Archive for August, 2011
Italian Food Festivals You Shouldn’t Miss
It is no secret that Italians love their food. But beyond the time spent in the kitchen and around the dining room table you will also find another Italian tradition through the country – sagre. Sagre are Italian food festivals. Unlike religious festivals that include special foods, like Easter, Shrove Tuesday, and Carnival of Ivrea, these festivals are centered on the local cuisine.
The events are usually held annually and the entire community gets involved. If you happen upon one of these festivals during your stay, you should take advantage of it. You will often have the opportunity to taste local fare and seasonal foods that you might otherwise miss out on during your travels.
Ten Favorite Festivals Not to Be Missed
A festival is the perfect way to celebrate life. And when the weather seems to be throwing a celebration of life itself, the festivals begin. People’s favorite festivals span the gambits of style and location, but all promise the same thing in the end: a good time.
Summerfest- This one shouldn’t surprise anybody. Its name tells you everything you need to know. Summerfest is located in Milwaukee, WI, and boasts “11 days of sun, fun, and entertainment.” With over 700 bands ranging from Stone Temple Pilots to Earth Wind and Fire, a celebration this large and diverse is sure to please all in attendance. Summerfest takes place in early July.
Sweet Corn Festival- If you’re still in Wisconsin and haven’t tired of sun and fun, not to mention entertainment, how about stopping by the Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie. Held in mid-August, visitors enjoy music, rides, a beer tent, and of course, sweet corn, 70 tons of sweet corn to be exact.
Taste of Chicago- In or around the Chicago area during the summer and looking for a bite to eat? Why not visit the Midwest’s largest food festival. The Taste of Chicago where 60 restaurants make sure no one goes hungry.
Jazz Fest- Begin your celebrations in the city where Jazz originated. New Orleans hosts the most famous jazz festival in world. Attend this festival to experience the unique culture and atmosphere that only The Big Easy can offer.
South by Southwest Music Festival- Austin, Texas is home to this music extravaganza, giving even Summerfest a run for its money. The 80 stages showcasing 1,800 musical acts as well as the film and media conferences guarantee something for everyone to enjoy.
Shrimp Festival- If you’ve worked up an appetite after dancing to nearly 2,000 bands in Texas, you might want to head over to the 37th annual National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. This festival, held in early October, is the place to stuff yourself with the ocean’s most delicious decapod crustaceans. Fine arts, crafts, and musical acts accompany the feast.
Renaissance Festival- What festival list is complete without the matriarch of festivals, the renaissance festival. Kansas City, MO is host of a renaissance festival employing more than 500 costumed characters, 13 stages of entertainment, artisans, music, dancing, arts and crafts, and of course, food. The festival runs for 6 weeks in September and early October.
Bishop Mule Days- Even this festival’s website claims that describing Mule Days is difficult. It offers this explanation: “it is part mule show, part test of skills, and part Wild West show.” If you are anywhere near Bishop, California, and want to see some country music stars, some mule rodeo, and the nation’s longest running non-motorized parade, check out Bishop Mule Days.
Lobster Fest- The East Coast has its festivals as well. For 61 years and counting, Rockland, Maine has hosted a lobster festival to beat all lobster festivals. Music, a crate race, a parade, butter, and lemon all accompany the main attraction of this festival.
Ozzfest- Since 1996, Ozzfest, named for rock icon Ozzy Osbourne, has rocked crowds across the country. In 2008, however, the festival was limited to one day and one venue only. Ozzy makes an appearance along with Metallica and a plethora of other bands Ozzy fells rock hard enough to make the lineup. If you are looking for a headbanging music festival, Ozzfest is not to be missed.
Austin Area Festivals – Music and More
What do music, chili peppers, bamboo, wine, watermelon, ice cream and Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh have in common?
They all have festivals devoted to them in Austin or nearby towns. In fact, there are so many festivals of all kinds in the Austin area that it is difficult to keep track of them. The Austin American-Statesman apparently gave up trying to keep count back in 2004, judging by a recent visit to the festivals page on their current website a quick count there reveals there were more than 50 festivals in existence then, and the compilers of the list noted that those were just some of the festivals.
Other festivals have appeared since then. The first-ever Pachanga Latino Music Festival, for instance, was held on May 31st of this year. The second annual Ice Cream Festival will take place on August 9.
The Twin Rivers Media Festival is Not Your Typical Film Festival
The Twin Rivers Media Festival is the first weekend in May every year in Asheville, NC. All proceeds from the festival, after promotional and other expenses, go back to the film makers and media artists. Next year is Twin Rivers Media Festival’s 15th season.
The festivals judges begin selecting films in March and April and continue right through the festival’s official dates, during the first weekend in May, where the finalists are screened in two hour intervals throughout the weekend. The independent media festival typically draws around 150 viewers at each screening or so, for a total of over a thousand or so visitors overall. “The Twin Rivers audience really appreciates the media arts, and this festival gives them a chance to see stuff that might not otherwise be available. We get entries from all across Europe and Asia, as well as all over the Americas, and it’s some of the best in the world,” says Carlos Steward, the festivals founder and driving force.