A festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community.

There are many types of festivals such as:

A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theatres or screening venues, usually in a single locality. The films may be of recent date and, depending upon the focus of the individual festival, can include international releases as well as films produced by the organisers' domestic film industry. Sometimes there is a focus on a specific film-maker or genre (e.g., film noir) or subject matter (e.g., gay and lesbian film festivals). A number of film festivals specialise in short films, each with its defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events.

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines, performance art, and social activities. The Pythian Games at Delphi included musical performances, and may be one of the earliest festivals known. During the Middle Ages festivals were often held as competitions.

Seasonal festivals are determined by the solar and the lunar calendars and by the cycle of the seasons. The changing of the season was celebrated because of its effect on food supply. Ancient Egyptians would celebrate the seasonal inundation caused by the Nile River, a form of irrigation, which provided fertile land for crops. In the Alps, in autumn the return of the cattle from the mountain pastures to the stables in the valley is celebrated as Almabtrieb. A recognized winter festival, the Chinese New Year, is set by the lunar calendar, and celebrated from the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice. An important type of seasonal festivals are those related with the agricultural seasons. Dree Festival of the Apatanis living in Lower Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh is one such important festival, which is celebrated every year from July 4 to 7 praying for bumper crop hurvest.

Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called "Lunar New Year", because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve is known as. It literally means "Year-pass Eve".

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or Glasto, is one of the largest Greenfield music and performing arts festivals in the world.

The Newport Beach Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Newport Beach, California, that showcases more than 350 films to more than 30,000 attendees annually.Established in 1999 after the failure of an earlier film festival series in the same location, the festival features independent films from around the world and the U.S. Since its beginnings, the Festival has presented many acclaimed films, including Crash (in its 2005 premiere), Dog town and Z-Boys, Dust to Glory, Just Like the Son, Joint Security Area, Layer Cake, Sexy Beast, the Cove, and Spellbound, as well as anniversary screenings of classics such as The French Connection, Sunset Boulevard, and The Outsiders, and the 50th anniversary of the Jim Henson Company.