Welcome to the newest edition of our “Where To Travel In…” series, where we tell you about the best places to travel each month.  Here’s what’s happening in February…

Empire State Building Run-Up – New York City, New York

February 1

If you’re still trying to burn off all those holiday meals, a race up 1,575 stairs to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building should do the trick in one fell swoop (or, at the very least, help you drop a few pounds by inducing vomiting).

Groundhog Day – Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

February 2

Normally we rely on doctors to bring us good or bad news, but for one day a year Americans leave it up to a groundhog. 30,000 converge on Gobbler’s Knob annually to watch Punxsutawney Phil predict the weather: if he sees his shadow and retreats back into his burrow, it means winter will continue for six more weeks.

Candlemas – Mexico

February 2

Is there a better way to celebrate a Christian holiday than by stuffing a figurine of Jesus inside a cake? It’s called an Epiphany cake, and whoever finds the Jesus figure becomes the host of a Candlemas party where people eat tamales, decorate lanterns and play music before heading to church — that is, if no one accidentally ate the Jesus toy.

La Endiablada – Almonacid de Marquesado, Spain

February 2 – 3

There’s a more effective way to ward off evil spirits than by praying: just annoy them. That’s the tactic behind this famous devil-themed dance in which men dressed in floral suits shimmy down the streets, clanging giant cowbells hanging from their waist in an effort to irritate the evil spirits until they leave.  If only this tactic worked on the in-laws.

Saint Blaise Festival – Ateca, Spain

February 2 – 3

Spain offers plenty of festivals that involve throwing things at people (like La Tomatina’s giant tomato fight), but this one makes the least amount of sense. This festival begins with locals pelting a masked clown with apples as he attempts to climb a mountain, and ends with a procession in honor of Saint Blaise, the patron saint of sore throats.

Chinese New Year – Worldwide

February 3

If you thought the New Year’s party you went to kicked ass, you haven’t been to a Chinese New Year celebration. Not only do they have the customary lethal combination of alcohol and fireworks, they also have dragon dances, lion dances and gluttonous meals. But the best part is, they give away red envelopes filled with money. If you can’t make it to China to celebrate the year of the rabbit, hop on over to a local Spring Festival celebration.

Setsubun – Tokyo, Japan

February 3

If your diet is lacking soy, head to the Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo for Setsubun, where priests throw soybeans into a crowd to drive out demons and welcome good fortune.

Sant’Agata Festival – Catania, Italy

February 3 – 5

Over a million people attend this celebration to honor the city’s patron saint. Festivities include a procession each day, candle-lighting, fireworks, parades, a cross-country race and an effigy on the final night.

Tet – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

February 3 – 5

The Tet holiday is Vietnam’s version of China’s Lunar New Year celebration, and it involves many of the same festivities: large feasts, parades and fireworks. But the best place to celebrate is in Ho Chi Minh City, where the streets are filled with blossoms and drummers sound the arrival of spring.

Super Bowl – Arlington, Texas

February 5

Not only is this one of the biggest sporting events in the world, it’s also the day when Americans collectively abandon their New Year’s diet resolutions by consuming enough Doritos and pizza bagel bites to feed entire nations. This year’s Super Bowl will see the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Green Bay Packers, which means the most entertaining part of the game will be when Fergie wets herself on stage during the half time show.

Wat Phu Festival – Wat Phu, Laos

February 5 – 8

Festivals that involve dancing, sack racing, bamboo climbing, elephant racing and cock fighting are usually undignified, but put it against the backdrop of a candle-lit temple that’s a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and magically the festival becomes regal.

Hurling The Silver Ball – St. Ives, England

February 7

On Feast Monday, the mayor of St. Ives throws a silver ball into a large crowd, and for the next few hours, the ball is passed around like a game of hot potato. When the clock strikes noon, the person in possession of the silver ball is declared the winner and receives a reward of five shilling… or about 50 cents American. For the amount of time and effort put in, that’s a dismal hourly wage. You’d make more pining for nickels on the boardwalk.

Sapporo Snow Festival – Sapporo, Japan

February 7 – 13

With all the winter festivals last month, you’re probably snowed out. But just in case you aren’t, there’s one more major winter festival held in Sapporo, Japan (you know, the city that brews that beer you always drink in sushi bars). It offers all the usual stuff like ice sculptures, rides, games, but what makes this festival so special is the annual Snowman Competition, which features over 10,000 snowmen — perfect set-up for a horror movie.

Punakha Dromche – Punakha, Bhutan

February 8 – 12

This annual festival held in the ancient capital city of Bhutan features musical performances, religious masked dances and a reenactment of the seventeenth century battle against a Tibetan invasion.

World Shovel Race Championships – Angel Fire, New Mexico

February 11 – 12

It’s terribly unsafe to ride a steel shovel down a snowy mountain, especially when it’s capable of reaching speeds of 75mph.  But that doesn’t stop men, women and children from doing it every year at the World Shovel Race Championships. At least the shovels come in handy when you have to scrape a body off the mountain.

Pilgrimage to Fatima – Fatima, Portugal

February 12 – 13

If you’ve watched any History Channel show about the end of the world, you might be familiar with The Three Secrets of Fatima. They are three visions of the end of times that were bestowed upon three shepherd children by the Virgin Mary in 1917. And ever since, millions of people annually flock to the city of Fatima to pilgrimage to the site where the children received the visions.

Hadaka Matsuri – Inazawa City, Japan

February 15

Never has groping men in public been more acceptable than at Hadaka Matsuri. At this festival, over 10,000 men wearing nothing but loincloths and sandals crowd the streets in an effort to touch a fully shaved naked man (called shin-otokoa) who, according to legend, absorbs all the bad luck and evil deeds from the men who grope him. After that, the naked man is cast out of town so he can take all the evil away. Sucks for that dude.

Argungu Fishing Festival – mid-February

Argungu, Nigeria

This 3-day festival was originally designed to build peace between the people of Argungu and nearby Sokoto. But it’s become famous for a fishing competition in which 17,000 pairs of fishermen wade through the muddy Fada River to catch fish with their bare hands. The team that catches the largest fish wins a cash prize equal to $8,000 US and a minibus (and let’s not forget about the fish dinner).

Saidai-ji Eyo – Saidai-ji, Japan

February 19

We’re back to Japan for more uncomfortable male nudity! This time it’s bigger and more violent! The Saidai-ji is perhaps the most popular out of all of Japan’s naked festivals (yes, there are actually a lot these). 10,000 people, including yakuza gang members, fight for possession of two sacred wooden sticks that must be delivered to the gates of the Kannon-in temple in order to receive a cash prize. Those who survive the bloody combat might not survive the hypothermia that comes from freezing cold water being dumped over them during the competition.

Biikebrennen – Sylt, Germany

February 21

On the Fresian Islands in Germany’s North Sea coast, small towns burn effigies to mark the end of winter. But the largest and most popular takes place in Sylt where spectators bask in the warmth of the fire before retreating to local restaurants to eat potatoes and sausage.

Mashramani – Guyana

February 23

Guyana celebrates their independence day with a massive street parade that features dancers in elaborate costumes, colorful floats, calypso music and steel-drum bands.

Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting – Berkeley Springs, West Virginia

February 24 – 26

This is the largest and longest running water tasting competition in the world, featuring over 100 sparking, bottled and municipal waters.  Suddenly wine snobs don’t look so pretentious anymore.

Pasola – Sumba, Indonesia

Sometime in February

February already has an unreasonable number of dangerous festivals, but this might be the worst. When a type of sea worm called nyale begins to appear off the coast, it heralds a deadly tournament in which teams of horsemen wielding spears attack each other in an effort to spill blood to appease the spirits and bring a good harvest. Occasionally combatants are killed despite the use of blunt spears. Awesome.

Know of a cool event that should be added to the list?  Leave us a comment and we’ll make sure to add it!