A festival is a special event that brings together people to celebrate or enjoy various forms of artistic expression, music, food and traditions. A festival may be religious, national, or cultural in nature and can last for a few days to several weeks.
A person’s experiences at a festival can have a significant impact on their lives. For example, a festival can influence the way people perceive their culture and their community. It can also affect the way people interact with one another, including their level of social capital and sense of belonging. Additionally, the experiences people have at a festival can also have long-term effects on their mental and physical health.
In a busy world where parents are constantly guilt-tripped for not spending enough quality time with their children, festivals offer an opportunity to build lifelong memories together. Whether it’s struggling to put up a tent in strong winds, watching your young child learn a new skill, dancing and singing to festival anthem or snuggling up together in fleecy onesies whilst cosy in your family tent you are making precious bonds that will provide love, comfort and support for months afterwards.
It is not uncommon to find a whole family of different generations attending the same festival, with the youngest members of the family often being the most excited. This can create a wonderful bonding experience between generations and it’s not uncommon to see grandparents, aunties and cousins coming along to enjoy the festivities together.
Besides providing entertainment, festivals also serve other important purposes such as commemoration and thanks to gods, goddesses or saints. They may also promote and inform about a particular religion, ethnicity or culture. The Lady Slipper Celebration was a great example of this; after the event, 87 percent of attendees reported learning something new.
Another social benefit of festivals is that they bring in money for the local economy. This is because visitors will spend money on tickets, drinks, foods, souvenirs and other activities. This is a great boost to the government’s revenue and it will also help small businesses that depend on tourist-related activities.
Although there have been many discussions about the benefits of festival participation for both hosts and guests, not much has been done to understand the relationship between them. Therefore, the present study discusses the importance of understanding the host-guest relationship and attempts to construct a theoretical model that can help to improve the sustainability of festival programs. In addition, this study provides a deeper insight into the guests’ and hosts’ feelings of pleasure and recreation that is associated with the festival experience. This will enable both parties to have a better understanding of the reasons they are supportive of festivals.