Stormfest

The annual event of Stormfest is celebrated in one degree or another all over Eleron, as a time for competition, demonstrating martial prowess, feasting and having fun. Held over three days in the Month of Thunder, the size of the celebration varies both regionally and culturally, as well as the nature of the competitions the event includes. Held in honour of Kord the Stormlord, the festival's religious roots do not restrict the participants as anyone is welcome to join in the event but those who are members of the Stormborn or Kord's clergy are greeted as guests of honour and often find themselves as the center of attention throughout the festival.
A time of big business for inns, boardinghouses and merchants alike, spare spaces between competitions and tents would be crammed with stalls and peddlers selling their wares. Vast dinners prepared and offered for free to attendees, games and events run all through the three days, varying from simple children's games, fishing and eating competitions to wrestling matches, duels and feats of strength and dexterity.
It is believed Stormfest originated in Morhiel, as the traditional seat of the Stormlords religion. Morhillian Stormfests are incredible affairs, with families from all over travelling to their local Jarls hometown, with each Jarl responsible for hosting the Stormfest for their own land. Historical financial records and journals indicate that Stormfest was a celebrated event before the Dawn War, and had spread down into the present-day Wilderlands by the start of 1E. From here the event seemed to spread to the vast majority of Eleron with considerable speed, likely aided by the The Stormborn Pilgrimage and the expansion of The Lisun Empire introducing more people to Kord, and encouraging the practice. In the current 4E Stormfest is celebrated nearly continent-wide, with only the most remote southern settlements not participating.
While celebration in Morhiel sticks true to the traditional Stormfest, different regions do feature variations in the competitions and games played depending on the area's strengths and the values of the local culture. In Sien sharpshooter competitions are done with rifles, as opposed to the traditional longbows, with wine and cheese competitions and an organised parade through the city centre of the Siennian armed forces. In recent years Siennian Stormfest also includes fundraising events for the war effort against Cebran.
Stormfest in Cebran isn't a massive annual holiday, particularly on the coastline, however smaller regional towns and villages will host their own games and feasting though on a small scale, much more in line with how Stormfest is celebrated in the The Valeran Archipelago. Caravaners of the Wilderlands meet with other caravan trains, different groups visiting the same campsites each year to host their own Stormfest. Wilderfolk-run Stormfests tend to feature far less of the competitive side of the event, focusing more on the feasting, singing and dancing side of the festivities. Another notable variation is present in the far-southern city-state of Nafsu, where Stormfest competitions focus more on feats of arcane prowess than physical might. This has led to the event also being associated with more magic-aligned gods like Ioun and Corellon.