Question of The Day. Saturday 6th of August.

Hi, Happy Saturday.

What events does your town hold in the summer? Do you go to any of them?

This town has big firework displays at the beginning of August. There are five lakes in this area, so from the 1st to the 5th of August each lake takes it in turn to host the fireworks for one night. I went to the final display last night. It's a great chance to catch up with friends, sit in one of the parks near the lake and watch the fireworks over a few beers.

The next town along has a Fire Festival at the end of this month. They make 2 meter high volcanoes out of bamboo and straw and put them down the middle of the main street. Then they set fire to them. It's kind of dangerous, particularly when they collapse and shower red hot embers everywhere, but it's fun to watch. There's usually lots of drumming and stalls selling food (and more beer) as well.

How about your town? Do they organise anything special for summer?

 

My city has it's annual sand sculpting competition/festival at the end of July.

It is on the beach, of course, and attracts thousands of people. It ends with the announcing of a winner and a fireworks display. 

I usually go down to see the sculptures, but this year, I did not. iIt was so hot, and what I did see of the sculptures, on TV, were very weird. They get weirder every year. It is very avante-garde. Not my taste. 

This year they did have a kids sand sculpting class with awards. There are also tons of vendors with tents, music, rides, food trucks, etc. They closed down 3/4 of the main beach road, and 1/2 of the road behind it. Parking was with a shuttle bus. I live at the other end of the beach. It is really impossible to get near it, unless you go very early in the morning, find a parking spot a long way from the festivities, and plan on walking a lot. 

There is a "T" (train) service from Boston, so people from everywhere go there. It is well publicized in the Boston Media.

I usually go down there, while the sculptors are working, before the competition, and then a few days later. This year the weather was so hot, that I just stayed in.  

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On another note: My neighbors have a huge block party the night before the 4th of July and on the 4th of July.

They end it each night with a huge fireworks display. The main celebration is on the 3rd of July. I can hear the music and sit on my balcony, or even on my bed, or chair in living room, look out and see the fireworks. 

A couple of years, I went down to see it. It was incredible. They set off the fireworks on the beach. I literally had to put my head all the way back to see them. And they have bonfires on the beach also. 

There's a 5-day town festival the weekend before school summer vacation starts, with a big beer tent, live entertainment, amusements (rides, shooting galleries, etc.) and fireworks. It's a pretty big thing for this area - sort of a miniature Oktoberfest. On Friday night, two tables are reserved for the volunteers at the animal shelter, with free food and beverages. Either the manager or I have to go. She hates it, so I make the "sacrifice" and attend.

Every October there's a large one-day open-air flea market in the center of town, with stands spread out along several streets, live music and refreshments. The shelter has a big stand where it has a raffle and sells donated items to raise money. All of us are expected to pitch in and help.

Oh, I forgot... living this close to the beach, they also have a kite festival. I cannot remember exactly when it is, but it is really cool to see. One year, I drove down the beach to see them.. Tons of kites.. all different kinds. 

The sand sculpting festival is really the cumulation of 4 days of watching the sculptor work. 

They leave them up for at least a week before they bulldoze them into the sand. 

Not much is done for the fall. Summer, of course, because of the beach, is the time it is really busy down there. 

It is a public beach. The oldest one in the country. They have put a lot of effort into maintaining it. Years ago, it was not all that pretty, but they have really cleaned it up a ton.. It is beautiful. I like to sit on the wall, and just look at the horizon, Logan Airport, the coast line, Nahant in a different direction--there is little Nahant, and big Nahant, separated by a causeway.. and then looking strait ahead, is the endless ocean.. really a nice view...

My kids are off at a festival with my mom today.  It's HOT out; so better them than me!  One of the orchards hosts a bunch of festivals. They have all kinds of activities and entertainment.  There are other festivals in different towns too.  Most are one day events and they seem to be related to whatever kind of fruit is ripe for picking at the time.  There is a festival every year commemorating the state capital.  They have people dress up in colonial period costumes and giver performances. They have a May-pole, parade and fireworks.  

I'm not far from the beaches and they have their own festivals; but I honestly avoid all that.  Crowds and heat are not my thing!  In the off season or say May or September; they are fun.  But not when the heat index is pushing 100!

There's a mini music festival for local bands every year (over a weekend at the end of July/beginning of August), but I've never been (nor do I wish to - too crowed and too much heavy drinking going on).

There's a much bigger festival of music (choral/folk/classical/brass band - with the main focus often being chamber music), that also includes art exhibitions, poetry readings, guided walks, talks, workshops and even films too, but that's really on the spring/summer border - usually the last week of May and the first week of June. It covers a much larger area too, as there are so many events involved. I have been to some performances in that festival in the past - especially if I have friends playing I haven't been well enough for the past couple of years though

A mini funfair usually takes over the town square for a weekend at some point (June, I think), and to be honest, most of the residents dread it - it's a really tacky affair, and at least halves the available parking for the duration. I've walked through it - it's impossible not to if you need the local shops - but have never been to it as such :uuh:

My town likes to tout itself as an "art" town - we have an historic theater (not for movies) and there's a thriving art community. So far, I really haven't seen anything which catches my eye well enough to take advantage of.  I have far different tastes in art, dance, and music than they tend to book and show.  

There's quite a few street fairs.  One of the best is the Hot Rods and Harleys where car and bike collectors show off their vehicles.  We used to live right on the Main street of town, so it was right outside our door which was nice. They also do a town wide Halloween event for the kids and a Firefly run for charity early summer.

They also do various holiday related things like a Christmas Tree lighting and July 4th fireworks. We don't go to either of these, both of us do not celebrate Christmas and, we can actually see fireworks from our 2nd floor balcony which is a huge perk!

Most stuff is geared towards families; those with small children.  So, we're left out of that not that I'm complaining about it 

i think the next festival in my area is the Harvest Fest in the fall, after the apples have all been picked. my area is an agricultural area, with apples being the main crop. right now, we're getting ready for apple season/harvesting.

There is a big firework display on July 3rd, then the 4th of July parade. Then mid July the folk festival and today was the fair. I went to all of those activities. I would have went to the carnival at the fair, but it started pouring by the time we left and they were shutting down rides.

We do have Summer festivals but it's Winter here now and tomorrow is the EKKA holiday (the Royal Show).  Lots happens aside from the Show around South East Queensland, including Winterfest, where people sit around eating a lot of waffles and hot chocolate rum while listening to live music.  

Our little village doesn't ever have much going on, other than the local fireman's carnival, which we don't go to. I don't know why. I guess we just don't think about it.

My sister's town has a lot of events throughout the summer and we try to attend them. Their fireman's carnival, the Fourth of July fireworks, their Heritage Days, and so on. 

In town, we have the big Fourth of July parade and fireworks, Music in the Park, the Arts Festival, and the Victorian Christmas Parade, among many other events. Oh! I can't forget the Woolly Worm Festival! They check the caterpillars out to see what kind of a winter we're going to have. Very cheesy, but a lot of fun.