Mostly, Hindus and Muslims have lived peacefully, while maintaining, especially in villages, lives that are in important respects separate, with predominantly Hindu and Muslim residential quarters, separate charities and distinct festivals.
Where Coachella is a smorgasbord of what's hot and hip in indie rock, pop and dance music, Stagecoach is virtually two distinct festivals in one: First, there's the mainstream country that occupies the Mane Stage all day every day.
Still, it's enthusing to see two totally distinct festival brands able to hold successful events on the same weekend in one town.
When asked what makes the festival distinct to Montreal, Mr. Ménard said that it had eight or so concert halls in a several-block radius (and a government supportive enough to close major streets for two weeks).
Wales has distinct cultural and sporting festivals, and a distinct national sport rugby football.Yet despite this firm Welsh identity, Wales is closely linked to England both economically and politically more so than Scotland.
Chotrul Duchen, Buddha Jayanti, the birthday of the Dalai Lama, Loosong, Bhumchu, Saga Dawa, Lhabab Duechen and Drupka Teshi are some other festivals, some distinct to local culture and others shared with the rest of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.
On such occasions, one has the distinct sense of a festival simultaneously basking in the limelight while wearing a clothes peg on its nose.
La Plume, a refugee from Congo, explains the festival's distinct aim: to empower its residents as people in their own right, giving them a status beyond just being a refugee.
Intentional or not, however, Burning Man's lucrative potential has brought with it entrepreneurs looking for inspiration and generous venture capitalists, which Harvey insists represent at most "a distinct minority" of the festival's temporary population of nearly 70,000.
While it is certainly challenging instructing up to 60 people with no dance experience, Bolero captures one very distinct facet of the Festival: to invest in the future of dance by growing audiences.
Some years the festival throws up distinct themes: this summer it seems to be young people and how they view the world – take for example All That is Wrong, Morning and Chris Goode's Monkey Bars, which opens at the Traverse tonight.
