United States Events

    Dixon Petunia Festival, Midwest USA

   - Dixon, IL           
Each year, the residents of Dixon, Illinois, honor a group of public spirited men and their project which has earned the town national recognition and as the State of Illinois official "Petunia City."
Thousands of pink petunias line more than two miles of Dixon highway approaches and main thoroughfares, giving the city a warm glow of color from early May until late fall.
It all began in the late 1950s when a combination of Dutch Elm disease and major highway expansion caused the removal of all trees along the communitys major roadways.
The Dixon Mens Garden Club, which for several years has worked on small flower beds scattered throughout the city, decided to do something about the barren look of the highway approaches.
In 1960 and 1961, the club planted 4,000 petunias along both sides of about one-half mile of the principal north-south route, South Galena Avenue. The next year, the club members put 6,000 more petunias on the three-quarters of a mile of North Galena Avenue.
Today, the plantings have spread to other approaches to the city and now extend along principal streets. Most of Dixon's 15,000 residents have taken part in one way or another.
    US Open, Northeast USA
   - Queens - New York, NY             
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The US Open tennis tournament is one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, first contested in 1881. The tournament is chronologically the fourth and final Grand Slam tennis tournament each year. It is held annually in August and September over a two-week period (the weeks before and after Labor Day weekend). The main tournament consists of five different event championships: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has been played on acrylic hard court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City.
The US Open differs from the other three Grand Slam tournaments in that there are final-set tiebreaks. In the other three majors, the fifth set for the men and the third set for the women continue until someone wins by two games. Source
    New River Gorge Bridge Day, Northeast USA
   - Fayetteville, WV            
October - Bridge Day is the largest BASE jumping event in the world, held on the third Saturday in October every year in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Over 450 BASE jumpers and up to 200,000 spectators are expected to attend this year’s Bridge Day on Saturday, October 21, 2006. The New River Gorge Bridge is the world’s 2nd longest single arch bridge, providing the launch point for six hours (9am-3pm EST) of legal, safe BASE jumps.
    Lebowski Fest, Midwest USA
   - Louisville,            
September/October - Lebowski Fest is a bowling event celebrating all things relating to the Coen Brothers 1998 film, The Big Lebowski. It can be likened to a Star Trek convention in a very loose sense. The event takes place at a bowling alley and includes unlimited bowling, costume , trivia, farthest traveled, and bowling contests, prizes, and what-have-you. The friend of the Coen Brothers who inspired the main character played by Jeff Bridges, Jeff "The Dude" Dowd has been known to make an appearance and drink some White Russians. The 1st annual occurred in Fall of 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky and the 2nd annual took place in July 2003. We then headed way out west to Las Vegas for Lebowski Fest West in Feb., 2004. The 3rd Annual Lebowski Fest in June of 2004 brought over 4000 Achievers and included an outdoor concert with My Morning Jacket. Lebowski Fest New York was held in Aug. 2004. Lebowski Fest hit a milestone in LA when Jeff Bridges came out!
    Atlanta Festivals, Southeast USA
   - Atlanta, GA           
May 29-31, 2004
    Big Island Rendezvous and Festival, Northcentral USA
   - Albert Lea, MN           
Annual event, always held the first weekend of October. Over 1,500 costumed reenactors and 250 tipis, tents and other shelters of the colonial period. We host over 5,000 grade school children who attend a choice of over 100 demonstrations and classes on colonial America and the fur trade. Food, drink, music, dance, theatre, blackpowder shooting, storytelling.
    White Oak Rendezvous and Festival, Northcentral USA
   - Deer River, MN           
First Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August. Over 1,000 fully costumed reenactors of the fur trade. Food such as wild rice soup, buffalo, beef brisket, Indian frybread music, dance, colonial crafts. Located on a 160 acre site with a Northwest Company Fur Post of 1798 constructed with blacksmith shop, company store, birch bark canoe, building shed, baking oven, root cellar, bourgeois quarters, gardens, and mile long nature trail. Participants from 11 states and Canada attend and compete in blackpowder shooting competitions and tomahawk and knife throwing competitions. RV and tent camping available for the public and a discount daily family pass available.
    Baltimore Irish Festival, Northeast USA
   - Baltimore, MD           
November - The Festival is an annual celebration of Irish culture featuring international and local music and dance, traditional cuisine, workshops, cultural exhibits, and vendors of everything Irish. Along with the Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, it is an event in which all of the various Baltimore Irish Organizations join together to celebrate our common heritage.
    New Directors, New Films, Northeast USA
   - New York, NY           
Early April Lincoln Center and MoMA have presented this popular two-week film festival for more than 25 years, showcasing films of overlooked or emerging filmmakers
    Carefree Fine Art and Wine Festival, Southwest USA
   - Carefree, AZ           
November - Travel the world over and you would be hard-pressed to find a more spectacular gathering of artists than at the Carefree Fine Art & Wine Festival. These nationally acclaimed, juried fine art festivals attract artists and art collectors from throughout the United States and abroad, all sharing in their love and appreciation for magnificent fine art.
    Riverfest, Southcentral USA
   - Little Rock, AR             
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Riverfest is Arkansas' largest and most popular music, arts and food festival. The event is held annually over Memorial Day weekend in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park & the vibrant River Market District in Little Rock and the North Shore Riverwalk in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Riverfest, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) private, non-profit corporation, that since 1978 has donated over $700,000 to the development of Julius Breckling Riverfront Park and the River Market District. The mission of Riverfest, Inc. is to produce a quality, recreational, cultural, educational, family-oriented celebration of the visual and performing arts for the benefit of the community.
    The Minnesota State Fair, Northcentral USA
   - St. Paul,            
Late August thru Labor Day. Giant pigs, carnival rides, giant foods, general weirdness, art, headlining music acts perform every night in the Grandstand. About 1.6 million expected attendance. Held annually, twelve days ending Labor Day. State Fairgrounds.
    Mudbug Madness Festival, Southcentral USA
   - Shreveport, LA            
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In 1984, a group of brave and loyal North Louisianans decided to take a stand. This group was tired of hearing: “You people in Shreveport are more like Texans than anything else. You’re hardly a part of Louisiana, at all.” So this daring group gathered in the Downtown Shreveport Unlimited office to organize their ranks and pay homage to the most cherished of Louisiana institutions – the crawfish boil! And this group wanted to make their crawfish boil the granddaddy of them all.
    Mill Valley Film Festival, Southwest USA
   - Mill Valley, CA           
October - Known as a filmmakers’ festival, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival offers a high-profile, prestigious and non-competitive environment perfect for celebrating the best in independent and world cinema.
Founded in 1978 by MVFF Director Mark Fishkin, the Festival has established an impressive track record for launching new films and the careers of new filmmakers and is well known for the quality of its programming.
As the only prominent fall film festival in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Mill Valley Film Festival is also an important industry resource —both for its emphasis on films that have not yet secured US distribution and for fall launches and northern California Academy Awards campaigns.
    Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race, Northwest USA
   - Bethel, AK           
Over the course of twenty-five years the K-300 has become the highest regarded mid-distance dog sled race in the world. The race annually attracts the top mushers in the world.
    Sundance Film Festival, Southwest USA
   - Park City, UT           
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States.
It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah, as well as the Sundance Resort, the festival is the premier showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, and a group of non-competitive showcase sections, including the Sundance Online Film Festival. Source
    Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival, Northwest USA
   - Port Angeles, WA           
October - The Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival is the annual celebration of the region's diverse bounty - the seafood, the maritime and cultural traditions and the breathtaking coastal environment. The festival's featured crustacean, the Dungeness Crab, was named after the village of Dungeness (near Port Angeles ), Washington . The Festival is located at the Port Angeles City Pier and the Red Lion Hotel overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with Victoria , B.C. just a ferry ride away.
    Daytona 500, Southeast USA
   - Daytona Beach, FL           
February 15, 2004
    Emmy Awards, Southwest USA
   - Los Angeles, CA           
The Emmy Awards are United States television production awards, similar to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment. Three related but separate organizations present Emmy Awards: the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors national prime time entertainment (excluding sports); the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognizes daytime, sports, news and documentary programming; and the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors programming originating outside the United States.
The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25, 1949 at the Hollywood Athletic Club. The name "Emmy" was a feminization of "immy", a nickname used for the image orthicon tubes that were common in early television cameras. Shirley Dinsdale has the distinction of receiving the very first Emmy in the first awards ceremony. The Emmy Awards trophies are currently made by a private company with a manufacturing site at the maximum security El Dorado Correctional Facility, in El Dorado, Kansas. The statuette of a winged woman holding an atom has since become the symbol of the TV Academy's goal of supporting and uplifting the art and science of television: The wings represent the muse of art; the atom the electron of science. It was created by television engineer Louis McManus, using his wife as a model. Source
    Miami International Film Festival, Southeast USA
   - Miami, FL             
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March - The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) brings the best of world cinema to South Florida and plays a leading role in maintaining and further enriching its film culture. MIFF uses the unique geographical and cultural position of Miami to be a premiere venue for the exhibition of international and US films, with a special focus on Ibero-American cinema. Both juried and audience awards are given in Documentary and Dramatic categories.
    Houston Hot Sauce Festival, Southcentral USA
   - Houston, TX           
Annual event Always in September, featuring hot sauce, salsa, chipotle, jams, spices, marinades, chips, dips, chili peppers, and more hot and spicy fiery food products. Also has ongoing stage entertainment, free kids activities, cold drinks, a wide variety of food, amateur salsa competition, contests, prizes, arts & crafts, pepper merchandise, and more...
    Waco Cultural Arts Fest, Southcentral USA
   - Waco, TX            
The Waco Cultural Arts Fest is a 501©3 non-profit corporation created to promote multicultural events for Waco and surrounding Central Texas communities celebrating diversity and fostering greater understanding of cultural differences through the arts. Art and music touch the heart, fire the imagination and draw people together. The Waco Cultural Arts Fest aims to honor art education and the art community through this two day festival of art, music, performance, food and arts activities for all ages.
    Ohio State Fair, Midwest USA
   - Columbus, OH           
The Fifty Year Club of the Ohio State Fair is an organization that holds an annual meeting during the fair. The objective of the group is to support, improve , and promote the Ohio State Fair and develop fellowship among the members.
    Indian Summer Festival, Midwest USA
   - Milwaukee, WI           
September. American Indian culture celebrated with powwow, arts and crafts, traditional food.
    Huckleberry Festival, Northwest USA
   - New York, MT           
Annual regional arts & crafts festival celebrating the huckleberry and the local community, with 90 vendors, food, entertainment, parade and Miss Huckleberry pageant. This is the 28th year of this event.
    Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival, Southeast USA
   - Atlanta, GA           
September - What is the Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival? It is a combination of film oriented panels, celebrity guests, new and classic independent feature and short film screenings, discussions, and our short film competition (sometimes referred to as the Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival). All that combined with the 25,000+ Dragon*Con attendees creates an extraordinary film event.
    Alaska Bald Eagle Festival, Northwest USA
   - Haines,            
November - By the time of the Festival, winter has typically begun in Haines. Conditions can include cold temperatures, wind, snow and/or rain, so you'll want to come prepared with appropriate clothing. We recommend dressing in layers with thermal or polypropylene underwear, a wool or fleece middle layer, and a waterproof/windproof outer layer. Warm gloves, hats with ear protection, and warm waterproof boots are essential. Although you might wish to dress up for Sheldon Museum's annual fundraiser, Eagle Elegance, casual clothing is acceptable for all indoor events.
    Aquatennial, Northcentral USA
   - Minneapolis, MN           
Each year, more than 800,000 people celebrate the City of Lakes during the third week of July. Please join us for Minnesota's largest parade and free outdoor concert, the fourth largest fireworks show in the U.S., our amazing milk carton boat races and sandcastle building competition, the world's largest purse triathlon, our neighborhood park BBQ's and so much more. We are fun for all ages, from the young to the young at heart. Grab some sunscreen and come join us! July 15-24, 2005.