The year 2016 teems with centennials, from the Indy 500 to soccer’s Copa America competition. Check these out on our annual calendar, which also touts the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s passing and Charlotte Bronte’s 200th birthday.
January
1: Pasadena, Calif. — Tournament of Roses Parade. Flotilla of floats honors centennial of the National Park Service.
1: Dublin — Peace Proms. Concert kicks off 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising.
4-Jan. 2, 2017: U.S., nationwide — “The Wonder of Will: First Folio Tour.” Marks 400th anniversary of the Bard’s demise.
18-24: San Sebastian, Spain — Inauguration Week for the European Capital of Culture. Yearlong reign begins, with Wroclaw, Poland, sharing the crown.
February
7: Santa Clara, Calif. — Super Bowl 50. Golden edition, with Coldplay taking the handoff at halftime.
8-22: Hong Kong — Hong Kong Chinese New Year. Night parade opens Year of Monkey celebrations and antics.
9: New Orleans — Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday parades end the season on a high note.
12-21: Lillehammer, Norway — Youth Olympic Games. Seventy medals up for grabs.
25-28: Berkeley Springs, W.Va. — Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting. By bottle or faucet, a salute to hydration.
March
2-6: Sun Valley, Idaho — Sun Valley Film Festival. Sixty premieres, with Lifetime Vision Award going to Oliver Stone.
12: Louisville — Speed Art Museum Grand Opening. New galleries inside and out for the likes of Picasso and Lichtenstein.
18-28: Berlin — Festtage der Staatsoper. Symphonies and new opera stagings, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim.
31: Fort Worth — “Lonesome Dove” Reunion. Silver anniversary of TV Western, with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones back in the saddle.
April
2: Long Beach, Calif. — Formula E Championship. Single-seaters line up in world’s first fully electric racing series.
14-17: Charleston, S.C. — Charleston Race Week. Three hundred keelboats take to the water.
14-24: San Antonio — Fiesta San Antonio. The 125th edition features over 100 events.
22-24: St. Albans, Vt. — Vermont Maple Festival. Contests, parade and a sap run celebrate “50 Years of Golden Sweetness.”
23: London — Anniversary Gala Concert. “Much Ado About Shakespeare” at Royal Festival Hall.
May
1-Sept. 4: Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Overalls All Over. Thirty “American Gothic” statues unveiled for Grant Wood’s 125th birthday.
5-8: Cordova, Alaska — Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival. Feather-ruffler features 5 million fowl.
8-12: Orlando, Fla. — Invictus Games. Wounded Service personnel tap into world of sports.
29: Indianapolis — Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. The 100th running of “world’s largest single-day sporting event.”
31-Sept. 11: Madrid — “Bosch. The Centenary Exhibition.” Prado Museum salutes fifth centenary of painter’s death.
June
3-26: U.S., nationwide — Centennial Copa America. The 100th playing of South America’s soccer series.
7: near Portland, Ore. — Official Rededication of the Historic Columbia River Highway. The 100th anniversary of “America’s First Scenic Highway.”
10-July 10: France, nationwide — Euro 2016. Europe’s soccer teams compete to reach the finals at Saint-Denis.
12-17: St. Joseph to Hannibal, Mo. — Big BAM. Explosive bicycle tour features music at every stage.
16-19: Dover, Del. — Firefly Music Festival. More than 50 acts, including Death Cab for Cutie.
18-July 3: Lake Iseo, Italy — “The Floating Piers.” Christo returns with 2-mile “walk on water” installation.
July
8-10: Santa Fe, N.M. — International Folk Art Market. A gathering of 150 international artists on Museum Hill.
16: Pampa de Tamarugal, Chile — Fiesta de La Tirana. Mix of Andean sacred offerings, music and dance.
22-24: Boom, Belgium — Tomorrowland. Near Antwerp, one of the world’s biggest electronic music festivals.
23, 30; Aug. 6: Wroclaw, Poland — Singing Europe. Europe’s co-Cultural Capital for 2016 hosts continental choirs.
25-31: Oshkosh, Wis. — EAA AirVenture. Aircraft, aircraft, aircraft — more than 10,000 on display and overhead.
27: Heart’s Content, Newfoundland — Landing the Cable. The 150th anniversary of the first successful Atlantic telegraph cable.
August
5-21: Rio de Janeiro — Games of the XXXI Olympiad. The 306 medal events now include golf and rugby-sevens.
11-21: Edmonton, Alberta — Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. Buskers and vendors take to the streets, 35th edition.
12-14: Abbotsford, British Columbia — Abbotsford International Airshow. “Canada’s National Airshow” attracts 100,000 fans.
19-21: Manchester, England — Bronte Society Bicentenary Conference. “Jane Eyre’s” creator, Charlotte, turns 200.
28-Sept. 5: Black Rock Desert, Nev. — Burning Man. Experiments in radical self-expression, with “Da Vinci’s Workshop” as theme.
September
2-Oct. 3: Prince Edward Island, various locales — Fall Flavours Culinary Festival. Food in every setting, including “Lobster at the Beach.”
4: Near Marysville, Kan. — Orchestra on the Oregon Trail. “Music meets the meadow” at Alcove Spring Historic Park.
7-18: Rio de Janeiro — XV Paralympic Games. New medal sports this year: canoeing and paratriathlon.
9-Oct. 15: Corydon, Ind., to Indianapolis — Indiana’s Bicentennial Torch Relay. Runners light the way through 92 counties.
10: Maine, statewide — Maine Open Lighthouse Day. Rare chance to explore more than two dozen coastal sentinels.
27-Oct. 2: Chaska, Minn. — Ryder Cup. U.S. vs. Europe biennial brouhaha for trans-Atlantic supremacy in golf.
October
7-9: Birmingham, Ala. — Barber Vintage Festival. Motorcycle mania with classics show and swap meet.
8: Weiner, Ark. — Arkansas Rice Festival. Rice cook-off, duck calling and wiener dog race mark 40th edition.
9-16: Doha, Qatar — UCI Road World Championships. A thousand bicyclists from 75 countries meet in the Middle East.
15-16: Leonardtown, Md. — St. Mary’s County Oyster Festival. The 50th year, with National Shucking Contest.
28-30: Rehoboth Beach, Del. — Sea Witch Halloween & Fiddler’s Festival. Boardwalk and beach fest features broom-tossing contest.
November
1-2: Mexico, nationwide — Day of the Dead. A grave occasion lightened by picnics and sweet treats.
10-13: Hamburg, Germany — Affordable Art Fair. The price is right from emerging artists, 75 galleries.
12-Dec. 20: Oahu, Hawaii — Triple Crown of Surfing. Catch a wave on the fabled North Shore.
24: New York — Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The 90th annual procession of giant balloons, bands and floats.
25-Dec. 24: St. Charles, Mo. — St. Charles Christmas Traditions. Santas from around the world take center stage.
December
3: Talkeetna, Alaska — Wilderness Woman Contest and Talkeetna Bachelor Auction. Rough competition, from water hauling to splitting wood.
3: Natchitoches, La. — Natchitoches Christmas Festival. Fireworks and parade are part of seasonlong celebration.
14-Jan. 5: throughout the Americas — Christmas Bird Count. Eyewitnesses everywhere zoom in for avian census.
31-Jan. 1: Edinburgh, Scotland — Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. “World’s Biggest Rendition of Auld Lang Syne,” plus a morning-after dip in the River Forth.
Dates are subject to change. Always check in advance to confirm dates and details.
Margaret Backenheimer is a freelance reporter.
