Mr. Wang also declined to offer specifics on Mr. Buffett's appearance, including whether it would also appear on the Spring Festival television special, a four- to five-hour series of songs and skits produced by the state broadcaster that is watched by 700 million people in China and might be the world's most-viewed TV show.

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Previously held on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, the festival was the victim of its own popularity in 2009 when 15, 000 spectators turned up to a venue equipped to hold only 5, 000, resulting in the cancellation of the 2010 event.

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The trust is also holding a Living Churchyards spring festival day to showcase the work of the project on 23 March at Llanasa.

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Chicago's famous comedic names and ensembles descend on stages around the city for the Chicago Improv Festival every spring.

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Further inflaming the situation, 168 Japanese ruling and opposition party lawmakers on Tuesday visited the shrine for the last day of its three-day annual spring festival, the largest group of politicians ever to visit and more than double the number reported for the event last year.

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Last year Interactive got attention for a community effort that was completely unplanned and that didn't spring from the fest itself: After earthquakes and tsunamis devastated Japan on the opening day of the festival, attendees launched "SXSW4Japan, " which raised funds for relief efforts.

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Imagine us as Australians, though, and the hyperborean blast must mean a heatwave scorching over from Java's scented isle, just as (though neither actually happens) Father Christmas should arrive half-clad on waterskis, and Easter should recall, to anthropologists, not the Adonis festival and the rebirth of spring but some autumn feast that has lost its way, or why not?

ECONOMIST: Johnson

On Monday night, Mr. President, we shall celebrate Passover, the Festival of Freedom, the Celebration of Spring.

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