Looking for something entertaining to do? Check out some wonderful festivals around the world.

Koningsdag or King’s Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27^th is a Sunday), the date marking the birth of King Willem-Alexander. Orange is the national color, and the streets become a sea of feather boas (羽毛围巾) and body paint as crowds gather in the plazas and on the boats in the rivers. Amsterdam is the center of this outdoor party, with many live music events, but nearly every town is alive with orange on this day.

Thai National Elephant Day is a national holiday in Thailand. Thai National Elephant Day has been celebrated on March 13^th of every year since 1998. Because the elephant is the national animal of Thailand, it is highly respected and treasured. During the festivals elephant are honored during a ceremony (典礼) in which they are fed with bananas, other fruit, and sugarcane.

On the last Tuesday of January the entire town of Lerwick, Shetland is in flames. At the festival, you’ll find yourself sitting, dancing, or stumbling around the largest bonfire you’ve ever seen in your life. The festival lasts only one day but takes the entire year to plan. Be prepared for an evening of singing, dancing, and fast paced activities, and don’t worry about making it to work next day — it’s a national holiday!

Holi, the Festival of Color, is a Hindu celebration full of joy and one of India’s most important holidays. On the last full moon day of the lunar month, usually late February or early March, the air is full of bright-colored powder. The festival is celebrated differently throughout the country, with bonfires and music, but the cheerful spirit is common throughout Hindu communities around the world.

   The 2019 SAVE THE FROGS！A poetry contest will be run from January 15th to October 15th，2019.

Who can enter？

Anybody！We encourage students and teachers to get their writing classes involved on Save The Frogs Day. We encourage amateur and professional poets to take part as well. And the more countries represent the better！

Inspiration

The Japanese poet Basho wrote a famous haiku（十七音诗）in the 17th century：

an ancient

a frog jumps in

the splash of water.

How do I write a frog poem？

Here are some ideas for your frog poems：

（1）Find out a particular kind of frog and describe the world from that frog's point of view.

（2）What if you found the last frogs alive on the planet...What would you do？How would you feel？

（3）Write a poem that makes the readers understand the importance of saving frogs，or one that makes them realize the danger frogs are in.

（4）Write a poem about any of the threats to frogs.

（5）Imagine all kinds of daring ways in which you could save the frogs.

Categories

Category winners will be chosen from the following categories：

（1）18 + years old group

（2）13-17 years old group

（3）Under age 13 group

Contest Rules

（1）Submitted poetry must be your original creation！

（2）You may submit up to two poems. Please always give us the title of each poem. Please do NOT name your poems "Save The Frogs".

（3）All entries（参赛作品）are to be handed in no later than 11：59 pm on October 15th，2019.

Attention！

If you are a teacher，please inform your fellow teachers. If you are a student，please deliver this flyer（小传单）to your teachers. Please put this flyer up around your school as well.

If you are active on a poetry website，post an announcement. If you have a website，please link to this page. If you have a Facebook or Myspace account，put up a notice on your page，and tell your friends. In Facebook，you can post a link to this page. Thanks！

   You are to feel pitiful if you go back from Europe without visiting some wonderful theatres. The theatres listed below may be one of the choices on your journey.

Brownsea Open Air Theatre

DORSET

The only way to this theatre is by boat. Each June volunteers travel there to begin building the set.

"The people come here for the love of the island, "says BOAT director Denise Mallender. "We're a charity, and we help the work on the island by holding a regular Shakespeare play."

Visit brownsea-theatre.co.uh for details.

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

LONDON Each summer, almost 140, 000 people visit the park to watch one of the four yearly plays. This year's plays include J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

With the stage and seating both completely uncovered, the actors and the audiences are left at the mercy of the British weather although this hasn’t prevented stars such as Jeremy Irons and Benedict Cumberbatch from performing here.

Visit openairtheatre.org for details.

Scarborough Open Air Theatre

SCARBOROUGH

Enjoy the sea air and sights of Europe's largest open-air playhouse. The stage and seating are separated by a lake.

"It's a unique place, "says Janet Deacon, area director of Welcome to Yorkshire. The theatre now plays host to concerts by big names such as Elaine Paige and Tom Jones, who are both performing this month.

Visit scarboroughopenairtheatre. com for details.

Rutland Open Air Theatre

RUTLAND

This theatre is home to the Stamford Shakespeare Company, who this year celebrates its 39th year of outdoor plays with performances of Romeo and Juliet and Henry V.

In all its years, ROAT has never cancelled a performance because of rain -and although the stage and actors are left open to the weather, the audience can shelter in the covered hall.

Visit stamfordshakespeare.co.uk for details.