC security on a tour of the Roybal Campus on Monday, HHS said in a statement, with HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill and CDC Director Susan Monarez in attendance.
Little information about the tour was made public aside from shattered windows across multiple buildings on campus being pointed out to Kennedy.
Kennedy also visited the DeKalb County Police Department, which lost office David Rose in the shooting. The HHS secretary also visited with Rose’s widow, the statement said.
“He offered his deepest condolences and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to honoring officer Rose’s bravery, sacrifice and service to the nation,” HHS said.
Rose was fatally shot while responding to the shooting at the CDC headquarters on Friday.
The suspected gunman, 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White, was shot dead by police at the scene.
At least 180 shots were fired during the incident, hitting at least 150 windows and doors at the CDC headquarters, CBS News reported, citing two people with knowledge of the police investigation.
Authorities believe that White targeted the CDC over health problems he blamed on the COVID-19 vaccine.
The shooting came on the heels of Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, pulling $500 million in funding from developing vaccines using mRNA technology, which was used to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.
Despite support from the medical community for such research and medical therapies, Kennedy claimed “the technology poses more risks than benefits.”
Before his visit, the union representing thousands of workers at the CDC on Sunday called on Kennedy and CDC leadership to make “a clear and unequivocal stance in condemning vaccine disinformation.”
“The deliberate targeting of CDC through this violent act is deeply disturbing, completely unacceptable and an attack on every public servant,” the union said.
“Early reports indicate the gunman was motivated by vaccine disinformation, which continues to pose a dangerous threat to public health and safety.”
Today I traveled to Atlanta in the wake of the heartbreaking shooting at the CDC’s Roybal Campus that took the life of DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose. @POTUS and the entire administration are deeply saddened by this tragic loss. We stand with Officer Rose’s wife, his two… pic.twitter.com/PJyNJV2jUu— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 11, 2025
Unification ministry in Seoul says allowing individual tours will not violate international sanctions.
South Korea is considering allowing individual tours to North Korea as it studies ways to improve relations with its neighbour, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Unification says.
“The government is formulating and pursuing North Korea policies with the goal of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improving inter-Korean ties with various measures under consideration in the process,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The announcement was made as Seoul takes more steps to ease tensions with its northern rival after the election of President Lee Jae-myung, who has pledged to improve strained ties with Pyongyang.
In a bid to ease tensions, Lee suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts along the border and ordered a halt to leaflet campaigns criticising the North’s leaders by anti-Pyongyang activists.
Koo Byung-sam, spokesperson for the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, refused to comment on a “particular issue”. But he said he understood individual tours were not in violation of international sanctions, according to a report by the Reuters news agency.
South Korea’s Dong-A Ilbo newspaper also said Lee’s administration is considering resuming individual trips to North Korea as a negotiating card to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang.
It reported that Lee mentioned the proposal during a National Security Council meeting on July 10. The government subsequently began a review of the plan, the report added, quoting a senior official.
Tourism is one of a narrow range of cash sources for North Korea that are not targeted under United Nations sanctions imposed over its nuclear and weapons programmes.
Citing anti-Pyongyang broadcasters, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency also reported on Monday that the National Intelligence Service this month had suspended all of its decades-old broadcasts targeting the North Korean regime.
Lee said he will discuss further plans with top security officials to resume dialogue with North Korea, which technically is still at war with the South after the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty.
North Korea recently opened a beach resort in the city of Wonsan, a flagship project driven by leader Kim Jong Un to promote tourism. But the tourist area is temporarily not accepting foreign visitors, according to a note on Wednesday by DPR Korea Tour, a website operated by North Korea’s National Tourism Administration.
North Korea’s tourism industry appears to be struggling even after it lifted COVID-19 border restrictions, allowing rail and flight services with Russia and China.
Asked if South Koreans would travel to Wonsan, Koo said North Korea first needs to open the area to the outside world.
South Korea once ran tours to North Korea’s Mount Kumgang area but suspended them in 2008 when a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.
June 20 (UPI) — Calling Iran an “evil regime,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday visited the Weizmann Institute of Science, close to where an Iranian missile hit earlier this week.
“This is the world-renowned Weizmann Institute, where the most advanced research in human biology is conducted — medical research, genetic research,” Netanyahu told reporters during the tour of the institute in the city of Rehovot in central Israel, some 12.5 miles south of Tel Aviv with a population of 150,000 people.
“This research was shattered by a missile from the evil regime. They seek to destroy human progress. That is the essence of this regime. They have enslaved and oppressed their people for nearly 50 years — half a century. Iran is the leading terrorist regime in the world. It must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. This is Israel’s mission: to save itself from the Iranian threat of annihilation. In doing so, we are saving many, many others.”
Netanyahu’s tour of the site where two buildings were completely destroyed came a day after the prime minister said in a post on X, “We will make the tyrants from Tehran pay the full price.”
Iranian missile strikes also hit the largest hospital in Southern Israel earlier in the week. The two countries are engaged in hostilities over Iran’s nuclear program.
The Weizmann Institute is known as the research crown jewel of Israeli science, with laboratories dedicated to studying health issues such as cancer, heart disease and neurodevelopmental disorders.
“It’s completely gone. Not a trace. Nothing can be saved,” Professor Oren Schuldiner told The Economic Times.
Officials estimate the damage from Iranian missiles to the institute at more than $500 million. Thousands of hours of research have also been lost.
“The most valuable resource of the Weizmann Institute, aside from property, are samples that have been stored for decades in labs for scientific research — and all of it is gone, with no backup,” Biomolecular Sciences Department Professor Tslil Ast told Y Net News.
Netanyah also toured an Israel Defense Forces base Friday where he praised intelligence officers for their work in the recent operations carried out in Iran.
“I am here at an IDF Intelligence base with the head of IDF intelligence, and with our amazing people, the soldiers, both conscripts and reservists, who are doing sacred work in providing us with the intelligence that wins wars,” Netanyahu said, accompanied by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi and other top officials.
“I cannot exaggerate the importance of the work that has been done, and which is being done at the moment, in achieving the total victory. Head of IDF Intelligence, thank you very much. For myself, the citizens of Israel and the Government of Israel, please convey my gratitude to everyone.”
Tensions in the region continue to escalate, with representatives from the European Union and Britain meeting for ciris talks on Friday with the Iranian counterparts.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday set a 14-day deadline to decide on possible American military involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the goal of Western allies is “obtaining from Iran a lasting rollback of its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.”
Is there anything more like a fairy tale than thousands of glowing lanterns floating heavenward into the night? Long before the luminescent spectacle awed viewers of Disney’s 2010 film “Tangled,” real-life lantern festivals have been taking place around the world. In China, sky lanterns were first used as a means of communication in warfare during the Eastern Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.
Since then, sky lanterns have taken on a more ceremonial and celebratory significance, marking occasions such as the end of Chinese New Year and the coming of spring. Yet, as wondrously beautiful as these floating mini hot air balloon launches are, the reality is there’s only a fine line — and a gust of wind — that can turn a sky lantern into a free-floating Molotov cocktail. Outlawed in many regions due to the fire risk and environmental hazards, the idea of releasing thousands of them indiscriminately into the sky literally wouldn’t fly here in Southern California, where memories of the January wildfires are all too fresh.
This is why when OC Japan Fair hosted a lantern release as part of its three-day festival at Costa Mesa’s OC Fairgrounds last month, organizers opted for a safer alternative: lantern-shaped helium-filled balloons tethered by string and lit by lithium battery-powered LEDs. I was among the hundreds of people who released their glowing boxy “lanterns” inside the OC Fair’s Hangar after a set by Japanese singer Minmi. For a few seconds, save for a piano playing a few pensive notes, there was silence. All eyes — and cellphones — were focused upward at the flickering white cubes.
“When you let go of a lantern in the air or in the water, you let go of your feelings behind it,” said attendee Charles Mendoza, who drove to the event from West Covina. Anything that’s been weighing your thoughts, “you just let it go.”
Whether you attend a lantern festival to release pent-up emotions, send a message to a loved one you’ve lost or cast a prayer into the great beyond, the experience can become a quiet moment of reflection. Here are four lantern events happening at various locations in and near Southern California until the end of the year, where, at the very least, you will be awed by the beauty and peacefulness of the idea — one that ironically started from war.
Water Lantern Festival, Crestline and Lake Elsinore
When: May 16-17
What: The Water Lantern Festival returns to Southern California. It happens Friday and Saturday at Lake Gregory Regional Park in the city of Crestline, and on Saturday only at Elm Grove Beach in Lake Elsinore. As the festival name and venues suggest, these are water lantern launches. But just like sky lantern events, they will be visually spectacular and, hopefully, spiritually impactful.
Originally launched in Utah in 2018, the Water Lantern Festival first came to Lake Gregory Regional Park in 2020 and has since expanded nationwide. Though it is a for-profit event, the festival has partnered with Water.org, an organization that helps bring clean water and sanitation to communities in need around the world.
Admission is $57.99 at the event. It includes a drawstring bag with one floating lantern kit with a lantern, tealight and marker to write your wishes, hopes or messages. Beyond the lantern release, the festival offers an array of food via food trucks, shopping, and entertainment. You are allowed to bring your own picnic and snacks, but not alcohol as the event is alcohol-free.
What: One of Los Angeles’ beloved summer traditions — the Lotus Festival — is returning to Echo Park Lake. It began in 1972 as “The Day of the Lotus,” created to highlight the contributions of Asian American communities in Los Angeles. It was renamed the Lotus Festival in 1990, and each year since, it has spotlighted a different Asian or Pacific Islander culture. The event is timed with the blooming of the lake’s iconic lotus flowers, which was once the largest outside Asia.
Last year’s celebration honored the Philippines and its L.A.-based diaspora. This year it will honor South Korea, showcasing the richness of Korean culture through live music, traditional dance, cuisine and artisan vendors.
While the highlight of the weekend is usually the Dragon Boat Races — which have drawn competitors and crowds since 1991 — the sentimental favorite is the water lantern release onto the lake. Admission is free, but details on the cost of the water lanterns has yet to be announced. Check the website closer to the date for more information.
What: This fall, Rise Festival returns for three nights at Jean Dry Lake Bed, a desolate patch of Mojave Desert (three miles from Jean, Nev.) that has been used as a filming location for “The Hangover,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and other movies. In its 10th year, Rise is the only sky lantern release festival on this list. But because it also features large scale art installations and a stage that sets up the night with live music, it is the Burning Man of lantern release festivals. (Though unlike at Burning Man, you can drive less than 20 miles to the Las Vegas Strip when it’s done and end your evening with a shower in a hotel room of your choosing.)
Ticket packages start at $129 for the Silver tier, which includes the lantern release ceremony, live performances on two desert stages, access to large-scale art installations, meditation spaces known as Rise Halos, two lanterns per guest, a portable cushion for desert seating, and unlimited water refills. Higher-tier packages add perks such as gourmet dining, open bar access and reserved viewing areas.
What: Celebrated for centuries in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, St. Martin’s Day honors the life of Martin of Tours, a 4th century Roman soldier turned monk and bishop. He is best known for a simple but profound act of compassion — sharing his cloak with a freezing beggar on a winter’s night. That moment of generosity defined his legacy.
When he died, his body was carried by boat along the river to Tours. Legend has it that children bid farewell by standing on the riverbank with candles to light the way. Since then lantern processions, or Laternenumzüge, became tradition, symbolizing the light and the enduring warmth of human kindness embodied by the saint.
On Nov. 9 at around 5 p.m., this tradition continues in Huntington Beach’s Old World Village. Children and families will carry illuminated lanterns through the mall while singing traditional songs sung for generations. Hosted by German School Campus of Newport Beach, this St. Martin Lantern Parade is free to attend (but a $5 donation and reserving your spot online is requested).
77 years after the Nakba, one in five people in Gaza faces starvation as Israel blocks all aid.
Gaza is starving. As Palestinians mark 77 years since the Nakba, families are still under bombardment, cut off from aid and struggling to survive. With US President Donald Trump touring the Gulf, what will it take to bring relief to Palestinians?
