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A new report has revealed that sex attacks at Swedish festivals have increased as much as 1000 percent in 2016, a trend which does not appear to be changing. Non-profit organisation The Night Shift say they have documented over a hundred cases of sexual molestation, and that the numbers continue to rise Expressen reports. Over the past year, Sweden has seen a dramatic increase in the number of sex attacks at open air festivals and amusement parks across the country. Grona Lund, an amusement park in Stockholm, was the scene of one sex attack last year, but so far this...

The world’s tallest church is slowly disintegrating at its base due to human urine. Officials responsible for upkeep of the Ulm Minster Church in Ulm, Germany, say the stone base of the tower is eroding due to salt and acids in urine from drunken revelers urinating on the base, CNN reports. The erosion has become such a problem that city officials doubled fines to 100 euros for anyone caught urinating. “I’ve been keeping an eye on it for half a year now and, once again, it’s coated with urine and vomit,” Michael Hilbert, the building’s head of maintenance, told Südwest...

This weekend will be spent listening to fantastic musicians in an outdoor setting. And it's all free. Today's agenda includes folk rocking sisters SHEL from Colorado, singer/songwriter Valerie June, Dry Branch Fire Squad, others. For Saturday and Sunday Kris Kristofferson, the Mekons, Vince Gill and the Time Jumpers, Wynonna, John Doe, Hayes Carll all look like good choices. So much to choose from. 2016 Festival Schedule here

Officials are expecting up to 350,000 people at the African American Festival this weekend in Baltimore. The festival is taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Camden Yards Sports Complex. The free event will include music, cultural exhibits, contests, health screenings and children's activities....

Click here for festival page/schedule

Fallout from the recent abduction of a racing sausage has landed right on the Locust Street Festival. Organizers of the party this Sunday have been told by Klement's that they won't be able to use the Famous Racing Sausages costumes as they have in past years. And they're not the only ones getting stiffed on the costumes. The pranksters who stole the bigger-than-life Italian sausage in February during a festival in Cedarburg have, as our mothers would say, ruined it for the rest of us. "Our policies at Klement's have indeed changed due to the theft of the Klement's Famous...

Wristbands fitted with microchips have been worn by everyone at a UK festival for the first time. The technology, which designers claim will cut out fake tickets and queues, was used by 15,000 festival-goers at Wakestock, Cardigan Bay, Wales. Organiser Stuart Galbraith said: "The benefits are huge. This will be the future of festivals." Critics, however, have said they are "uncomfortable" to wear and go against the spirit of festivals. The bands look like standard material festival bands except they're fitted with an RFID (radio frequency identification) microchip, the same technology as London's Oyster card public transport swipe cards. Festival-goers...

For those of you who enjoy them. Interesting articles, history, details of fairs & festivals, etc...

The Day of Atonement: Removal of Sin's Cause and Reconciliation to God We have already seen—through the symbolism involved in the Passover—that Christ's shed blood atones for our past sins. In fact, atonement means reconciliation. The Day of Atonement symbolizes the reconciliation of God and all humanity. If we are reconciled to God through Christ's sacrifice, why do we need another Holy Day to teach us about reconciliation? If we are already reconciled, why do we need to fast, as commanded on the Day of Atonement? (Leviticus 23:27; Acts 27:9). What is this day's specific significance in God's master plan...

Is Halloween Harmless? Every year at Halloween, well-meaning parents dress their children in grotesque and ghoulish costumes. Is Halloween really harmless? Who and what's behind this bizarre holiday? by Jerold Aust It all looks like so much fun and seems so harmless: jack-o'-lanterns, grotesque grinning masks, long black witch attire with pointed black hats, costumes painted like skeletons, outfits that represent demons and goblins, and children going door to door, soliciting treats from compliant neighbors. But when Halloween comes around, do you find yourself yearning for the hours to pass until the whole trick-or-treat farce is over? If you don't,...

Christine Demsteader discovers that for one village in southern Sweden the humble apple is more than a healthy snack: a push to support Swedish farmers led a local artist to turn apples into an art form. The year 1987 was crunch time for the Swedish apple. The combined forces of the then- EEC and the USA posed a threat to apple farmers' livelihoods. But local producers in southern Sweden decided to bite back. And their fight proved so fruitful they even made it into the record books.

On a recent sunny weekend in the usually sleepy town of Craponne-sur-Arzon, American flags festooned the streets, country music blared amid the sidewalk cafés, and hundreds of people milled about in cowboy hats or even top-to-toe Wild West get-ups. Dozens of folks turned local squares in this town in the Haute-Loire region of southern France into impromptu, western-style dance floors. The catalyst for all this was the annual Country Rendez-Vous, a three-day festival of country-western music and bluegrass that takes place here each summer in late July. Over the past two decades, country and western festivals have sprung up in...

The Top 10 Reasons Why I Don't Celebrate Christmas It’s that time of year again! You’ll soon be barraged by the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas. Shoppers will soon go into spending overdrive, and when the bills arrive, some will wonder if it’s really worth it. Here’s a perspective from one who kicked the Christmas habit. by Scott Ashley Christmas is a hugely popular holiday celebrated by some 2 billion people worldwide. It's become such an ingrained part of modern culture that even people in nations with little or no Christian history or tradition are celebrating it in increasing...

Winston Churchill famously said that American and Britain were 2 countries divided by a common language nor more so is this true than when it comes to food. We can eat the same sort of things but at completely different times of the day and serve it with completely different type of food. A dessert in Britain is often looked upon as a breakfast dish in America. American cookies are similar to British biscuits, American biscuits are similar to British sconces. What is called a grill in England is a broiler in America. A stove is a cooker and a...

What Are the Real Origins of Easter? Millions assume that Easter, one of the world's major religious holidays, is found in the Bible. But is it? Have you ever looked into Easter's origins and customs and compared them with the Bible? by Jerold Aust Easter is one of the most popular religious celebrations in the world. But is it biblical? The word Easter appears only once in the King James Version of the Bible (and not at all in most others). In the one place it does appear, the King James translators mistranslated the Greek word for Passover as...

The throngs of "anti-war" marchers heading to DC to attend the September 24th rally don't know that they are being used. CodePINK and United For Peace and Justice are both prodigy of Global Exchage, the 501(3)c non-profit formed by Global's Medea Benjamin. It's the "Benjamins For Benjamin Weekend"!. Using the attraction of a Hate America event to lure attendees, Code Pink's Medea Benjamin's cash cow, Global Exchange, has scheduled one of it's "Green Festivals" for the same weekend and is running it in competition with the anti-war events scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. How convenient? How many people will...

LEIZHOU, China--Thunder invariably rumbles 258 days a year on this rainy peninsula at the southernmost tip of the Guangdong province. No wonder, then, that people here took up worshipping a thunder god more than 1,000 years ago. Categorized as a superstition and banned during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the traditional practice has gradually made a comeback as the country opens up to the world. Now the city of Leizhou is hoping its tradition will give a thundering boost to the local economy. "We would like to promote Leizhou's unique culture and history as a tourism resource," said Li Changwu, a...

The Feast of Unleavened Bread: The Lesson of Leaving Sin Immediately after the Passover comes a festival that depicts the next step in the fulfillment of God's master plan. After God, through Christ's sacrifice, has forgiven us of our sins, how do we continue to avoid sin, since we must go on living in newness of life? How do we live as God's redeemed people? We find the answer in the remarkable symbolism of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. When God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, He told His people that for "seven days you shall eat unleavened bread"...

RIPLEY, Ohio (AP) -- It's tough being the Tobacco Queen these days. Aleisha Cantrell was crowned at last year's Ohio Tobacco Festival, a four-day annual event celebrating the crop so abundant around the Ohio River. The 16-year-old has been taking her sash to festivals across the state this year, representing the region. "I went to the Grape Festival, and the other girls looked at me and said, `The tobacco queen? Do you smoke tobacco?' They were making fun of it." These days when cigarettes are demonized and anti-tobacco ads are everywhere, the Columbus City Council is considering a proposal to...