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Some Love Paraders put their hearts into the San Francisco event. (MV GALS) |
Destinations
Love Fest
SAN FRANCISCO Sept. 29
It seems only natural that thousands would gather on the streets of San Francisco to celebrate free love - the kind that involves heavy, thudding beats and scantily clad club kids. The Love Parade, which started in Germany and spread around the globe, is a free party with international DJs riding floats and spinning records down Market Street. It starts at noon, with DJs and electronic bands ending up at a massive post-parade show. Acts performing this year include Underworld, Thunderball, and Ladytron. The parade is free, although donations are welcome.
San Sebastian Film Festival
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain Sept. 20-29
With beaches just as lovely as Cannes, the 55th annual San Sebastian Film Festival presents an alluring opportunity to combine culture and suntanning in a single getaway. This year's festival features 16 films competing for the Golden Shell, from directors such as David Cronenberg, Wayne Wang, Hans Weingartner, and Manuel Poirier.
Osheaga Festival
MONTREAL Sept. 8-9
Montreal is gunning to become ground zero for alterna-pop this fall with a pair of festivals featuring acts ranging from Patti Smith to Smashing Pumpkins. Next weekend, St. Helene Island, which was also home to the 1967 World's Fair, hosts the Osheaga Festival. Headliners at Osheaga include Bloc Party, M.I.A., Interpol, Damien Rice, Feist, and Blonde Redhead. A weekend pass is $140, single-day tickets are $75. On Oct. 3-7, the indie-friendly Pop Montreal festival takes place with sets from Man Man, Grizzly Bear, Final Fantasy, Yelle, and Cody Chesnutt. Pop Montreal happens in clubs throughout the city. A festival pass is $65 at popmontreal.com.
osheaga.com, 800-678-5440.
UK B-Boy Championships
LONDON Oct. 13-14
There's nothing like spending a weekend watching the Brits try to perfect an art form that Americans mastered long ago: break dancing. On day one, the best crews in the UK battle for supremacy in categories such as beat boxing, solo popping, and locking. The next day, those national champs defend their nation's honor against break dance stars from Japan, France, Germany, Denmark and the United States. There hasn't been this much drama on the dance floor since Antonio Banderas pretended his name was Pierre (!) and danced with Alfre Woodard in ``Take the Lead." The Battle takes place from 6 to 11 p.m. each night. A weekend pass is $60.
CMJ Music Marathon
NEW YORK Oct. 16-20
A festival that tests the endurance of even the biggest music junkies, the CMJ Music Marathon crams nearly 1,000 bands into clubs around New York over four days. It's a chance to catch rising bands before they explode nationally (prompting one reporter to dub the festival ``the Sundance of rock 'n' roll"), plus acts that are already huge. Bands confirmed to perform include Xiu Xiu, M.I.A., the Warlocks, Mates of State, and Lewis & Clarke. A marathon badge is $450 before Sept. 25, a student badge $275.
cmj.com/marathon, 917-606-1908.
Events sometimes are canceled, rescheduled, or sold out; call or check online to confirm. Christopher Muther can be reached at muther@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
