A guide to events worth planning a trip around. Events are listed by location first, and then date.

IN THE ISLANDS

HAWAI'I ISLAND

Kawaihae, Aug. 18-19, Establishment Day Cultural Festival. The 35th anniversary of the establishment of the Pu'ukohola Heiau as a National Historic site is observed with craft exhibitions, hula and "Royal Court" pageantry. (808) 882-7218.

KAUA'I

Lihu'e, May 24-27, seventh annual Kaua'i Polynesian Festival. Brings together all forms of Polynesian dance — Hawaiian, Tahitian, Maori, Samoan and more in solo and group competition — plus entertainment, arts and crafts, food booths; kickoff lu'au is May 24 at the Hilton Kaua'i Beach Resort ($60, $75). Kapu Kinimaka-Alquiza, (808) 335-6466.

Lihu'e, July 4, Concert in the Sky. Fireworks spectacular and family fair is an annual fundraiser for Kaua'i Hospice, with tastings from top hotels and restaurants, and the largest aerial fireworks show on the island. Tickets go on sale after Wednesday. (808) 245-7277.

MAUI

Lahaina, Sept. 14-15, Taste of Lahaina and Best of Island Music Festival. Grazing event with restaurant sampling, beer and wine garden, children's play area, continuous live music; 5-10 p.m. Lahaina Recreation Park II; fee for adults but children younger than 12 free. www.visitlahaina.com; Lahainatown Action Committee, (808) 667-9175; (888) 310-1117.

O'AHU

Honolulu, Feb. 9, 2008, Pro Bowl. Annual football game brings NFL stars to the Islands with surrounding hoopla. www.nfl.com.

NORTH AMERICA

CALIFORNIA

Pasadena, Jan. 1, Tournament of Roses. 119th annual parade (8 a.m.) and 94th annual Rose Bowl football game (2 p.m.) is themed "Passport to the World's Celebrations." Find out about tickets and tour packages at www.tournamentofroses.com.

KENTUCKY

Louisville, April 21-May 6, Kentucky Derby Festival. Two weeks of events, many of them free, lead up to the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5, including an immense fireworks display, sporting competitions, a marathon, concerts and the elegant Derby Ball. www.kdf.org, www.kentuckyderby.com; festival hot line: (502) 540-1127.

MINNESOTA

Saint Paul, January (dates vary), Saint Paul Winter Carnival. The world's largest and oldest winter carnival features 10 days of cold-weather activities from dog-sled mushing to snow sliding, a display of ice sculptures, a fitness festival and more. www.winter-carnival.com.

NEVADA

Reno, May 12-15, Reno River Festival. Rough-water kayakers and their friends gather annually near Reno for the Invitational Freestyle Competition, instructional clinics with pros, food and beer garden, music, art display, raft races and a trade show at the Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield. www.renoriverfestival.com.

NEW YORK

New York City, July 10-29, Lincoln Center Festival. Three weeks, 100 performances, various sites around New York, including a staging of the Kirov "Ring Cycle." (212) 362-6000; www.lincolncenter.org.

PENNSYLVANIA

Gettysburg, July 6-8, Annual Gettysburg Civil War Battle Re-enactment. Said to be the largest of its kind, this brings together hundreds of Civil War buffs in period clothing, but it also involves demonstrations, exhibits, lectures and more. (717) 338-1525; www.gettysburgreenactment.com.

CANADA

Vancouver, British Columbia, Feb. 12-28, 2010, Winter Olympics. Thousands are expected for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and nearby Whistler; schedules and ticket sales coming in 2008. www.vancouver2010.com.

EUROPE

BRITAIN

London, Nov. 10, Lord Mayor's Show. Half a million people line the streets of London to see the Lord Mayor's carriage go by on his way to be formally presented at the Royal Courts of Justice — and costumed characters, floats, carriages and marching bands representing hundreds of years of British history. www.lordmayorsshow.org.

ITALY

Siena, July 2 and Aug. 16, The Days of Il Palio. Twice every summer since 1656, riders elected by the city's districts compete in a death-defying two-minute bareback horserace around the Piazza del Campo; for days before and after, the city has a carnival atmosphere, with parades to celebrate the winning riders. www.ilpalio.org/index_english .htm.

ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

JAPAN

Chichibu-shi, Dec. 2-3, Yomatsuri (night time festival). Thousands make the pilgrimage to this small town near Tokyo, known for its 300-year-old float festival featuring a parade of oversized floats and children performing kabuki drama and folk dances. www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/history/traditionalevents/a63_fes_chichibu.html.

MAY 21-25

TASTE OF THE VILLAGE

The newly renovated Kona Village Resort will host a week-long "Taste of the Village" event the week of May 21 with wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, talk-story sessions with master sommelier Brian Cronin and select wines from Hanzell Vineyards of Sonoma and Swanson Vineyards of Napa Valley. On May 22, a Paniolo Dinner event is planned, and on May 25, the closing day, an outrigger canoe race in which guests can participate will be followed by a vertical wine tasting of pinot noirs and the resort's lu'au dinner and show. Three- and five-night packages are available. Call (800) 367-5290 or (808) 325-5555.

JULY 4

RODEO

Parker Ranch hosts the 45th annual Independence Day Rodeo and Horse Races on July 4 at Parker Ranch Rodeo Arena in Waimea, on the Big Island. Among the events: the Paniolo Song Contest's winning song will be performed, an original mele depicting cowboy history and culture in the Islands. Horse races, team sorting, double mugging team roping and po'o wai u (a rodeo event unique to Hawai'i in which calves are roped and tied to a Y-shaped tree branch) will be part of the rodeo and there will be food, children's activities and craft sales. Information: (808) 885-5669, http://parkerranch.com.

FEBRUARY

FRENCH FETE CITRUS

France's sunny citrus-growing capital, the village of Menton in the Cote d'Azure, hosts the Fete du Citron, an annual winter festival, in February and March each year in which giant constructions — both floats and fixed spectacles — are created from citrus fruit. A different theme is employed each year (this year's was India and they built a replica of the Taj Majal!). Information: www.feteducitron, www.nicetourisme.com.