2014 at a glance

Check out these dates for the new year. Some may hold your interest. Some you may add to your calendar. Some of them you might not be able to avoid hearing about, no matter how hard you try.

Jan. 8: North Korea celebrates the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un, with a Dennis Rodman serenade, and the People’sChoice Awards take place in L.A.

Jan. 9: Kate Middleton celebrates her 32nd birthday.

Jan. 10: Deliberations and a possible verdict will come in the retrial of American Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend in Italy on murder charges.

Jan. 12: The 71st Golden Globe awards take place in L.A., and Carole King’s musical opens on Broadway.

Jan. 16: The Oscar nominations are announced in L.A., and the Sundance Film Festival begins in Park City, Utah.

Jan. 17:  Happy 50th birthday to Michelle Obama.

Jan. 20: Fashion week’s haute couture shows begin in Paris.

Jan. 21: Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law Abu Ghaith goes on trial.

Jan. 22: The World Economic Forum begins in Switzerland, and the UN holds a peace summit on Syria.

Jan. 26: The Grammy Awards are held in L.A.

Jan. 31: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s second four-year term ends.

***

Feb. 2: The Super Bowl takes place in East Rutherford, N.J. The Pack will not be there.

Feb. 6: New York Fashion Week begins.

Feb. 7: The Winter Olympics holds its opening ceremony in Sochi, Russia. Don’t expect to see many rainbow flags.

Feb. 10: The Westminster Dog Show begins in New York.

Feb. 18: Wisconsin holds primary elections. 

Feb. 23: The Winter Olympics holds its closing ceremony in Sochi. We’ll know by then if anyone’s been arrested for violating Russia’s draconian laws against perpetuating gay “propaganda,” which means uttering the word “gay” in public.

Feb. 25: The Summit for human rights and democracy opens in Geneva.

Feb. 27: Forbes announces the “World’s Most Admired Companies”

Feb. 28: Carnival opens in Rio de Janeiro.

***

March 2: The Academy Awards, otherwise known as the gay version of the Super Bowl, are held in LA.

March 3: The murder trial of athlete Oscar Pretorius starts in South Africa.

March 4: It’s Mardi Gras time in New Orleans.

March 5: The world’s oldest person, Misao Okawa, celebrates  her 116th birthday in Japan.

March 7: The South By Southwest Festival begins in Austin, Texas.

***

April 1: Wisconsin holds statewide elections. 

April 3: The Wisconsin Film Festival begins in Madison.

April 21: Boston holds its first marathon since last year’s terror attack, and Queen Elizabeth turns 88.

April 27: Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints in a historic double canonization in Vatican City.

April 29: The Tony Awards nominations are announced.

***

May 3: The Kentucky Derby takes off in Louisville, and the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner takes place in D.C.

May 14: The Cannes Film Festival opens.

May 25: The French Open begins.

***

June 1: Same-sex couples can marry in Illinois.

June 2: Fortune 500 releases its ranking  of America’s largest corporations in NYC.

June 6: PrideFest begins in Milwaukee.

June 6: The 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings on Normandy beaches in France is commemorated.

June 8: The Tony Awards are presented.

June 12: The World Cup begins in Brazil.

June 25: Summerfest begins in Milwaukee.

June 30: This is the deadline for destruction of Syria’s  chemical weapons.

July 1: Monty Python holds a reunion at The O2 in London.

July 5: The 2014 The Tour de France begins, as well as  the Wimbledon women’s singles final.

July 6: Wimbledon holds its men’s singles final.

July 7: It’s the running of the bulls in Pamplona.

July 22: UK’s Prince George celebrates his first birthday.

July 24: The Comic-Con International Show opens to the public in San Diego.

July 29: Edward Snowden’s temporary asylum in Russia  expires.

July 31: The Wisconsin State Fair begins in West Allis.

***

Aug. 9: The Gay Games begin in Cleveland.

Aug. 12: Wisconsin holds primaries.

***

Sept. 4: New York Fashion Week begins.

Sept. 23: The UN Climate Change Summit is hosted by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Sept. 25: The Milwaukee Film Festival begins.

Sept. 30: The U.S. fiscal year ends.

***

Oct. 5: The Vatican convenes an Extraordinary General Assembly to focus on family and marriage “crisis.”

Oct. 10: The World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in D.C.

Oct. 12: The Chicago Marathon is run.

Oct. 27: Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford seeks re-election.

***

Nov 4: The nation holds its critical midterm elections. Up for grabs are the U.S. Senate and a number of governorships, including Wisconsin’s.

***

Dec. 1: World AIDS Day is observed.

Dec. 31: The deadline for withdrawal of all combat forces in Afghan is finally reached.