From music to food to movies, there are festivals happening all over the country every weekend and millions of people go to at least one a year. But ticket prices can climb into the thousands of dollars for some and we only have so much time, so how do you decide which ones are worth it? A new ranking has some ideas.
USA Today 10Best has just come out with their picks for the Best Festivals in the U.S. this year. Their panel of experts chose their favorites in eight categories, then readers voted to choose these winners.
- Best Art Festival - Orange Beach Festival of Art in Orange Beach, Alabama. This waterfront event features artists from Alabama’s Gulf Coast, along with live music, interactive demos and a culinary arts section.
- Best City Food Festival - Queens Night Market in New York City. The borough of Queens is home to this weekly event from April to October that’s modeled after the popular open-air night markets in Asia and it serves up budget-friendly street food from a variety of cultures.
- Best Cultural Festival - Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This fest turns Old San Juan into a massive street party with bomba dancers, music, artisan vendors, local cuisine and rum drinks every January.
- Best Film Festival - Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. The annual 11-day event happens in October and features films that “inspire conversation, ignite imagination, or shift perspectives.”
- Best Flower Festival - Daffodil Festival at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, Georgia. With more than 20-million daffodil blooms in 60 varieties covering 50 acres for six weeks each spring, it’s not surprising this is considered one of the world’s best places to see these flowers.
- Best Music Festival - Musikfest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - The country’s largest free, non-gated music festival features more than 500 performances over 10 days in the summer. This year’s headliners include Train, John Mulaney and AJR.
- Best Renaissance Fair - Ohio Renaissance Festival in Waynesville, Ohio. Every fall since 1990, this event has been entertaining fans with themed weekends, Wishing Well Wenches, storytelling mermaids and comedy knife-throwing acts.
- Best Specialty Food Festival - Delta Hot Tamale Festival in Greenville, Mississippi. The “Hot Tamale Capital of the World” embraces their signature dish at this annual October event, featuring live music, food and craft vendors and a hot tamale eating contest.