What types of festivals occur in your neck of the woods?

[Big Easy King]

Many festivals occur in The Big Easy, ranging from small-scale neighborhood ones covering one theme (i.e., Bucktown Seafood Festival) to grand-scale, city-wide festivals encompassing many themes (i.e., New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; Essence Music Festival; Greek Festival; Swamp Festival). New Orleanians love to party and festivals provide another source to continue the party.

The mother of all festivals in The Big Easy is the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which entails seven days of great music, excellent food, cultural art, discussion and expression, great company, and a great time.

What types of festivals occur in your neck of the woods?

 

[SGB]

Diversity Festival: Of course in the eyes of the organizers, some types of diversity are better than others....

Anything related to agriculture, such as:
Pumpkin Festival
Harvest Festival
Maple Festival

 

[mike gurnee]

Testicle Festival, featuring calf fries.

 

[SkeLeton]

The Bierfest! :b: :b: :-b
The Valdivian Night festival rocks too, fireworks and boats with decoration in a river parade...

Edit: forgot the Movie festival that's going on right now!

 

[BKM]

My employer, which is a commuter suburb of the Bay Area, tries to desperately use festivals to strengthen our anemic downtown and create a sense of place for what is basically a commuter dormitory. So, we have a Tomato Festival (even though tomatoes are really not grown in the immediate vicinity of Fairfield) and a Candy Festival (to celebrate inedible jelly beans and our growing roster of candy companies.)

I am not a big lover of festivals. They always seem to have the same panoply of roaming junky "crafts" (read:Made-in-China glurge) dealers, paint your kiddie's face with fake tattoos stands, and bad fried food vendors.

I am very grumpy today

 

[BiteMeElmo]

Edmonton is known as the Festival City of Canada. We have tons.

Jazz festival
street performers festival
blues festival
folk music festival
heritage days (multiculturalism celebration)
fringe theater (progressive theater) festival
comedy festival

There are many others, but I can't remember many right now.

EDIT: more festivals for Edmonton here

 

[Planderella]

I think the Voodoo Music Festival is poising to take over as THE #1 music festival in New Orleans. Check out the lineup!!!!

 

[Big Easy King]

I think the Voodoo Music Festival is poising to take over as THE #1 music festival in New Orleans. Check out the lineup!!!!

I forgot to mention the Voodoo Music Fest. It's a great festival that continues to grow and improve each year.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

Onion Days
Strawberry Days
Freedom Festival
Steel Days
Fiesta Days

 

[Zoning Goddess]

Manatee Festival
Black Bear Festival
Fringe (theater) festival
Epcot has flower, wine, and art festivals

 

[Gedunker]

El Feo will probably affirm that the Louisville metro area is very heavily into neighborhood festivals, among which is the St. James Art Fair that attracts some excellent artists from around the country (although it is gettingly more glurgey every year) and the St. Joseph's Orphans Picnic which is a great excuse to do two of my favorite things -- poker and beer. The granddaddy of Fireworks shows: Thunder Over Louisville -- a 45 minute extravaganza using two barges in the Ohio River and the Clark Memorial Bridge as staging areas. Quite the show with 500,000 on-hand to enjoy the kick-off to the "Run for the Roses".

There seems to be a festival every weekend from Spring through Fall in these parts.

Our local festival -- Harvest Homecoming -- runs this Thursday through Sunday and is alleged to be the third largest attended festival in Indiana (behind the 500 Festival and State Fair) with 350,000 visitors. Oddly, it seems to me that most of that number come from the great toothless, unwashed, child-spanking classes that populate a certain retailer we all know and love/hate.

 

[tsc]

The Clearwater Music and Environmental Festival

We have a myriad of little festivals... this is our most unique.. I think. This is the schpeal:

The Clearwater Music and Environmental Festival is the nation’s oldest and largest annual festival of its kind. It has hosted over 15,000 people on a weekend in June for over three decades. The Festival is a celebration of the environment as well as the beauty that is the majestic Hudson River. It features over 90 performers offering a diverse blend of contemporary, traditional and American roots music, as well as dancing, storytelling and theater. The music ranges from blues to rock, reggae to salsa, bluegrass to jazz, and funk to folk. Dance participants enjoy Zydeco, swing, Cajun and square dancing.

The Festival, including all stages, is 100% powered by solar energy, soy-diesel generators and wind-powered energy credits.

The Festival is produced by the nonprofit environmental organization, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. All proceeds go directly to support environmental research, education and advocacy to help clean up the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as other great waterways and byways.

 

[Jeff]

We have the "Mummers Parade" that count?

 

[el Guapo]

Testicle Festival, featuring calf fries.

I can confirm this...it makes me sad to say...as I have attended it myself.

 

[Gedunker]

I can confirm this...it makes me sad to say...as I have attended it myself.

What is this Testicle Festival of which you speak? It sounds RUGGED.

 

[Cardinal]

Our big local fests include the Fourth of July (with up to four fireworks displays), the annual Pow-Wow, and the Great Circus Train. This last one is held when the train (Ringling Brothers) makes its overnight stop on the way to Milwaukee for the Great Circus Parade.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

What is this Testicle Festival of which you speak? It sounds RUGGED.

Clinton, Montana also has one. My access was denied, but for those of you who care to see, check out:http://www.testyfesty.com

Mod Note: TAKE HEED OF THE ADULT CONTENT WARNING ON THE FIRST PAGE!!!!!!! 8-! - PD

 

[Bangorian]

In Maine its mostly bluegrass festivals and country fairs.

The Common Ground Country Fair is excellent - hotsted by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association - 100% organic food, social & environmental action tents, music, craft (i.e. stonecutting and boatbuilding) deomnstrations, and lots of general treehugger-type stuff. Its wonderful.

And, of course, there are about 100 lobster festivals in the state. Go figure.

 

[Tom R]

Fest

Kent State Folk Festival
38th annual this November.

 

[Mastiff]

Our City Council holds the semi-yearly "Run off the City Administrator Festival"...

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Clinton, Montana also has one. My access was denied, but for those of you who care to see, check out:http://www.testyfesty.com

-Wow they even got Pabst and Hustler as sponsers, what a finger licking good time.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

-Well no rocky mountain oysters here but there's always some festival going on.

*Allentown Art Festival
*Taste of Buffalo
*Elmwood Ave Art Festival
*Artvoice Street Festival
*Buffalo National Chicken Wing Festival
*Harley Davidson had a two day stop over here for there 100 anniversary
*Buffalo-Niagara Guitar Fest.
etc.

Maybe we should start frying buffalo testicles around here for another festival.

 

[Jeff]

We have the "Smeer the Queer" Festival (sorry queers)

Happens every time the NY Giants come to town.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

-I wonder if Chevy Chase was at the testy fest, seeing how he ate all those sheep testicles in Funny Farm.

 

[Repo Man]

The Minocqua Wisconsin "Beef - A - Rama"

All the merchants in this tourist town grill a roast using their own twist. The local brewery marinades it in beer, the italian place seasons it with italian spices, etc. Then they have a parade down the main street where people dress up and parade their finished roast. Then they carve all the roasts and serve sandwiches at the local park for $3 a pop.

I went this year and got some photos:

 

[JNL]

We have a few:

Incredibly Strange Film Festival
International Film Festival
Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
International Jazz Festival
Festival of the Arts
Dragonboat Festival
Fringe Festival
Fashion Festival
International Laugh Festival
Capital Wine & Food Festival
International Poetry Festival

 

[otterpop]

Helena has the usual sort of stuff -- a jazz fest (doesn't everyone?) and a microbrew fest. My favorite is the Crawfish Festival. Last Saturday in May they ship in good old Louisiana crawfish and have a good crawfish boil and catfish fry. There is always also some awful jambalaya and a jambalaya contest (all recipes are equally atrocious). But I arrive early and stay late, eating as many crawfish as I can. My once a year opportunity to catch up on the crawfish I miss since leaving Louisiana.

There is also the Testicle Festival, in Rock Creek. Pretty famous. Rocky Mountain Oysters are the main dish. You know, bull balls.

 

[The Irish One]

We have a Oaxaca festival in my town. It's nice and draws thousands of people. All of the 2nd and on generations of Mexicans do nothing but rip up and down on Oaxacans as Mexico's trash. Snobs!

 

[OhioPlanner]

Corn Festival
German Oktoberfest
Pumpkin Festival

and my fav
Zuccinni Festival

 

[PlannerGirl]

Well the DC area has more festivals than I can count. You name a thing or group and they have some shin dig down on the Mall. Its fun!

 

[JNA]

Westside Nut Club Fall Festival
check out this food list http://www.myinky.com/ecp/me/article/0,1626,ECP_2256_2315802,00.html

 

[Cardinal]

Of course, Weedstock is held a few miles outside of Madison every year.

 

[Tom R]

fests

Rootstown O. has a little music fest called Rootstock.
In Northern Maine they have an annual Potato Festival complete with mashed potato wrestling.

 

[Mastiff]

Re: fests

In Northern Maine they have an annual Potato Festival complete with mashed potato wrestling.

Been there... done that! (Didn't wrestle, tho...)

 

[biscuit]

It seems that every neighborhood, ethnic group, or special livestyle has a festival or two so there is always something to attend around here.

My fiancee's hometown has an interesting yearly festival called Rain Day. Every July 29 the Town shuts down High Street and celebrates the fact that it rains every year on that date - Well, 108 out of the 128 they've kept record but who cares. It's a neat local tradition that attracts a lot of people to the town. Especially a lot of the toothless wonder crowd who come for their yearly trek out of the hills.

 

[Tranplanner]

Especially a lot of the toothless wonder crowd who come for their yearly trek out of the hills.

Is that really any way to speak about your future in-laws?

 

[Tom R]

Re: Re: fests

Been there... done that! (Didn't wrestle, tho...)

Oregon potatoes?