Rural Events and Festivals: Between Community Cohesion and Commodification

Call for Papers

Rural Events and Festivals: Between Community Cohesion and Commodification

Journal: International Journal of Event and Festival Management
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Manuscript Submission Deadline: 14 February 2027

International Journal of Event and Festival Management invites submissions for its Special Issue on Rural Events and Festivals: Between Community Cohesion and Commodification.

About the Special Issue

Rural events and festivals play a vital role in shaping community identity, social cohesion, cultural heritage, and regional development. Despite their significance, research has often viewed rural events primarily through geographical or deficit-based perspectives, overlooking how they actively construct, negotiate, and redefine rurality, place identity, and community resilience.

This Special Issue seeks interdisciplinary research that critically examines the social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions of rural events and festivals. It welcomes contributions exploring how rural events foster inclusion, support regeneration, influence tourism development, and challenge traditional narratives surrounding rural communities while offering new theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Topics of Interest

Submissions may include, but are not limited to:

• Rural events and social inclusion or exclusion

• Intergenerational exchange through events

• Community belonging and rural revitalisation

• Rural events and resistance to urban dominance

• Place identity and local distinctiveness

• Tourism, migration, and demographic change

• Power dynamics between local and external stakeholders

• Indigenous and traditional festivals

• Cultural continuity and contestation

• Community-based event research methodologies

• Rural geographies and event development

• Ethical and philosophical issues in rural festivals

• Community resilience through events

• Rural tourism and destination development

Preferred Article Types

The journal welcomes:

• Theoretical Papers

• Empirical Research Articles

• Case Studies

• Critical Commentary

Submission Information

• Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 September 2026

• Manuscript Submission Opens: 30 October 2026

• Manuscript Submission Deadline: 14 February 2027

• Manuscripts must be submitted through the ScholarOne Manuscripts submission system.

• Authors should select the appropriate Special Issue during the submission process.

• Abstracts should be submitted to the Guest Editor via the provided submission email.

• All submissions must strictly follow the journal's official Author Guidelines.

• Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.

Guest Editors

• Barbara Grabher, University of Brighton, UK

• Willem Coetzee, Western Sydney University, Australia

• Vasiliki Georgoula, University of the Aegean, Greece

Posted on ServiceSetu Academics — Premier Platform for Academic Opportunities & Research Collaboration.

Visit official website of the publisher