Featured image:  Cultural festivals, such as Chinese New Year on January 29, offer us ways to understand rituals and traditions / Photo from wosunan on Envato

Festivals help us gain a deeper understanding of our shared humanity

As we seek opportunities to immerse deeply ourselves in cultures, local festivals and celebrations can help us better understand the rich diversity of each region we travel to. Many of them share common elements like music, dancing, food, and decorations, but each has evolved from different rituals, history and traditions specific to that region.

For example, while Christmas is typically marked with elaborate decorations, gift-giving, and feasting in countries like the United States and England, Diwali is a festival of lights celebrated with colorful rangoli patterns, fireworks, and delicious sweets in India. Carnival has parades, music and dancing in the streets in Brazil, but is celebrated in different ways across Europe.

By appreciating the variety of ways festivals are celebrated around the world, we can gain a deeper understanding of our shared humanity despite our diverse backgrounds. In this webinar, our panelists will share their favourite festivals, what they’ve learned about local culture, and how you can participate in them. Our readers are invited to participate too, by sharing their experiences and tips for women who want to delve deeply into culture and community on our travels.

Webinar details: Festivals in 2025 to travel for

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2024 

When: 7 pm EST (check local time zones here)

Where: Zoom! Sign up below for the link. Capacity is 100 women. The session will be recorded and shared on our YouTube channel for those who can’t join us. As always, participants are welcome to share their experiences and ask questions.

These webinars are offered to all women at no charge, but we are asking for your support to pay our hosts and team who help produce these. Please consider supporting our efforts to help women travel safely and well here. 

Our expert panelists

We’ve curated experts from our Women’s Travel Directory to share their favourite festivals and celebrations around the world. We’ll talk about what makes these cultural events unique, and how you can build them into your travels in 2025.  Participants will also be invited to share their experiences in breakout sessions to encourage even more inspiration. We’re grateful to our partner Malaysia Tourism for their support of this event. Read more about Malaysia in our Women’s Guide to Malaysia. 

Ann Leong, Tourism Malaysia

Speaker Biographies 

Carolyn Ray is the CEO and Editor of JourneyWoman. In 2023, she was named one of the most influential women in travel by TravelPulse. She is a passionate advocate for women’s travel and is a trusted expert on women 50+ travel by the New York Times, Conde Nast, the Toronto Star. She leads JourneyWoman’s Editorial team, chairs the JourneyWoman Women’s Advisory Council and Women’s Speaker’s Bureau.

Dawn Booker is a fearless traveler and founder of Pack Light Global Itineraries, an experiential travel company for women of color who are 40+. Dawn leveraged more than 25 years of marketing, strategic communications and event planning experience and applied lessons learned while exploring the world to create and curate travel experiences that cater to Black women.

Sarah-Jane van Elten, Manager Luxury Touring and Special Projects, LUXE Travel for Women LTR (Luxury Touring by Revelry), a division of Event Management Professionals Pty Ltd (Australia) founded in Sydney in 1996 by Sarah-Jane and Oscar van Elten. Its purpose is to provide guests with lavish and refined encounters in specially chosen destinations globally in true luxury style.

Kathy Wood, owner and co-founder of European Experiences, has been traveling in Europe for 30+ years, including a life-changing 14-month family sabbatical. Her travels have taken me to 17 European countries, with a focus on France, Italy and England.. Since 2006 she has organized and led small group, slow tours in her favorite places.

Ann Leong, Marketing Executive, Tourism Malaysia: Based in Vancouver, BC, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Ann supports Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. The next Visit Malaysia Year, set to take place in 2026, will commemorate the sustainability of the nation’s tourism industry, which is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).            

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