How we pick and check experiences.
What makes the list, the ways a traveller can take part, and how every fact and date is checked against an official source.
What makes the list
An experience makes the list only if a traveller can take part hands-on: by making something (a lantern, a float, a sand sculpture, a boat), by using what locals or makers made (kites, costumes, lanterns, a hot-air balloon that needs a crew), or by learning a skill with others (sailing a tall ship, wayfinding, paddling in a team). Pure sightseeing still doesn't count. Watch-only events stay in only when the craft is the point and you can buy the makers' work.
Right now Nomad is a free guide to 44 experiences across 5 continents. Curated trips and team entries may come later. There is nothing to buy here, no tracking and no analytics.
How you take part
Every listing is tagged with one or more of these. The colours match the calendar.
Team entry
Build something and enter it: some events are open, some by application, lottery or qualification.
Workshop / open build
Book a class or turn up and build with locals or makers.
Use local gear
Buy or rent what local makers built (kites, lanterns, costumes) and take part with it.
Crew
Join the crew for someone else's build: launch, chase and pack down.
Learn the skill
Learn a skill with others, such as sailing a tall ship, wayfinding or paddling in a team, and join in with it.
Watch & buy local
Watch the makers at work, then buy their work. No entry needed.
Sources first, flags always
- Official sources first. We use organisers, governments, tourism boards, national governing bodies and UNESCO. A non-official source is used only when the event's community widely accepts it, and we record the evidence (shown as Community-accepted, with the reason).
- We don't use blogs, SEO travel guides, listing sites, travel agencies or commercial sellers, and a newspaper is never a primary source. Every external domain on this site is listed, with its owner and source type, in allowed_sources.json; our tests fail if a link points anywhere else.
- Every fact and link on a page is logged in that page's
sources.md, including links we removed in the source audit of 4 Oct 2026. - We never fill gaps with guesses. If a date isn't published it is marked TBC; a fact with no official source is marked Unconfirmed: no official source; anything we couldn't confirm is marked UNVERIFIED or not verified; conflicting sources are marked CONFLICT, with advice to confirm with organiser.
- No costs are listed: they change, so we link to the official page instead.
- Research pass: 3 Oct 2026; date check, skills research and source audit: 4 Oct 2026 (IST).
Comments
Comments and corrections from travellers are planned for a later version.
🪁 Uttarayan in Ahmedabad
Every January, for Makar Sankranti, Gujarat takes to its rooftops. You can't really join in by watching: you buy kites and reels from the makers at the Patang Bazaar, climb onto a rooftop with a local family and fly. That's the idea behind Nomad. How to take part in Uttarayan →
Researched, not listed yet
These came close. They may join the list once a hands-on way in is confirmed.
Sapporo Snow Festival, Japan
2026 ran 4–11 Feb; 2027 is 4–11 Feb (official). Rechecked 14 Oct 2026 and kept in reserve: visitors mostly watch, and no open entry route to the International Snow Statue Contest was found.
https://www.snowfes.com/news/948.htmlUp Helly Aa, Lerwick, Shetland
26 Jan 2027 (official). Checked 14 Oct 2026: a Viking galley and torches are built over the winter, but the build squads and guizers are local; visitors watch the procession and the burning, so it isn't listed.
https://www.uphellyaa.org/up-helly-aa-2027/Ōtaki International Kite Festival, New Zealand
Ran 14–15 Mar 2026. Mostly for watching; 2027 dates not published.
https://www.visitkapiti.co.nz/events-feed/2026/march/otaki-kite-festival/Elsewhere, Spain (regional burn)
Successor to Nowhere; ran 7–12 Jul 2026 in Monegros. Could be added later.
https://nobodies.team/