Festivals

Living in southwestern Pennsylvania, my husband and I go to ramp feeds and festivals, mostly in West Virginia and usually in April.

Ramps are wild leeks. They are one of the first edible plants to ripen in the Appalachian forests in the spring. Beginning in April and continuing through May, scores of community ramp dinners and festivals are held. Many are small affairs, but others feed more than 1,000 people a day. Traditionally, the dinners are fund raisers for churches, libraries and fire departments. Often, there are also flea markets.

[during an alpenhorn festival in Switzerland]: "One group was on a terrace high above St. Moritz. People loved the music. So did the cows, which left the pasture, congregated around the players and joined in! The musicians were out-moooooed and had to give up." (excerpt from Jon C. Lafleur's letter)

14-day, 13-night expedition in Mongolia, June 30-July 13, 2021. Group limit, 6-12. Highlights: Fly from Ulaanbaatar to Muron/jeep ride to ger (yurt) camp at Hövsgöl Lake/return to Ulaanbaatar for visit to Khogno Khan ger camp/16th-century Erdene Zhu Monastery/in the Gobi Desert, “Fighting Dinosaurs'' fossil, Bulgan hot spring, Flaming Cliffs, Yol Valley/in Gobi Gurvansaikhan Nat’l Park, visit family of nomadic herders/Naadam Festival/Gandan Monastery. $8,495 ppdo. Single supp., $2,095. Internal air, $650.

In order to help meet the needs of people with autism and other sensory sensitivities, Carnival Cruise Line (800/764-7419, www.carnival.com) worked with the nonprofit organization KultureCity (www.kulturecity.org), which advocates for people with sensory disabilities, and became the first cruise line to be certified by the group as “sensory inclusive.”

19-day, 18-night textile tour in Southeast Asia, June 19-July 7, 2020. Group limit, 6-12. Highlights: In LAOS, Buddhist temples in Luang Prabang, Vientiane wats (temple complexes), natural dye workshop/in CAMBODIA, Siem Reap for carved stone temples at Angkor Wat, silk ikat weaving demos/in THAILAND, Wax Candle Parade (Kao Phansa), indigo ikat dying/Bangkok. $4,595 ppdo. Single supp., $850. Behind the Scenes Adventures (Santa Fe, NM; info@btsadventures.com, www.btsadventures.com).