If I had a patron saint, he would be Bacchus. My natural habitat is the rollicking shindig, the midnight procession, the rootin’-tootin’ hootenanny. Had the gods given me even an iota of musical talent, I might have made a first-rate rock star. Festivals lure me like a siren’s call. It’s not just the booze, music, and prolonged merriment, but the chance to see a locale at its most joyful. A city in festival season is like a dear friend on his wedding day—dressed to the nines, exuberant, his soul laid open for all to admire. As the self-appointed Baron of Bacchanalia, I’ve curated a list of my favorite festivals, a roster carefully chosen from a long and distinguished career of peripatetic debauchery. From the windswept Black Hills of South Dakota to the snowy plazas of Montréal and the sun-soaked shores of the Antilles, here are seven festivals that warrant booking a plane ticket
Montréal en Lumière
The best time to visit Montréal, mon ami, is immediately. The beauty of that French colonial jewel on the St. Lawrence River is surpassed only by that of the femmes québécoises.
Each winter, Montréal en Lumière transforms Montréal’s snowy plazas into a two-week fête of cuisine, art, and wine-soaked gaiety. Chefs from around the globe team up with Montréal’s homegrown culinary talent to craft collaborative tasting menus at the city’s most beloved restaurants. On any given night, a star chef from Paris, Tokyo, or New York might command the kitchen at a Quebecois institution like Au Pied de Cochon or Mon Lapin. World-famous mixologists take over cocktail bars like Annette bar à vin and Copilote.
The Village Gourmand, the nexus of Lumière, offers a feast for the mind and belly with culinary panel discussions and workshops. The festival climaxes during Nuit Blanche, an all-night street party across the city. The collective joy—helped by glasses of mulled wine—makes you forget temperatures are colder than the surface of Mars.
After Nuit Blanche, you’ll want to recover in comfort and seclusion. Sonolux in Old Montréal is like an art gallery disguised as a boutique hotel. Laser art, paintings, and sculptures bedizen the lobby, guest rooms, and corridors. LUMI, the hotel restaurant, is already a sensation among Montreal’s culinary cognoscenti, and the subterranean speakeasy pours ice-cold martinis and spins vinyl into the wee hours.
Beaufort Wine & Food Festival
Beaufort is a Southern Outer Banks outpost of salt-weathered porches, maritime lore, and delicious seaside languor. Founded in 1709, it is one of the oldest settlements in the American South.
Throngs of gourmands flock to the Crystal Coast each April for Beaufort Wine & Food. Similar to Lumière, visiting chefs and vintners partner with local restaurants to dream up collaborative menus. It’s a week of wine dinners, oyster roasts, and waterfront tastings accompanied by live music.
The whole world knows North Carolina for barbecue, but the Crystal Coast’s cuisine—complex, deeply rooted, and seafood-centric—is its best-kept secret. Beaufort Grocery Co., a restaurant inside a former grocery store, serves coastal staples like Calabash-style fried shrimp, North Carolina clam chowder, and heirloom-corn grits with gourmet finesse.
St. John Celebration
Saint John is the East Coast’s answer to Kaua’i, an unspoiled tropical paradise requiring no passport. The island was once a Danish colony, and Charlotte Amalie, the capital of USVI, looks like a mini Copenhagen with a Caribbean accent. Thanks to the largesse of the Rockefeller family, nearly two-thirds of St. John remains U.S. National Park land.
St. John Celebration began as a commemoration of the abolition of slavery in 1848. Today, the festival is a week-long carnival of calypso music, parades, and levels of rum consumption that would embarrass Captain Jack Sparrow. Moko jumbies stride through the streets on stilts, children frolic in bright costumes, and locals dance behind thundering sound systems late into the night.
After guzzling painkillers like Hemingway on a fishing trip, banish the hangover with a swim at Trunk Bay, a pristine beach within Virgin Islands National Park. Recalibrate from the raucous festivities at Lovango Resort & Beach Club, the most dreamy sanctuary in the Seven Seas.
Louisville Bourbon Classic
Of all Kentucky’s bourbon festivals, Bourbon Classic is my pick of the litter. It hits the Goldilocks zone—large enough to draw the industry’s heaviest hitters, yet intimate enough to talk shop over a dram with the distillers who made what’s in your glass. It’s Sundance for whiskey nerds, a who’s who of influencers, insiders, and notorious collectors.
Events might include an intimate dinner with Freddie Noe at the Jim Beam Distillery, a guided tasting in an art museum with the Sazerac team, or panel discussions with whiskey savants. You can buy à la carte tickets or opt for an all-inclusive weekend pass. Either way, don’t miss Taste, the Bourbon Classic’s grand finale. Grab a Glencairn at registration and revel in an orgy of whiskey and hors d’oeuvres from Louisville’s finest distilleries and kitchens.
Sturgis
Every August, half a million motorcyclists converge on Sturgis, a tiny hamlet in South Dakota’s Black Hills. A tradition since 1938, The Sturgis Rally is a week of rock shows, daredevil motorcycle stunts, beer tents, and raunchy revelry. Imagine Coachella but with more chrome, smoke, and testosterone.
You don’t need to be a petrolhead to have the time of your life at Sturgis. Buffalo Chip, the largest venue at the Rally, hosts rock ’n’ roll hellraisers like Kid Rock, Buckcherry, and Texas Hippie Coalition. While in town, make time to explore the splendor of western South Dakota. Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, and storied outlaw towns like Deadwood and Lead are just a short ride away.
If you don’t bring a camper or RV to the Rally, stay at Camp Easy Ride. It’s not quite glamping, but the tents are comfortable, outfitted with fans, decent mattresses, and electrical outlets. Bring a sturdy pair of earplugs if you plan to sleep.
Donauinselfest
Vienna is the city of intellect and id. Home to giants of the mind like Mozart, Maria Theresa, and Wittgenstein, it also inspired Eyes Wide Shut. In the Austrian capital, hedonism and high culture intertwine like randy Habsburg cousins behind palace doors.
The eternal duel between Apollo and Dionysus comes to a head at Donauinselfest, Europe’s largest free music festival. Staged on an island in the Danube, it draws millions with a lineup spanning rock, EDM, and hip-hop. It’s libertine, electric, and quintessentially Viennese.
After partying like Dr. Freud with a fresh supply of Bolivian marching powder, set aside a few days to savor Vienna’s cultural riches. From its Art Nouveau façades to the Baroque grandeur of its palaces and churches, the City of Music is as delectable as a slice of Sachertorte with coffee.
Oktoberfest
I intentionally highlighted hidden gems you might not have heard of. But some world-famous festivals are worth the inflated airfare and hotel rates. Oktoberfest is one of them.
The Bavarian beer bonanza dates back to 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese. A hopeless romantic, young Ludi was so smitten by his new bride that he threw a party for the entire city, inviting Munich’s thirsty burghers to an open-bar rager in the fields outside town. The royal wedding feast has since evolved into a global pilgrimage of steins, brass bands, and roasted meats.
Pace yourself judiciously at Oktoberfest. Your liver is running a marathon, not a sprint. Rest up at Koenigshof Munich, the first Marriott Luxury Collection property in Germany. The building itself has been a hotel since 1866, and the handsome lodgings overlooking Karlsplatz are, as the name suggests, fit for a king.
