Festival of Fire, Toronto, Ontario, CA
Get ready for the Toronto sky to be set ablaze this summer. Not with the glow of Northern Lights or the urban glare of Canada's largest city, but with the burning colors of the 2007 Canada Dry Festival of Fire, an international fireworks show and celebration of world music.
Maine Lobster Festival, Rockland, ME
If Maine had a mascot, it would be its internationally famous curmudgeonly crustacean. Mainers claim the lobsters caught in their cold Atlantic waters are the most tender and flavorful in the world, and foodies who turn up their noses at "imposter lobster" tend to agree.
Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington, DC
Take a history of more than 23,000 visiting performers, musicians, craftspeople and workers from all over the world, put them on the National Mall for two weeks, add more than one million annual visitors, and you've got the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
Inspired by Austin City Limits, a public television show that brings the magic of live performances and energy of Austin's thriving music scene into America's living rooms, Austin City Limits Music Festival was born in 2002 and has, in just a few years, become one the nation's premier musical events.
Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM
Santa Fe Indian Market is to turquoise lovers what the day after Thanksgiving is to avid Christmas shoppers. Just substitute authentic, top quality American Indian arts & crafts for holiday discounts and predictable products.
Gilroy Garlic Festival, Gilroy, CA
When cooking, there is an arsenal of spices that become staples in every recipe. First there's salt, then pepper and then there's that savory, pungent herb that no good meal should be without...garlic.
Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, Seattle, WA
What do The Shins, DECADANCETHEATRE and 150,000 people have in common? Tribond guru or not, your answer lies in the Starbucks-laden, rain-soaked city of Seattle and its 37th annual Bumbershoot, billed as North America's largest music and arts festival.
Lumberjack World Championships®, Hayward, WI
Sawdust flying, crowds cheering, the sound of an ax hitting a tree...these are the Lumberjack World Championships®, where hearty men and women showcase their chopping and sawing skills while celebrating the rich logging history of the United States.
Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, CA
This September more than 500 cats, renowned for their chops, will bring their axes and wailing abilities to California for the golden anniversary of the world's longest running killer feline festival...ha, almost got you...the world's longest running jazz festival.
Oktoberfest, Tulsa, OK/Columbus, OH
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that a festival now most commonly associated with beer began with a wedding. Oktoberfest's origins date back to 1810, when all of Bavaria was invited to fete the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
