10 Hot Summer Festivals for Groups
Update: For current festival options, Festivals.com ofers the ability to search for festivals by proximity to your destination as well as by themes including arts, food and music.
By Jim Shanklin, guest blogger
Festivals are perfect for enjoying vacations with friends or family. You can incorporate a festival into a family or class reunion, or organize a group for a road trip around a theme (such as a music or film festival).
Here are several summer festival ideas:
Portland Rose Festival, Portland, Oregon
Two parades, a rose show, two sports car races; Oregon's biggest and oldest festival.
Chicago Blues Festival, Chicago, Illinois
The world's largest blues festival; great acts on six stages in the heart of downtown Chicago.
Texas Folklife Festival, San Antonio, Texas
Belgian, Italian, Swedish, German performances; all proud Texans! A great festival.
Huck Finn's Country and Bluegrass Jubilee, Victorville, California
Family fun and games, bluegrass performances in a small town setting.
Seafair, Seattle, Washington
A full month of neighborhood events, parades, unlimited hydro-racing and air shows.
Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee, Mammoth Lakes, California
Hot and cool jazz high in the mountains.
Finger Lakes Wine Festival, Watkins Glen, New York
New York wines, food, fun at historic Watkins Glen race track.
Country Thunder USA, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin
Country music; headline performers; overnight accommodations for motor homes, camping.
Fisherman's Feast of Boston, Boston, Massachusetts
One of America's oldest festivals in downtown Boston; started by Sicilians in 1910 and still going strong annually.
Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival, St. Cloud, Minnesota
Bluegrass and other acoustic music in the Minnesota forest; camping, of course.
Jim Shanklin is founder of Festivals.com, the largest online resource for finding festivals all over the world, and EVP of Festival Media Corporation.