Find something to build, use or learn.

Red Bull Flugtag

BUILD a human-powered 'flying' machine launched off a 30-ft deck into water

Sumpango Giant Kite Festival (Barriletes Gigantes)

USE/observe giant tissue-paper kites built by local barrilete groups

Hoi An lantern-making class + Full Moon Lantern Festival

BUILD a bamboo-and-silk lantern with local artisans

ARC Atlantic Rally for Cruisers

CREW a yacht across the Atlantic (about 2,700 nautical miles, around 18-21 days)

Yi Peng / Loy Krathong

BUILD a banana-leaf krathong (or buy one from local makers) and float it; sky lanterns only at authorised events

Hornbill Festival (Craftscape)

USE/buy Naga crafts (bamboo, cane, beadwork, weaving, wood carving); craft demonstrations

Audubon Christmas Bird Count

TAKE PART in a volunteer bird census as a field counter or a feeder counter

Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition (Ice & Snow Festival)

BUILD a large snow sculpture as a team

International Kite Festival / Uttarayan

USE locally made patang kites & firki reels; fly from rooftops during Uttarayan

Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival

USE paper sky lanterns made by Pingxi/Shifen shops; write wishes and release

Las Fallas

USE/observe: giant satirical falla monuments built by local artists & neighbourhood casals

Rio Carnival - parade with a samba school

USE a fantasia (costume) made in the samba school's barracão and parade in a wing (ala)

Vasaloppet Öppet Spår Sunday

LEARN to ski the 90 km classic Vasaloppet course at your own pace

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race: volunteers

CREW the race: help weigh and sort checkpoint supplies, work at Anchorage headquarters or the Ceremonial Start, or staff a trail checkpoint

Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles (Morocco)

TAKE PART in a women's off-road navigation rally: map, compass and ruler, no GPS

Basic Mountaineering Course, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering

LEARN mountaineering: movement on rock, snow and ice, map reading, navigation, weather and mountain hygiene

Weifang International Kite Festival

BUILD/fly your own kite or USE Weifang-made kites

Texas SandFest (amateur competition)

BUILD a sand sculpture in your own plot

Great Cardboard Boat Regatta (SIU Carbondale)

BUILD a muscle-powered boat from corrugated cardboard and race it

AfrikaBurn

BUILD artworks, theme camps, mutant vehicles

City Nature Challenge

TAKE PART in a four-day wildlife photo challenge: photograph wild plants and animals in your city and upload them

Red Bull Soapbox Race

BUILD a human/gravity-powered soapbox kart

Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race

BUILD a human-powered amphibious art sculpture that crosses streets, sand, mud and Baltimore's harbour

Kinetic Grand Championship

BUILD a human-powered amphibious art sculpture that crosses sand, mud and water over 50 miles

Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta

BUILD a boat from recycled drink cans/cartons/bottles and race it

Great Knaresborough Bed Race

BUILD/decorate a racing bed; team pushes it on a course incl. a river crossing

Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest

BUILD a sand sculpture in your own plot, using only sand, water and things native to the beach

RoboCup (world championship)

BUILD autonomous robots (soccer, rescue, @Home, industrial, Junior leagues) and compete

The Tall Ships Races (sail training)

LEARN to sail a tall ship as trainee crew: handle sails, steer and keep watch

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

LEARN aircraft-building skills in hands-on workshops included with admission, or CREW the show as a volunteer

Aomori Nebuta Matsuri (dance as a haneto)

USE: dance alongside giant illuminated nebuta floats built by local nebuta masters, wearing a haneto costume

Henley-on-Todd Regatta

BUILD a bottomless 'BYO boat' (crew of 4) or USE supplied boats and run them down a dry riverbed

Bridgestone World Solar Challenge

BUILD a solar-powered car and drive it across Australia

Burning Man

BUILD art, art cars (mutant vehicles), theme camps

Queen Lili'uokalani Canoe Races (outrigger)

CREW an outrigger canoe in an 18-mile ocean race, or in the shorter sprint and relay races

Eco-friendly Ganesh idol-making workshops

BUILD your own shadu-clay Ganesha idol

Corso Zundert flower parade

BUILD: help hamlet teams build giant dahlia-covered floats

Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

BUILD small wooden things in the Woodworking Tent and USE wooden boats on the water

Dieppe International Kite Festival

USE/observe giant kites by international makers; fly your own on the seafront lawns

Kumartuli idol makers & Durga Puja

USE/observe: clay Durga idols and pandals built by Kumartuli artisans

Maker Faire Rome

BUILD & exhibit your own project/invention

Cape Town International Kite Festival

BUILD in kite-making workshops; fly kites; watch show kites

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (chase crew)

USE: crew a hot-air balloon (launch/chase/pack-down)

Castells: human towers and the Concurs de Castells

BE PART OF the tower: castellers build human towers, and newcomers start in the pinya (the crowd at the base)