Halloween Horror Nights
You might think that your chances of experiencing real terror inside a theme part are totally dependent on losing your wallet, child, or phone, but if that's the case, you've likely never been to Halloween Horror Nights. Entering its 23rd year at Universal Orlando, this annual event — this year scheduled for select nights between September 20th and November 2nd — turns the park into a terrifying place, with themed haunted houses, scarezones, mazes, and live shows. This year, expect to find attractions based on Resident Evil, An American Werewolf in London, The Walking Dead, Evil Dead, and The Cabin in the Woods; the lineup for Hollywood's edition is similarly scary.
Music City Eats
You'd expect any event in Nashville — even one dedicated to food — to feature some sort of music tie-in. And Music City Eats is no exception. Scheduled for September 21 & 22 in Public Square Park, this inaugural festival will feature appearances by local chefs like Arnold Myint, Erik Anderson & Josh Habiger, Tandy Wilson, Matt Farley, and Joe Flatley at the Flavors of Nashville tasting event, a farm-to-plate event featuring chefs like Edward Lee, Michael Symon, and even Trisha Yearwood, and a Tom Petty tribute concert featuring the likes of Norah Jones, Patrick Carney, Jakob Dylan, The Whigs, and Kings of Leon, who are hosting the event.
Kentucky Bourbon Festival
Most festivals last for a day or two, or perhaps over a long weekend. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival lasts for six whole days — September 11 - September 16, to be exact. During this annual event, over 50,000 people descend upon the Bourbon Capitol of the World® to enjoy tours, parties, educational events, and plenty of drinking. Indeed, with brands like Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Wild Turkey, Bulleit, Blanton's, Buffalo Trace, Barton, Four Roses, Heaven Hill, and Woodford Reserve taking part, there's far more to drink, sample, and enjoy than you could (or should) cram into a single day.
World of Speed
One thing about going really fast — you typically need a lot of room to do it safely. And a desolated stretch of salt pan in Utah sounds like just the place. The World of Speed is a multi-day racing event held on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats every year in September, with the goal not to be the fastest up to a certain speed, but to be the fastest, period. Open to the public, the event sees vehicles of all kinds — motorcycles, streamliners, and everything in between — try to hit their fastest times, with world records regularly at speeds ranging from under 100 mph to over 400. Plenty of nearby hotels — including a trio of casinos — make sure you have a place to stay once the racing is done for the day.
Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival
Masaharu Morimoto. Thomas Keller. Rick Bayless. Grant Achatz. Giada De Laurentiis. Michael Mina. Edward Lee. Leave it to the glitz of LA to attract all-star talent. The Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival is a three-day event — scheduled for August 22-25 — that will see cooking demonstrations, tastings, lunches, cocktail demonstrations, panels, and more from the names listed above and a huge number of other talented chefs and mixologists. Particular highlights include Giada's Festa Italiana, lunch at Scarpetta with Michael Mina and Scott Contant, the Lexus Grand Tasting, and Bacon & Bourbon with Edward Lee.
Abbey Road on the River
Sad as it is, if you didn't catch the Beatles in concert in the early '60s, you're never going to. But going to Abbey Road on the River might be the next-best thing. Billed as the world's largest Beatles-inspired music festival, this two-day event — recently relocated from downtown Cleveland to a suburb on the south side of town — will feature a dozen bands playing tribute to the Fab Four, as well as speakers and film screenings. And don't worry if you can't make it up the Cuyahoga — there's another one scheduled for Louisville in 2014.
La Tomatina
Ever get into a good, old-fashioned food fight in school? La Tomatina is your chance to relive those glory days in a completely detention-free manner. Held nearly every year since the 1950s in a small town in the Spanish countryside, this raucous event sees a mixture of townsfolk and tourists engage in a full-on tomato-throwing battle for a solid hour, before fire trucks arrive to hose down both the participants and the town square. Random added bonus? The tomato's acids actually help disinfect and clean the streets, leaving the town in pristine condition for the evening's revelry.
Santa Fe Indian Market
It might sound like the place to go for some killer curry and lassi, but in fact, the Santa Fe Indian Market is all about art. Native American art, to be specific, with over 1,100 artists representing over 130 tribes arriving every year. In case you were wondering, that — combined with the upwards of 150,000 people that attend — makes it the largest Native art event in the world, and also provides you with an excellent chance to gain some culture and perhaps even some new additions to your art collection at the same time. This year's version is coming up on August 12-18.
SF Chefs
Now entering its fifth year, SF Chefs is the city's premiere gathering for all things food, wine, and spirit related. Slated for July 28 - August 4 in Union Square and various other spots around the city, the festival will feature notable chefs such as Chris Cosentino, Gary Danko, Corey Lee, and Thomas McNaughton, as well as a range of events that includes classes, demos, a tasting tent, parties, and even an Eater Chef Challenge, giving the local chefs a chance to showdown with a team from LA.
Cadbury Chocolate Carnival
There's a long time between Easter and Halloween, so if you're finding yourself longing for a summertime sweet-tooth fix, head on down to the Cadbury Chocolate Carnival. Sponsored by the folks who make the eggs, the festival — now in its 13th year — runs from July 20-July 26, and consists of 53 events spread over the seven days. Highlights include a train ride, a couture fashion show, City of Chocolate tours, and the Jaffa Race, which involves rolling thousands of the circular, chocolate confectioneries down the steepest street in the world.
Sommerfesten
Many summertime festivals feature throngs of people so thick that the humanity itself can be breathtaking — if not off-putting. Which makes Sommerfesten so very special. Held on an island off the tiny, waterfront Norwegian town of Ålesund, this music festival — known by its motto of "Peace, Love and Understanding" — is unique in a number of ways. It's completely non-commercial, it's attendance is limited by the number of tickets, which at 20,000 are actually down from earlier years, you're encouraged to bring food, as it becomes part of a sort of communal cookout, and many of the acts — Kaizers Orchestra, Pal Angelskar and Big Band are among those scheduled this year — refuse their fee because they like it so much. If you want to go, best get to booking — this year's is set for July 27. [via]
Counter Culture
Most food and wine festivals turn into multi-day feasts filled with celebrity panels, VIP parties, and exhausted guests. Which is part of what makes Counter Culture so different. Scheduled for July 25th at Anne Amie Vineyards, this single-evening event — it runs from 6-10pm — promises music, food, and wine to all who come. The food includes bites from the likes of Pok Pok, the Woodsman Tavern, Biwa, Le Pigeon, and more, while the wine is provided by wineries from the state, country, and beyond. Top it all off with a quality bonfire at the end of the night, and you have the potential for a really good time.
