Summer vacation is coming soon. To enjoy a relaxing holiday, here we’d like to share with you some of the best rock and jazz festivals. Although many Ukrainian music festivals were cancelled because of the bad financial condition, plenty remain for music lovers.

When and where: June 20－21, Kyiv, Pyrohovo folk museum

Lineup (阵容): TNMK, Boombox, Vopli Vidoplyasova, Onuka

Krayina Mriy is an annual (每年的) rock music festival that promotes modern music. Besides music, the festival will offer dances as well as literary and theatrical performances and also playing of a traditional music instrument.

When and where: June 26－28, Lviv

So far all tickets have been booked, but a waiting list is available at www.alfajazzfest.com/buyticket. This annual festival held in Lviv will be interesting for both experienced jazz lovers and jazz learners. The performers on the lineup come from Ukraine, Japan, Cuba and the US.

When and where: Aug.22－Sept.6, Zatoka village, Odesa Oblast

Koktebel Jazz is the biggest outdoor jazz festival. The Cinematic Orchestra, Parov Stelar, Nino Katamadze, Bonobo, Submotion Orchestra, Billy’s Band were the GALA’S superstars in previous years. This year the list of festival’s participants and tickets prices still remain unknown but the organizers revealed (透露) that apart from good jazz, the guests will be offered music lectures and movie screenings.

When and where: Sept.4－7, Kamyanets-Podilsky, Khmelnytska Oblast

Folk music and street art festival Respublica will take place in Kamyanets, Podilsky, one of the most beautiful cities in the west. Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at trach@ kyivpost.com. Booking in advance can get a good discount.

Let’s take a look at these traditional events in the UK.

Gurning is a British word meaning to pull a funny facial expression. The World Gurning Championships sets out to crown(加冕) a contestant who can pull the strangest face of all. The contest takes place every year in Egremont, Cumbria, as part of the town’s Crab Fair, which dates back to 1267.

Hosted by the Bottle Inn pub in Marsh wood, Dorset every year, this 20-year-old nettle eating contest sees dozens of competitors take part in eating as many nettle stalks(荨麻茎) as possible within one hour. Winners normally eat around 70ft of nettle stalks!

Every January, the Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival takes place, which dates back more than 200 years. The strange festival consists of a performer wearing a five-stone metal and straw bear costume, while parading through the town streets with a group of Appalachian and Morris dancers.

Wife carrying race

If you think your husband is strong enough to carry you in a race, then you may be in with a chance of winning this odd tradition, held in Dorking, Surrey every March. The sport actually originates from the Viking invasion(入侵) of 793 AD. The tradition wasn’t revived in the UK until 2008, but now comes with a friendlier feel. The winner receives £100, while the carrier of the heaviest wife is given a pound of sausage.

Every November, as Thanksgiving Day approaches, one memory comes to my mind. At my big Turkish family’s get-togethers, baklava (果仁蜜饼) is the norm at the dessert table. There’s rolled baklava, nut-filled baklava and chocolate-dipped baklava.

One year, though, back when I was in high school, my cousin Johnny decided to change things up a bit. He showed up at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving with two items that had never been served before--apple pie and a can of cream.

Those two items caused one of the biggest arguments. I distinctly remember my mom and aunts whispering in the kitchen.

“Apple pie?” one of my aunts said. “What to do with this?”

I can still recall my mom’s puzzled expression at it all. If there’s one thing in this world my mom distrusts, it’s fruit-filled desserts, a no-no in our cuisine culture. “Why would you bake fruits into a dessert when you can eat them fresh?” she often says.

The cream only made things worse. My mom didn’t want to hurt Johnny’s feelings. In a true act of love, she put the pie out on the dining room table, accompanied by the cream. It went mostly untouched.

Nowadays, things are different. We actually have pie at Thanksgiving--my mom regularly makes pie (the fear of fruit-filled sweets continues, but desserts topped with fruits or nuts have been given the okay). We still laugh about the drama caused by Johnny’s apple pie. I’ll never forget it. It wasn’t just about the pie for me. Growing up, I sometimes felt like an outsider because of my culture. That Thanksgiving, though, was one of the first times I realized that my family’s oddness was actually a good thing. It’s what made us.

What about you? Which Thanksgiving sticks out as your most memorable one?