National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan. Photo by Gary Ennis. Used with permission of National Cherry Festival.
Summer’s coming and summer is for festivals. As you start mapping out your family vacation, be sure to check your destinations to see what’s going on while you’re in the neighborhood. There are kite festivals and hot air balloon festivals, pirate festivals and Harry Potter festivals, a UFO festival, and yes, even the Great Texas Mosquito Festival, featuring – and I’m not making this up – a mosquito-calling contest. I’m skipping that one, but feel free to check it out if you must: mosquitofestival.com. Meanwhile here are some others that may appeal.
Smithsonian Folklife Festival
If a world cultural tour is not in your budget this year, may I suggest the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C., with artisans, storytellers, dancers, and performers from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, sharing authentic traditions you may never have heard of. Don’t tell the kids it’s educational. It is, of course, but with circus per-formers, chainsaw carvers, and such on the agenda they wouldn’t believe it anyway. The huge, lively event takes place June 29-July 4 and July 6-9 on the National Mall. festival.si.edu
Lexington Blueberry Festival
Blueberry spitting contest, blue lights and bubbles parade, Big Wheel race, fire-works, rides, car and bike shows, food, a 5K run and glow run, plenty of live music, and of course, the Miss Blueberry pageant. Is that all? Of course not! If you’re lucky enough to be in the neighborhood of Lexington, Ohio, the weekend of August 17-20, make time for this super-fun festival. lexblueberryfest.com
National Cherry Festival
If blueberries belong to Lexington, cher-ries definitely belong to Traverse City, Michi-gan. This huuuuge eight-day extravaganza July 1-8 has everything one should expect of a cherry festival worth its crust. You’ve got your cherry pie, your cherry lemonade, your Cherry Queen, Prince and Princess, and (nat-urally) your cherry pit-spitting contest. There are carnival rides, Big Wheel races, junior and grownup parades, and exclusive ages 2-12-only Kids Club games and activities hosted by that big red superhero himself, Super Cherry! Go and have fun! cherryfestival.org
Taos Pueblo Pow Wow
This is one of my fave indigenous fes-tivals in the world. Unlike many other U.S. Native American festivals that take place at the spring planting or harvest when kids are in school, this one’s July 7-9, smack in the middle of summer vacation time. There are solemn and joyful ceremonies, spectacular dancing, and oh, those drums! Traditional In-dian food and craft booths are set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the ancient Taos Pueblo on the northern outskirts of Taos, New Mexico. Taos Pueblo is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Inside tip: arrive early for a close-up view of the Grand Entry of the dancers. taospueblopowwow.com
Bat Fest
Now, about those mosquitoes I mentioned earlier: Another Texas town has a better idea. Picture this: Night is falling on Austin, Texas. The pink and golden sunset goes to lavender and then to midnight blue. A million and a half Mexican free-tailed bats are waking up ravenously hungry from a long day’s sleep with a delicious mosquito and bug banquet on their minds. Imagine the spectacle all million and a half of these flying rodents make as they emerge in immense black waves from their secret place under the Congress Avenue Bridge. Each August, Austinites celebrate their contribution to insect control with a one-night fun festival. This year it’s August 19, from 4 p.m. to midnight, and worth staying up late for. There’s music, food, kids crafts, and bat- themed activities. Wear your finest bat costume for the contest. roadwayevents.com/event/bat-fest