The horrible news of a shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival today got me thinking about small town festivals in general. What are some other notable little slices of Americana you’ve been to?
Collinsville IL produces a lot of the world’s horseradish, and so they have the International Horseradish Festival every June. I went last year. It was enjoyable and quirky, if a bit smaller than I’d envisioned. I’d heard that they had a horseradish eating competition, but I don’t see that on their site, so maybe that’s a thing of the past, or maybe I was misinformed. In any case, I love horseradish, and the idea of having a two-day celebration of it is just awesome. I got some lovely condiments when I went there.https://www.internationalhorseradishfestival.com/index.php/en/
Back in 2007 or so, my wife and I happened to be in Sugarcreek OH on the weekend of the Swiss Festival. The best part was the Steintossen event, in which competitors see who can hurl a 138 pound stone the farthest (75 pounds in the women’s division). It was crazy. All these strapping young farmers take turns lifting a massive stone over their heads, running toward the pit, and launching the stone about 14 feet. I wouldn’t be able to even lift the stone, much less propel it anywhere near 14 feet. I was in awe. The Ohio Swiss Festival
What cool small town festivals have you been to?
ETA: damn typo in the title. I’ll ask a moderator to fix it.
When I lived in Bozeman, MT, I never missed the Sweet Pea Arts Festival (it’s probably next weekend, this year). The story goes that there used to be a cannery in town that employed a lot of people, and their biggest product was canned peas, so when pea season was done, they threw a big Pea Festival. And then, after the cannery closed, people wanted to keep having the festival, so they re-themed it to sweet peas.
Anyway, about ten bucks will get you unlimited admittance to the festival for all three days, and there are five stages set up at various places in the park, with all sorts of performing arts (music, theater, improv comedy, storytelling, dance, etc.). There’s also a craft show, children’s activities, and (since it’s named after them and all) a sweet pea flower show where attendees can judge the arrangements. Food is provided by various local groups setting up stalls as a fundraiser. Oh, and it starts with a parade, which about a third of the town marches in in some capacity or another, and for the week prior, folks are encouraged to cover the sidewalks leading there with chalk art.
Another one I’ve heard of but never seen, but would sort of like to, is the Neutrino Festival in Homestake, SD. Most of the residents of the town have no idea what a neutrino is… but they know that the scientists studying them in the old, played-out mine have revitalized an economy that was just barely this side of being a ghost town. And so, naturally, they throw a festival.
The Lambertville Shad Festival celebrates all things Shad when the smelly greasy little buggers swim up the Delaware to spawn. It’s evolved into an arts and food festival.
Ohio has more festivals then any other state according to an old friend who was on the state festival committee. Only a few miles from me is our own frog jumping contest in Valley City.
Milan, Ohio has the melon festival and for awhile in the 1960s and early 70s they had an automotive hill climb. But unlike any other hill climb I know of, when you got to the top of the hill and drove around the town square, you raced back down the hill to a screeching halt just before the drop off into the river. Real cheek clencher, that.
The little town that I live in (Viburnum, Missouri) has the Old Miners Days festival every year. Ostensibly, it’s a salute to the lead-mining industry, by which this town lives and dies. In reality, it more of an excuse for performances by the high school jazz band and local church choirs; local vendors selling their wares; that sort of thing. The town gets all excited about it every year, but in reality it’s much ado about not a lot.
Two of my favorites are Kielbasa-Fest in Plymouth PA
and the Sauerkraut Festival in Henderson Minnesota
And of course Buzzard Day in Hinkley Ohio
And of course the Square Fair in Lima Ohio
who actually get some major acts
Actually I probably attend more small community fairs than I should; at least 4-10 a year and usually at least 3 totally new-to-me. It is wild the reaction you get sometimes from some place like the Tipton (IN) Pork Festival when they find out you drove 350 miles to join them in their event. Most of these look at drawing from the town and maybe county; region in their wildest dreams. When you show up from far away it really makes their day.
“You’re from Thorntown?”
Nope.
“You have family in Thorntown?”
Nope.
“Then why are you here?”
Just heard about the Festival of the Turning Leaves and it sounded like fun!
“It did?”
Tip-Up Town USA, an annual ice-fishing festival in Houghton Lake, MI. We used to go every year when I was a kid. The entry ticket was a big, round button pin, and I think I still have all of my old buttons in a box somewhere.
Stockton probably doesn’t qualify as a “small town”, but like Gilroy it’s situated in the middle of a major agricultural region in California. Every year they host the San Joaquin Asparagus Festival, formerly known as the Stockton Asparagus Festival.
Bremerton, Washington has an annual Blackberry Festival. It’s a pretty cool idea (pie, ice cream, shakes, etc) but it’s so damn crowded we don’t go anymore. (insert Yogi Berra joke here)
