What do you like most about your hometown "festivals"??

[6_Time_Momma]

Our hometown festival (Polish Festival) has had dwindling attendance for the last few years. This is sad....the festival has been going on for about 30 years.

I'm trying to gather ideas on what might make the festvial popular again.

So, what do you like best about your hometown festival? Rides? Music? Crafts? Parades? Tell me about your festivals!!!

 

[cardaway]

http://www.aquafest.org/index.asp

The kids enjoy the activities, parades, and rides. The adults enjoy both the craft and food booths.

My favorite parts are the food booths where I can try some things from different places and watching the fireworks from my deck.

 

[jeleebeene]

Growing up in Indiana, Fort Wayne specifically, I always looked forward to our Three Rivers Festival as well as The Grabill Days Festival. Not only did I enjoy the items you can buy, crafts and musical entertainment provided, sometimes it was the only time of the year that I got some of my favorite treats.

I also just loved the time that I was able to spend with friends and family - it was always fun - even some of the rides were fun, but that wasn't my main reason for wanting to attend.

 

[CEDmom]

We enjoy festivals/fairs that have things to entertain DD while just giving us time to spend together as a family. Things that have been successful as far as we're concerned are:

petting zoo
craft table (free or nominal fee)
demo's (ice cream making was a particular favorite)
music
hands on exhibits
puppet show and/or magician
play area
yummy treats

 

[jx3smom]

Most of our town festivals are just plain strange. They are geared for the tourists. We have a DooDah parade in April, hermit crab beauty contests and races, sand sculpting contests, french fry sculpting contests, freckle contests, Night in Venice Boat Parade, Pamper Scamper, etc.

 

[jimmiej]

My favorite is "Wurstfest." A ten day salute to sausage. We always go on the first day (free admission ), & the last day (our HS band plays a concert). My favorite is five different sausages on a stick & German bread pudding. DW likes the potato pancakes.

The best part about our county fair is I get a day off from work.

 

[Dizkneenurse]

Our "Taste of Buffalo" is next week-end..can't wait for that...very YUMMY!

Our Irish Festival is wonderful and HUGE!

I also live near the home of Fisher-Price and they have a huge Toyfest every summer..so much fun! A parade, toys for sale cheap! Fun!



heidi

 

[catsrule]

The junk food.

 

[momm2four]

Don't know if this is a possibility or not, but if you could get a well-known or locally known artist to perform, I think that would kick up your attendance.

Chattanooga has several festivals during the year, but the biggest is Riverbend. Goes on for 9 days in June. We have lots of food, street performers, and things to buy. There are lots of side stages with local talent or names that aren't as big as the main crowd attracters. Each night ends with a bigger name talent performing. This year we had Michael W. Smith, LL Cool J, Randy Newman, Styxx, Keith Urban, etc. I remember the year Bill Cosby came, what a hoot!

Another thought is to end your festival with fireworks. Our end of Riverbend fireworks almost rival our July 4th display.

Lori P.

 

[Sandy51]

Our festival is going on this weekend.


http://www.saintalbansriverfest.com/


Sandy

 

[chichihoney]

we have 2 diffeferent festivals

poquoson seafood festivals

with food games and music


2nd is child fest

it has food games and crafts

 

[Penny2]

We have a local polish festival at Orchard Lake St. Mary's and their biggest moneymaker is gambling!!!

They do a big beer tent with polish food and beer. They have polish music and dancers in the day and early evening and then progress to more modern stuff into the night.

They have a HUGE midway.

Craft tent

Puppet show

Bake sale

Bingo

MUCH FUN!

 

[Cinders]

My kids favorite "fair" activity is the truck and tractor pulls in Arcola, IN...which is now part of the 3 Rivers Festival in Ft Wayne. Which BTW is July 10th The pulls are an awesome fundraiser for the Arcola Fire Dept and the churches that do the food.

Another huge draw in a small town close to us is the Mermaid Festival that includes a queen's pageant and a cutie pageant. The queen's pageant includes different "queens" from local lakes.......ie Miss Winona, Miss Dewart Lake...and is held on the first Friday of the fair. The cutie pageant includes a cutie parade...kids under a certain age, held on a Wednesday. Then on that Friday they have a cutie pageant with the winning king and queen receiving scholarship money. A few years ago they starting having fireworks on the last Saturday. Twice they've paid the Golden Knights parachute team to spend the week of the fair doing a few jumps.

In Warsaw they had a Ballonfest a few years ago.....the dawn start was awesome!!! They also have an awesome waterski team on Hidden Lake there that brings in a nice crowd on Sundays.

I think this year Warsaw is having a free concert in Center Lake park with possibly Terry CLark a country music singer.

 

[Planogirl]

My favorite festivals usually have great vendors. These include a good mix of arts & crafts, artwork, "fun" items and so on. They also ifeature good food of all kinds, in other words not just carnival stuff. Good music also seems helpful along with stuff for the kids to do whether it's a carnival or just bouncey houses, face painting, a kids' stage and the like.

 

[FroggyinArk]

So many festivals to choose

Start weith teh Fordyce on the Cotton Belt railroad festival in my home town, my favorites were always the train rides , steam enbgines on display, model trains displays , andthe musical guests. lately the music hasnt been as great because they dropped the known artist for a local gospel groups concert that doesnt have the draw to the general public, folks go to see thier favorites and ignore the others.

Armadillo fest one town over... Favorite things always the street dances and the big name music, last 2 years the big namews have declined and werereplaced by a local band, just isnt the same.

locally we have the w iggins cabin festival which i donthink really counts since its only a partial day thing and is not very well put together.

about 50 miles west we have music fest, a big three day event that features at leats three headline acts, one ea h night, r&b rock andcountry and local bands all the time on 3 or 4 stages around downtown, also has crafts rides, etc. my Favoriet of the bunch because i as you can tell like the music

 

[mrsmom]

My favorite festival is in western Indiana where i use to live, It's called the covered bridge festival, people come from all over for this every year , It has lots of vendors for crafts and every item you could think of and food of every kind , it is in Oct..
Can't wait to go this year!!!!
Kim

 

[cajunmommy]

South Louisiana is filled with festival happenings. You can pretty much book your weekends in the spring and fall visiting a different one each weekend.

The best parts, IMHO, are the FOOD and the music.

For food I do not mean the boardwalk standbys of funnel cakes, cotton candy, sno cones, fried novelties, etc., cranked out by some carny employee from who knows where. I'm talking about regional specialties - homemade sweets, jambalaya, sauce piquante, gumbo, seafood platters, etouffee's. I could go on & on.

We're definitely blessed to be surrounded by such good food and so many talented cooks, and you don't have to look hard to find a festival celebrating that very fact!

 

[CookieGVB]

Originally posted by jeleebeene
Growing up in Indiana, Fort Wayne specifically, I always looked forward to our Three Rivers Festival as well as The Grabill Days Festival.

Good GRIEF! I need glasses! I read that paragraph too quickly, and thought it said GERBIL RACES.

Hey, maybe that would drum up some business...