Summer festivals are a great way to enjoy a quick, last-minute getaway or day trip close to home - and many charge cheap admission (and sometimes none at all). Here are some of the many notable festivals, celebrations and wacky regional events happening this weekend:

Music

8th Annual Summer Meltdown, Darrington, Washington (Pictured above)

All Points West Festival, Liberty Park, New Jersey

JVC Jazz Festival, Newport, Rhode Island

Vineland Music Festival, Vineland, New Jersey

Richmond Blueberry Fiddle Festival, Swanzey, New Hampshire (Free Admission)

Up North Festival, Hiram, Maine

Kettle Creek Music Festival, Crossfork, Pennsylvania

Sonoma Valley Green Music Festival, Sonoma, California (Free Admission)

San Jose Jazz Festival, San Jose, California

Great Lakes Folk Festival, East Lansing, Michigan (Free Admission)

Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival, Clarksdale, Mississippi

Arts and Entertainment

Down Beach Film Festival, Atlantic City, New Jersey

Minnesota Fringe Festival, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Otakon XV, Baltimore, Maryland

Food and Culture

Alliston Potato Festival, Alliston, Ontario

Caribbean Festival and Jamaica Independence Celebration, Chicago, Illinois

Arab World Fest, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Taste of the Danforth, Toronto, Ontario

Asian Festival, Reston, Virginia (Free Admission)

Global Peace Festival, Washington, DC (Free Admission)

Divas Uncorked, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

Scotts Valley Food and Wine Festival, Scotts Valley, California

Tualatin Crawfish Festival, Tualatin, Oregon

Tags: august 2008, summer festivals, travel

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 10:23 am and is filed under Regional Gems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.