Basque festival
Basque festival, also known as Euskal jaiak, is a festival celebrating Basque culture showing Basque dance and other elements of the Basque folklore. Basque festivals are organized in the United States of America in towns with an important population of Basque descendants, such as Elko, Reno, Winnemucca, and Boise. Elko hosts the largest Basque Festival in the United States, second only to Boise's world famous Jaialdi, around the 4th of July weekend. Similar festivals are celebrated in Argentina and other countries where Basque diaspora is set. Basque festivals are also celebrated in the Basque Country: Euskal Jaiak celebrations in September in Donostia and Zarautz are famous.
Early examples of Basque festivals date from the late 19th century, when the Lore Jokoak, or Basque Floral Games came into being in French-Spanish bordering areas of Navarre, Labourd, and Gipuzkoa, fostered and encouraged by Antoine d'Abbadie and other cultural figures.
