Berlin has a lineup of special events for each month of the year, ranging from music festivals to beer fests to the famous "Love Parade."

Highlights for 2002 include a new event – MärzMusik – a festival of contemporary music, Mar. 7 - 17, that spotlights musical cultures from different regions around the world, and includes experimental works of all types.

Running from Mar. 23 - Apr. 28, Festival Days at the Staatsoper will present 10 of Richard Wagner's major operas in two cycles, under the direction of Daniel Barenboim.

Things move outdoors in May with the Carnival of Cultures, May 17 - 20. Highlight is a huge parade featuring more than 115 groups, 4000 dancers, singers and musicians from 70-plus countries. At the same time, one of Berlin's newest offerings, the Mozart Festival, also under the direction of Daniel Barenboim, will be running from May 18-26, highlighting several of the composer's most popular operas, plus other works, including the Requiem in D Minor, all performed by the Berlin Philharmonic.

June 15 and 16 are the dates for Berlin's 10th annual Lesbian and Gay Street Festival, an event that is expected to attract some 350,000 visitors.

From July 4 - 7, one of Berlin's most beautiful squares, the Gendarmenmarkt, will be the site of Classic Open Air Berlin, featuring performances of the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra, the Staatsoper Choir and the ballet of the Dresden State Operetta.

Love Parade 2002 steps off on July 13, turning the city into one huge love feast and kissy-face festival. Promoters claim this is one of Europe's largest open-air events and the world's biggest techno parade, with more than one million participants expected.

Other summer activities include Heimatklänge, a popular urban folk and world music festival held from July 10 - Aug. 23, and the Berlin Gauklerfest, a traveling minstrel show from Aug. 2 - 11, featuring concerts, variety shows, storytelling and fireworks. This year will also mark the sixth annual Berlin International Beer Festival. Between Aug. 2 - 4, a mile-long stretch of Karl Marx Allee will be transformed into an enormous beer garden and bar, with 190 breweries from 72 countries serving up drafts from some 1,500 brands of the world's finest beer.

With fall weather, things turn to sports with the Berlin Marathon, which attracted 37,000 contestants in 2001. Run on Sept. 29, it follows a 42-km route through 10 city districts.

Germany observes its reunification Oct. 3 with its Deutschland's Fest, held in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. It's a musical celebration, with special stages set up for performances of everything from classical to rock.

JazzFest Berlin takes place from Oct. 31 - Nov. 3, featuring both legendary acts and up-and-coming performers. Almost at the same time, the 8th Berlin Military Music Festival is in full swing from Nov. 1 - 3, with more than 700 military bands and musical organizations from around the world holding forth at the Max-Schmeling-Halle.

Berlin's year ends with the traditional Christmas Fairs, the holiday festivities taking place throughout the city, including one of the largest in Spandau's Old Town - and indeed in almost every town in Germany; the New Year comes in at the Brandenburg Gate with a fireworks extravaganza, and usually attracts up to a million people.

Further information is available on-line at www.berlintourism.de, or the German National Tourist Office (212-661-7200).