Samoan women are happy to show their handiwork and look forward to the annual event that provides national recognition of their skills.

The Eagle Festival, one of Mongolia's most popular tourism events, has been held since 2000 with the aim of reviving the Kazakh eagle hunting tradition, passing it on to future generations, promoting it to domestic and foreign tourists, and turning it into a tourism product. The tradition of eagle hunting is believed to have originated among Central Asian nomads 6,000 years ago and has survived to the present day, with Mongolia being the best-preserved country. Therefore, in order to promote this rich heritage around the world and increase the flow of tourists, the “Eagle Festival” is held twice a year, in the spring on March 4-5 in Ulaanbaatar and in the fall in Bayan-Ulgii aimag in the first 7 weeks of October. The event begins in the form of a competition, in which eagles adorn themselves with national costumes, place domesticated eagles on their arms, ride horses trained to hunt eagles and join the parade. The best national costumes, horses and eagle equipment are selected. There are competitions to test the eagle's ability to hunt. The relationship between the eagle and the eagle hunter is determined by whether the eagle is obedient or not. In some years, live animals are caught and tested for eagle hunting.\n\n

The Eagle Festival, one of Mongolia's most popular tourism events, has been held since 2000 with the aim of reviving the Kazakh eagle hunting tradition, passing it on to future generations, promoting it to domestic and foreign tourists, and turning it into a tourism product. The tradition of eagle hunting is believed to have originated among Central Asian nomads 6,000 years ago and has survived to the present day, with Mongolia being the best-preserved country. Therefore, in order to promote this rich heritage around the world and increase the flow of tourists, the “Eagle Festival” is held twice a year, in the spring on March 4-5 in Ulaanbaatar and in the fall in Bayan-Ulgii aimag in the first 7 weeks of October. The event begins in the form of a competition, in which eagles adorn themselves with national costumes, place domesticated eagles on their arms, ride horses trained to hunt eagles and join the parade. The best national costumes, horses and eagle equipment are selected. There are competitions to test the eagle's ability to hunt. The relationship between the eagle and the eagle hunter is determined by whether the eagle is obedient or not. In some years, live animals are caught and tested for eagle hunting.\n\n

The Eagle Festival, one of Mongolia's most popular tourism events, has been held since 2000 with the aim of reviving the Kazakh eagle hunting tradition, passing it on to future generations, promoting it to domestic and foreign tourists, and turning it into a tourism product. The tradition of eagle hunting is believed to have originated among Central Asian nomads 6,000 years ago and has survived to the present day, with Mongolia being the best-preserved country. Therefore, in order to promote this rich heritage around the world and increase the flow of tourists, the “Eagle Festival” is held twice a year, in the spring on March 4-5 in Ulaanbaatar and in the fall in Bayan-Ulgii aimag in the first 7 weeks of October. The event begins in the form of a competition, in which eagles adorn themselves with national costumes, place domesticated eagles on their arms, ride horses trained to hunt eagles and join the parade. The best national costumes, horses and eagle equipment are selected. There are competitions to test the eagle's ability to hunt. The relationship between the eagle and the eagle hunter is determined by whether the eagle is obedient or not. In some years, live animals are caught and tested for eagle hunting.\n\n

Young girls in Samoa are encouraged to learn how to weave the fine mats who greatly enjoy the parade of mats known poetically as "fa'alelegapepe" or flight of butterflies.

Every year, hundreds of women from all over Samoa take part in the national parade of fine mats on the National Day for Women.

Siapo made during the year is proudly presented to the public in the annual parade organised by the government of Samoa

Samoan women express their joy through dance following the parade of fine mats.

Low country dancers on parade

MassKara is a relatively modern festival, created to revitalize the local communities of Bacolod City that had been experiencing economic recession affected by the sugar crisis in 1970s. In the city of Bacolod, artist Ely Santiago introduced the "MassKara Festival," a captivating event where the entire community dons "smiling masks" and partakes in a joyous march. This initiative aims to rejuvenate the spirit of the depressed community and bring back smiles to people's faces. The festival’s name, 'MassKara', derives its meaning from the combination of 'Mass', representing the public, and 'Kara', a Spanish word for 'face' that also translates to 'mask' in Tagalog. The highlight of the festival is a parade in which people take to the streets of Bacolod, festively dancing in groups wearing a smiling mask. The parade sees the voluntary participation of citizens, and as such active participation fuels the festival’s growth, it has come to occupy a position as a major festival in Asia.\n\nMasks worn during the festival are not light. Including the headdress, each mask weighs from one to five kilograms, depending on the size and embellishments of the mask, which has to be attractive from any angle. \n

MassKara is a relatively modern festival, created to revitalize the local communities of Bacolod City that had been experiencing economic recession affected by the sugar crisis in 1970s. In the city of Bacolod, artist Ely Santiago introduced the "MassKara Festival," a captivating event where the entire community dons "smiling masks" and partakes in a joyous march. This initiative aims to rejuvenate the spirit of the depressed community and bring back smiles to people's faces. The festival’s name, 'MassKara', derives its meaning from the combination of 'Mass', representing the public, and 'Kara', a Spanish word for 'face' that also translates to 'mask' in Tagalog. The highlight of the festival is a parade in which people take to the streets of Bacolod, festively dancing in groups wearing a smiling mask. The parade sees the voluntary participation of citizens, and as such active participation fuels the festival’s growth, it has come to occupy a position as a major festival in Asia.\n\nMasks worn during the festival are not light. Including the headdress, each mask weighs from one to five kilograms, depending on the size and embellishments of the mask, which has to be attractive from any angle. \n

MassKara is a relatively modern festival, created to revitalize the local communities of Bacolod City that had been experiencing economic recession affected by the sugar crisis in 1970s. In the city of Bacolod, artist Ely Santiago introduced the "MassKara Festival," a captivating event where the entire community dons "smiling masks" and partakes in a joyous march. This initiative aims to rejuvenate the spirit of the depressed community and bring back smiles to people's faces. The festival’s name, 'MassKara', derives its meaning from the combination of 'Mass', representing the public, and 'Kara', a Spanish word for 'face' that also translates to 'mask' in Tagalog. The highlight of the festival is a parade in which people take to the streets of Bacolod, festively dancing in groups wearing a smiling mask. The parade sees the voluntary participation of citizens, and as such active participation fuels the festival’s growth, it has come to occupy a position as a major festival in Asia.\n\nMasks worn during the festival are not light. Including the headdress, each mask weighs from one to five kilograms, depending on the size and embellishments of the mask, which has to be attractive from any angle.