The 20 best summer festivals
As the mercury rises, the festival season heats up.
Our “best fest” guide will see you through this summer’s hotspots—from niche gatherings in Ohio and Texas to citywide extravaganzas in Baltimore and New Orleans.
01 Best music mega-festival
Milwaukee, WI
June 29 – July 9
Billed as the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest boasts some awe-inspiring numbers: a million fans, 11 days, 11 stages and over 700 musical performances in a 75-acre festival ground by Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee. But it’s not just size that sets this festival apart. Over the years, Summerfest has attracted some of the most talented acts in music, and this year is no exception: Mary J Blige, Nine Inch Nails and country singer Alan Jackson are slated to play. www.summerfest.com
02 Best jazz festival
New Orleans, LA
May 5-7
This year, the 37th New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival—or Jazz Fest, as it’s commonly known—is more than just an awesome musical celebration. It’s a homecoming party for everyone who treasures New Orleans as one of the most important cultural centers in the country. Fats Domino, Bob Dylan and Jimmy Buffet will join hundreds of other artists and more than half a million revelers in honoring the city’s legendary musical tradition. And it wouldn’t be a New Orleans party without food. From po’boys to pecan pralines, Cajun and Creole cuisine is just as much a part of Jazz Fest as the music. www.nojazzfest.com
03 Best literary festival
Key West, fl
July 19-23
Ernest Hemingway left an indelible imprint on prose style, but he may be just as well known for feats of eating, drinking and bravado. Key West’s annual Hemingway Days celebrates both the man’s literary legacy and his zest for life. While strong daiquiris and slices of key lime pie abound, the Hemingway look-alike contest (featuring scores of stout, gray-bearded men) steals the show. For those who fall short of imitating the author’s physical likeness, there’s also a short story writing contest sponsored by Hemingway’s granddaughter, Lorian. www.fla-keys.com
04 Best fringe festival
Orlando, FL
May 18-29
Over 12 days in May, eight Orlando theaters will feature 500 performing arts shows in the Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival that are uncensored, un-juried, affordable, and accessible to everyone (and all profits go directly to the artists). Fringe veteran TJ Dawe returns to Orlando this year, fresh off huge directorial success with New York’s Off-Broadway hit One Man Star Wars Trilogy. This year’s festival will also include Kid’s Fringe, showcasing entertainment with appropriate content for youngsters. Now in its 15th year, this “fringe festival” has become an important event in downtown Orlando. www.orlandofringe.org
05 Best citywide festival
Seattle, WA
July 1 – August 6
Festivals usually have a theme, but Seattle’s Seafair is an example of an entire city morphing into a festival. For 56 years, Seafair has turned Seattle into a month-long barbecue and community celebration. The seemingly endless program of events includes marching band parades, ethnic festivals, classic car and boat shows, and a triathlon. Promises of 200mph speeds draw huge crowds to see the hydroplane races on Lake Washington, while the US Navy Blue Angels air show, featuring high velocity, near-miss passes, attracts almost half a million spectators. www.seafair.com
06 Best independent music festival
Chicago, IL
July 29 & 30
The two-day Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago’s Union Park features an eclectic mix of sounds on three stages, highlighting the best acts from the indie music world. From the underground rhymes of hip-hopper Aesop Rock to the folk-influenced rock of Yo La Tengo and the experimental electronic beats of Matmos (known for their work with Björk), the festival draws from a diverse music scene that defines itself as an alternative to the mainstream. Whether you are already a die-hard fan of the bands featured, or just want to experience some new, off-the-radar musical offerings, the festival is sure to please. www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com
07 Best festival parade
Houston, TX
May 12-14
Part festival, part phenomenon, the EV1.net Art Car Weekend is a three-day event celebrating the “drive” to create (see feature on page 34). The headlining event, the Art Car Parade on May 13, is an example of “democratic art,” meaning there is no pre-selection process and that anything on wheels can join in the parade. The result is a patchwork of detailed low-riders, decked-out lawn mowers, costumed roller skaters and everything in between. Previous standouts include The Roachster (an enormous mobile cockroach) and the Fish Eating Go-Kart (a small buggy being swallowed by a giant fake fish). What started in 1988 as a fringe parade for a handful of spectators is now an international festival attracting over 200,000 visitors. www.orangeshow.org/artcar.html
08 Best green festival
Croton-on-Hudson, NY
June 17-18
The Hudson River has always had a special place in American history and has inspired our artists and writers from The Hudson River School to Washington Irving. By the 1960s, after millenia of reliable fish and oyster harvests, industrial dumping and pollution took their toll. The river was virtually dead. Through the efforts of folk singer/activist Pete Seeger, the Clearwater Festival—Great Hudson River Revival was born. Every June, over 15,000 people gather on the banks of the Hudson, north of New York City, to champion environmental sustainability standards. The Clearwater Festival fuses activism with entertainment, with dozens of music and dance performances from blues to bluegrass. Proceeds from the festival support environmental education and advocacy, and the continuing restoration of the Hudson. www.clearwater.org
09 Best competitive eating festival
Buffalo, NY
September 2-3
Considering Buffalo wings are practically our national snack food, it’s surprising that this festival hasn’t been around for longer. But in just five years, the National Buffalo Wing Festival has grown into a convergence of 69,000 fire-breathing fans and 340,000 wings. That’s 18 tons of medium, hot and ludicrously spiced chicken wings. The two-day event features both eating and recipe contests. While many dream of being crowned the next “wing king,” the faint of stomach need not apply. Last year’s champ, Eric “Badlands” Booker took the title by dispatching a whopping 137 chicken wings in 12 minutes. www.buffalowing.com
10 Best outdoor film festival
Chicago, IL
July 18-29, every Tuesday
It’s fitting that Roger Ebert’s hometown hosts one of the country’s best classic film festivals. Whether you prefer Gary Cooper or Matthew Broderick, you can watch your favorite film star under the stars at the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival. At dusk, a section of downtown Chicago’s Grant Park will transform into an amazing outdoor theater experience. A dazzling sound system and a huge 50-foot screen guarantee that you’ll be able to catch your favorite scene from any seat in the house. www.egov.cityofchicago.org
11 Best Independence Day festival
Boston, MA
June 28 – July 4
There’s no better place to celebrate the Fourth of July than the cradle of Independence. The Boston Harborfest marks its 25th year this summer with more than 200 events. The re-enactments, concerts, fife and drum music and historical tours seem to take over the narrow alleyways of the historic downtown and waterfront districts. But the most popular event is Chowderfest. Over 2,000 gallons of Boston’s signature soup—clam chowder—will be ladled out to 12,000 discerning tasters as local restaurants compete for the coveted title of “Boston’s Best Chowder.” www.bostonharborfest.com
12 Best Shakespeare festival
Boulder, CO
July 6-August 17
Boulder, Colorado—about 30 minutes’ drive from Denver—is best known as an outdoor recreation paradise, but the city has also hosted one of the country’s premier Shakespeare festivals for the last 49 years. Taking advantage of Boulder’s reliably warm, dry summer climate, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival stages most of its performances outdoors in the ancient Greek-style Mary Rippon Theatre. This year’s lineup features The Tempest, As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice. Also returning this year is the immensely popular Unexpected Shaxpere!, an improv performance in which the actors take suggestions from the audience and create original plays on the spot. www.coloradoshakes.org
13 Best educational festival
Washington, DC
June 30 – July 4/July 7-11
During the 40th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, more than a million people will fill the National Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. The goal is simple: to interact with regional American and international cultures through an eclectic range of daily and evening programs featuring dance, storytelling, song, cooking demonstrations, traditional ceremonies and discussions of cultural issues. Past presentations have included everything from henna decoration workshops to lumberjack poetry and song. This year’s craft focus will be Native American basketry, the literal and figurative “carriers of culture.” The festival will also highlight Latino music from the diverse neighborhoods of Chicago as well as the indigenous, pioneer and immigrant heritage of Alberta, Canada. www.folklife.si.edu
14 Best dance festival
San Francisco, CA
June 10-11/17-18/24-25
For over 25 years, the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival has been a common ground for the world’s different cultures. Past performances have included everything from ancient Mexican folkloric dances representing gratitude for corn and deer, to Japanese Taiko drummers and dancers telling the stories of brave fishermen. To date, more than 10,000 dancers have shared their ethnic and cultural heritage at the festival. This year, dancers will weave color, grace and rhythm into the festival’s three featured themes: time, place and spirit. www.worldartswest.org
15 Best healthy food festival
Los Angeles, CA
August 12-13
Most food festivals seem to go hand in hand with belly-busting amounts of meat and copious quantities of antacid. Leave it to LA to host a healthier version of the event. The annual Los Angeles Tofu Festival in Little Tokyo combines health education with classic food festival entertainment. Tofu-eating contests and best recipe awards keep the initiated amused, while many skeptics are converted after sampling innovative creations like tofu enchiladas and tofu cheesecake. www.tofufest.org
16 Best wine festival
Philo, CA
May 19-21
The Anderson Valley may not be as famous as Napa, but the winemakers in this verdant valley 100 miles north of San Francisco have been striving to craft the perfect Pinot since long before the movie Sideways made it the trendiest varietal. The warm, sunny days and cool, foggy nights of the Anderson Valley make it an ideal region for growing Pinot grapes. This year’s Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival includes plenty of Pinot, of course, from more than 20 wineries, plus barbecues, olive oil tastings, cheese samplings and wine and mushroom pairings. One of the joys of this small festival is that it encourages the appreciation of wine in different settings, from casual winery tastings to elegant winemaker dinners. www.avwines.com
17 Best festival for pyromania
Detroit, MI
June 28
Some 47 years ago, the neighboring residents of Detroit and Windsor, Canada, came together to celebrate friendship and cooperation between Americans and Canadians. Today, the tradition continues with music, dancing, carnival rides and a cross-border tug-of-war contest over the Detroit River. The marquee event of the Target Fireworks and International Freedom Festival on June 28 is the largest annual fireworks show in North America, bringing in dozens of experts who spend five days setting up. All 10,000 explosive shells are gone in a 30-minute display, so get comfortable, grab a rooftop seat—and don’t forget your earplugs. www.theparade.org/freedomfest
18 Best art festival
Baltimore, MD
July 21-23
Artscape is hard to classify. It’s the mid-Atlantic’s largest celebration of the arts, held annually in Baltimore. But since just about anything can fall under the umbrella of “the arts,” Artscape blossoms into a three-day, allout sensory feast. The festival includes—but does not limit itself to—visual art exhibits, live concerts, literary arts workshops, fashion shows, dance, opera, theater, film and food. Two of the most popular events are the Billie Holiday vocal competition and Baltimore’s version of an art car parade (see Best parade, page 83). Artscape feels like an endless sea of eclectic entertainment—and it’s all free to the public. www.artscape.org
19 Best folk festival
Philadelphia, PA
August 18-20
American folk music is a conglomerate of different genres including gospel, country and Cajun. This year, the 45th Philadelphia Folk Festival celebrates this mix with three days of music, dance and crafts. With both traditional and contemporary folk music, this is a great example of a festival that can unite generations. In addition to music, activities for children include jugglers and puppeteers. So bring your kids—and your folks. www.folkfest.org
20 Best berry festival
Troy, OH
June 2-4
For most of the year Troy, Ohio—about 20 minutes north of Dayton—is a pleasant small city with charming covered bridges and a quaint historic downtown. But on the first weekend in June, up to 250,000 visitors swarm into town to indulge in the Troy Strawberry Festival. There are parades, races and hundreds of craft booths, but, not surprisingly, it’s the pounds of strawberry shortcake and mounds of chocolate-covered strawberries that steal the spotlight. www.troyohiochamber.com
Words by Nick Berry