Las Mariposas Civil War Days – Education Day The American Civil War was a particularly bloody period in the tumultuous history of the USA. It split the country down the middle and framed the abolitionist movement of the time, on one side the Confederacy (South) and on the other side the Union (Nort...

New Orleans Jazz Fest Jazz comes deep from the soul of the Afro-American tradition in the USA, emerging from the Southern States during a time of great political and social strife. Music was a great release in the pressure cooker that was America in the early 20th Century and this kind of music cap...

Rolling Stones US Tour The Rolling Stones have had a lot to celebrate this year, after being announced as one of the headliners for the prestigious Glastonbury Festival 2013 with the Arctic Monkeys and Mumford and Sons, they have announced details of a full tour of the USA. The tour will start on...

Abbey Road on The River 2013 When the Beatles first ventured to the USA there was a huge media scrum in JFK airport to meet the fab four. Crowds of screaming girls had turned out in force in the Big Apple and held banners above the terminal welcoming their heroes. In the press conference immediatel...

Mardi Gras Louisiana Style Mardi Gras is part of the fabric of USA life. Having been brought to the Deep South by the early French settlers, it has become a hybrid of Catholic tradition and partying which draws thousands of tourists each year. The date that it starts fluctuates, but usually commenc...

Annual Tour de Troit The bicycle is one of the most energy efficient modes of transport there is. When the whole world relies so heavily on dirty fossil fuels, which pollute the atmosphere, cost billions of dollars to maintain and cause countless ecological disasters. Sometimes you have to sit and...

Mitsuko Uchida at Severance Hall Every country that enjoys classical music wants to attract the best musicians in the world to their concert halls. But getting the best musicians through your doors is a difficult task considering the competition internationally. Reputation is the most vital element...

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta The Wright Brothers became living legends in the USA for inventing the first aircraft and started the ball rolling on a huge revolution in aerospace, yet it is important to remember the contribution of the hot air balloon. Seen today as something of a recreational fancy...

Green Day Return to US Tour Green Day have been around the block a few times since bursting onto the scene in the mid 90s with their debut album Dookie. Despite some chaotic times in their recent history (including a meltdown by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong live onstage) the band are set to contin...

Vans Warped Tour 2013 Vans are a US company famed for their celebrated line of trainers, which have been a part of youth culture in peaks and troughs for nearly half a century. Fads are usually transient, but Vans have outlasted many of their competitors since the Van Doren brothers opened their fi...

One thing the Big Apple is famous for, apart from the Yankee Stadium and the ubiquitous yellow taxi, is the amazing music scene. Apart from perhaps Tennessee or Seattle, there is no other place that is more entwined in the great music tradition of the USA, staring with the likes of Cab Calloway in t...

Grand Final Rodeo The USA has a deep affinity with horses that goes back to the time of the Pilgrims. The horse is a great symbol of the wildness of the American landscape and it goes right to the heart of the American identity. Nobody personifies this special relationship between man and horse bet...

Puyallup Fair The capital of any country is typically blessed with some of the most iconic landmarks and architecture that the nation has to offer. It is also commonly the greatest source of national pride and togetherness, where the biggest rallies of people collect in protest and in celebration...

White House Easter Egg Roll Barack Obama has embraced popular culture and social media more than any other figurehead before him in the USA. If you want to be pedantic you could argue that social media wasn't available in the past so this is a nonpoint; but regardless, it is true to say there has b...