Spring has sprung, bringing with it flowers, food, music, and cultural celebrations around the country. For a fun way to enjoy the season, check out these spring festivals.
Tempe Festival of the Arts
March 30– April 1
Tempe, Arizona
More than 400 artists, both local and national, display their work at this popular biannual art festival. Many types of art are displayed, including woodwork, photography, and wearable art. While the festival focuses primarily on the artists and their work, festival-goers can also enjoy jazz music, street performers, and vendors’ wares.
www.tempefestivalofthearts.com
Easter Cache Hunt
April 23
Boulder Junction, Wyoming
Think you’re too old for Easter egg hunts? Think again. Boulder Junction’s Easter Cache Hunt lets you try your hand at geocaching. This town offers an introduction to geocaching with a hunt for twelve caches, prizes, free lunch, and wagon rides
Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival
April 27–May 6
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is a small, rural city near Washington DC. This festival brings in thousands of visitors each year with more than 30 attractions, including band competitions, dances, parades, carnivals, a circus, a 10K race, and even the Queen Shenandoah beauty pageant. Don’t forget to be on the lookout for famous faces: the Apple Blossom Festival is known for attracting celebrity guests.
Texas Crawfish & Music Festival
3rd, and 4th weekends in April
Old Town Spring, Texas
Come listen to your favorite bands and discover new performers while enjoying crawfish, Cajun food, and carnival rides. Tickets are required, but proceeds benefit community projects and the preservation of historic Old Town Spring.
Spring Planting Festival
May 2–3
Baker Creek, Missouri
This festival attracts thousands of gardeners, seed-collectors, and folk music enthusiasts each year. Festival-goers learn about heirloom gardening and planting from horticulturists and celebrate spring with western, folk, country, Irish, and bluegrass music. The festival also offers a taste of the local Ozark heritage with historic dress, demonstrations, and food.
www.rareseeds.com/bakersville/festivals/spring-planting-festival
Tulip Time Festival
May 5–12
Holland, Mississippi
The city of Holland celebrates spring—and its Dutch heritage—with an annual tulip festival. Thousands of colorful tulips line the streets and fill gardens throughout the city. This weeklong festival celebrates Dutch culture with parades, Dutch dance performances, fireworks, concerts, theater performances, trolley tours, and Dutch food.
Seattle Cheese Festival
May 19–20
Seattle, Washington
Wisconsin is not the only place to find great cheese. Located at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the Seattle Cheese Festival features more than 250 different cheeses from around the world. Cheese lovers come to learn about and celebrate their favorite dairy treat with seminars, discussion panels, cooking demonstrations, and, of course, cheese-tasting. Come hungry: the cheese samples are free ($1 donation suggested) and unlimited.
Strawberry Spring Music Festival
May 24–28
Yosemite, California
This music festival features everything acoustic, from rock to Cajun to bluegrass. Artists hold voice, dance, and instrument workshops where they answer questions and share tips with budding musicians. The festival is held outdoors, rain or shine, in a forest near the entrance to Yosemite National Park. Onsite campgrounds are available for festival-goers.
Portland Rose Festival
May 20– June 17
Portland, Oregon
This festival celebrates the season with more than 60 events throughout the month of June. Events include the Grand Floral Rose Parade, an electric light parade, boat races, tours of historical landmarks and gardens, and more. Characters from Portland’s history pop up around town, and the Lloyd Center Ice Rink is turned into a rose garden where rose gardeners from around the Pacific Northwest show off their most fragrant and colorful flowers. Check the website for a schedule of events.
— Sara D. Smith
Looking for another great spring spot this year? Cherry Blossom season in DC is one of the prettiest.
I love how brief and informative each of the blurbs were! Great events to highlight–and so many of them aren’t very well known.