Gasparilla Pirate Fest

When: 26 Jan 2008 (annual)

Where: Tampa

Cost: Free

Opening Hours: 10am-11pm; Invasion 11.30am-1pm; Parade 2pm-5.30pm

The Gasparilla Pirate Fest draws crowds of over 500,000 for each spectacular event. The festival includes the "invasion" of Tampa by the world's only fully-working pirate ship and continues with a procession through the city and other festivities.

Fasnacht Festival

When: Feb 2008 (annual)

Where: Helvetia

Opening Hours: 12pm-2am

Helvetia's Fasnacht Festival is an ancient Swiss celebration whose purpose is to drive Old Man Winter away. In its Helvetian incarnation, this involves a jazz touranment, a lamp parade and a masked dance at the community hall. Costumes are judged before midnight, then the harbingers of spring head to the Star Band Hall for an after-party.

St Patrick's Day Parade

When: 15 Mar 2008 (annual)

Where: Denver

Cost: Free

Opening Hours: 10am-2pm

Denver, like many American cities, has a proud Irish community who celebrate St Patrick's Day with a grand parade. Floats, pipe bands and Irish dancers head along Blake to 17th, then along Wynkoop to 19th, culminating at Coors Field Parking.

Great Sunrise Balloon Race

When: 19 - 20 Apr 2008 (annual)

Where: Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport

Cost: Free admission and free parking

Opening Hours: Sat 6am-5.30pm (until 7:30 pm Sun)

A colourful array of hot air balloons fills the sky above Miami's Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport during this fundraising race for the Sunrise Community. Adding to the festive atmosphere for the thousands of spectators are an all-day carnival, chow down and live music.

This is no ordinary race, however. Here, a lead or "hare" balloon takes off and drifts westwards towards the Everglades. The hare's job is to find a spot on the ground and mark it with a 25-foot X made of brightly-coloured tape.

Wine and Food Festival

When: May 2008 (annual)

Where: Manhattan

Cost: Free

Opening Hours: 12am-4pm

New York's Cuban population stage a lively carnival-style parade. Over half a million people line the streets to cheer on the lucky Parade Queen and her court. Salsa your way through the streets as the parade travels down Avenue of the Americas and finishes at the statue of José Martí, the apostle of Cuban Independence, in Central Park South. The parade forms the vanguard of the Cuban Independence Day celebrations, which take place on 20 May.

Festival of Bands

When: 7 Jun 2008 (annual)

Where: Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Cost: Free

Opening Hours: 11am-6pm

Some of New England's finest wind ensembles come to Boston's Faneuil Hall marketplace for the annual festival of the bands - first held in 1989. Expect selections ranging from Broadway favourites to Sousa marches and classical music.

Dearborn Garden Walk and Heritage Festival

When: Jul 2008 (annual)

Where: Crescent Park

Cost: Free

Opening Hours: 5pm-12am

Located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, Donaldsonville hosts an annual Cajun festival, complete with dancing, fun, food and fireworks. Donaldsonville is one of the oldest towns in Louisiana, first settled by Chitimacha Indians. This day-long festival returns to the town's Cajun roots with the traditional Fais Do Do.

Medellín Flower Fair

When: Aug 2008 (annual)

Where: Medellín

Cost: Free

Opening Hours: Various

The centre of Medellín bursts into flames of colour and a delicious bouquet of sweet smells during the Flower Fair, the city's most important cultural event. Colombia is famous for its flowers and exports them all over the world. This annual celebration has been going strong since 1957 and is always held during the first two weeks in August.

911 Power to the Peaceful Festival

When: Sep 2008 (annual)

Where: Golden Gate Park

Cost: Free

The 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival returns with a line-up headlined by Michael Franti and Spearhead. This free open-air music and arts event now attracts around 50,000 people every year to Speedway Meadow in beautiful Golden Gate Park.

Nightmare Fair - Trails from the Crypt

When: Oct 2008; Fri, Sat, and Sun only (annual)

Where: Boston

Opening Hours: Various

Halloween is widely celebrated in America, and if you want to be scared witless, don't hesitate to take a trip round Discovery Museum, Bridgeport Connecticut's Nightmare Fair. This year the theme is "Trails from the Crypt" and you enter at your peril...

Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting

When: Nov 2008 (annual)

Where: Rockefeller Center

Cost Free

Opening Hours: 7pm-9pm

The spectacular annual lighting ceremony of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, glittering with more than 25,000 multicoloured bulbs, signals the start of the Christmas season in New York City.

Lighted Boat Parade

When: Dec 2008 (annual)

Where: Inner Harbour

Cost Free

Opening Hours: 6pm

December's annual boat parade sees more than 50 pleasure craft making their way from Baltimore's Inner Harbour to Fells Point, festooned with holiday lights and other colourful decorations.

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