Fairs and festivals
A resident wearing a face mask walks under red lanterns setup for the Lunar New Year holidays in Beijing, China, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. As China gets back to business after a muted Chinese New Year holiday that coincided with the start of the pandemic-restricted Beijing Olympic Winter Games, the feeling inside and out of the bubble in this auspicious Year of the Tiger is that festivities for the most sacred and important holiday for the country were limited and underwhelming. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A muted Lunar New Year, inside and outside Olympic bubble

By Sally Ho And Ken Moritsugu Feb. 07, 2022 04:53 AM EST

FILE - North Korea's Hwang Chung Gum and South Korea's Won Yun-jong carry the unification flag during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb. 9, 2018. North Korea basked in the global limelight during the last Winter Games in South Korea, with hundreds of athletes, cheerleaders and officials pushing hard to woo their South Korean and U.S. rivals in a now-stalled bid for diplomacy. Four years later, as the 2022 Winter Olympics come to its main ally and neighbor China, North Korea isn't sending any athletes and officials because of coronavirus fears. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
'Someone else's festival': No North Korea at ally's Olympics

By Hyung-Jin Kim And Kim Tong-Hyung Feb. 04, 2022 11:29 PM EST

People watch from behind a security fence during the final day of the surfing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at Tsurigasaki beach in Ichinomiya, Japan. The Olympic beach party that never was may be the only sore spot for surfing’s long-awaited debut that finished triumphantly this week. The Olympic beach party that never was may be the only sore spot for surfing’s long-awaited debut that finished triumphantly this week. Some local Japanese fans and beachgoers did manage to find a way to lay eyes on the athletes and the competition site once the games began. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
COVID cancels the Olympic surfing beach party that never was

By Sally Ho Jul. 28, 2021 06:01 AM EDT

Shravan Chinnala cleans the Peetam, a silver pedestal for the image of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, in preparation for Maha Kumbhabhishekam, a five-day rededication ceremony at the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Penn Hills, Pa., Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Built in the 1970s, the Sri Venkateswara Temple is the oldest major Hindu temple in the country. Maha Kumbhabhishekams occur about every 12 years and involve ceremonies to reenergize the temple and its deities. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
At landmark US Hindu temple, a timely rite of rejuvenation

By Peter Smith Jun. 28, 2021 12:25 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Texas

By The Associated Press Jun. 28, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Dallas Morning News. June 25, 2021. Editorial: ERCOT shouldn’t be exempt from laws of open government The Electric...

Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Ludacris to play New Orleans Jazz Fest

By Chevel Johnson Jun. 24, 2021 04:11 PM EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Ludacris, The Isley Brothers, Melissa Etheridge and Trombone Shorty are among the acts slated to take the...

Editorial Roundup: Minnesota

By The Associated Press Jun. 23, 2021 04:38 PM EDT
Minneapolis Star Tribune. June 21, 2021. Editorial: On vaccine, above average just won’t do 16 other states beat...

Editorial Roundup: South Carolina

By The Associated Press Jun. 23, 2021 01:30 PM EDT
(Charleston) The Post and Courier. June 20, 2021. Editorial: SC is finally focused on preventing flooding. Now we need to go deeper ...

Pandemic hotel vouchers for about 700 homeless to end July 1

By Lisa Rathke Jun. 22, 2021 09:52 AM EDT
Vermont is ending its pandemic-related emergency housing in hotels and motels for some of the homeless population because the program is not sustainable, hotel...

From left, Silvia Sinani, 24, Dijana Ferhatovic, 18, Zivka Ferhatovic, 20, Elma Dalipi, 14, Selma Dalipi, 14, and Zlata Ristic, 27, members of the Pretty Loud band, walk along a street in their neighborhood in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. A female Roma, or Gypsy, band in Serbia has used music to preach women's empowerment within their community. Formed in 2014, “Pretty Loud” symbolically seeks to give a louder voice to Roma girls, encourage education and steer them away from the widespread custom of early marriage. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
Serbian Roma girl band sings for women's empowerment

By Jovana Gec Jun. 22, 2021 02:51 AM EDT

Maine's agriculture fairs back on the moo-ve after year off

Jun. 21, 2021 09:50 AM EDT
MONMOUTH, Maine (AP) — Maine's agricultural fair season is back after a year off due to the coronavirus pandemic. The agricultural fairs,...

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, center, chairs the first weekly cabinet meeting of the new government in Jerusalem, Sunday, June 20, 2021. Bennett opened his first Cabinet meeting on Sunday since swearing in his new coalition government with a condemnation of the newly elected Iranian president, whom he called “the hangman of Tehran.” (Emmanuel Dunand/Pool Photo via AP)
Israel launches official probe into deadly festival stampede

Jun. 20, 2021 08:30 AM EDT

Sharon Stone attends the premiere of Dave Chappelle's untitled documentary during the closing night celebration for the 20th Tribeca Festival, at Radio City Music Hall, on Saturday, June 19, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
15 months later, Radio City reopens with Dave Chappelle

By Jake Coyle Jun. 20, 2021 12:31 AM EDT

FILE -- In this June 23, 2012 file photo Italian fashion designers Stefano Gabbana, left, and Domenico Dolce take the catwalk after presenting their Dolce & Gabbana men's fashion collection in Milan, Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)
Dolce&Gabbana's "light therapy'' collection celebrates life

By Colleen Barry Jun. 19, 2021 01:50 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Kentucky

By The Associated Press Jun. 16, 2021 01:53 PM EDT
Frankort State Journal. June 11, 2021. Editorial: Juneteenth should be a national holiday Although President Abraham...

Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich, right, and Claudia Glennan embrace at the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival in Edwardsville, Pa., Friday, June 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
'We need more': Democrats frustrated as agenda faces hurdles

By Steve Peoples Jun. 15, 2021 12:21 AM EDT

Lil Baby appears in the press room at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards on March 14, 2021in Los Angeles, left, and Justin Bieber appears at the Los Angeles premiere of "Justin Bieber: Seasons" on Jan. 27, 2020. The pair are set to headline Jay-Z's Made in America festival in Philadelphia. Organizers announced Monday that Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Roddy Ricch, Bobby Shmurda and A$AP Ferg will also perform at the two-day event on Sept. 4-5 over Labor Day Weekend. (Photos by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Justin Bieber, Lil Baby to headline Made in America festival

By The Associated Press Jun. 14, 2021 01:24 PM EDT

Minnesota State Fair set to return in August

Jun. 11, 2021 01:39 PM EDT
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota State Fair is back. The fair was canceled last year amid COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and social...

Voodoo Fest in New Orleans canceled for 2nd straight year

Jun. 11, 2021 11:04 AM EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For the second year in a row, organizers have canceled a Halloween weekend music festival in New Orleans. Last year’s...

Washington State Fair to return in-person in September

Jun. 10, 2021 07:57 PM EDT
PUYALLUP, Wash. (AP) — The Washington State Fair is returning to Puyallup in September after it was canceled last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. ...