Festivals in Innsbruck and Tirol

The annual Tyrolean calendar is packed with special events: the famous Schemenlaufen, a procession of carved wooden masks, held in February in Imst; the Fasching balls, which reach their peak at the end of February; the Hahnenkamm ski race and curling competition held in winter in Kitzbühel; the world-famous Gauder Fest at Zell am Ziller during the first weekend in May; the castle concerts and music and dance festivals in summer, primarily in Kufstein and Innsbruck; the ceremonial Almabtrieb in autumn, when the farmers bring down their richly adorned cattle from mountain pastures down to the valley for the winter; and the many village harvest festivals in the fall throughout Tirol.