2. Kutztown Folk Festival
Among the most visit-worthy festivals in the United States is the Kutztown
festival that had originated in the 1950’s when three local professors decided to
celebrate the Pennsylvanian German population in the country.
It has surpassed it’s 72nd-year mark and attracts hundreds of thousands of
visitors every year.
This unusual nine-day festival had been featured twice in National Geographic
and has been called "one of the most unique festivals on the East coast" by the
Washington Post, with good reason.
The festival also houses the largest quilt sale in America and has an
internationally attended Quilt Auction of top prize-winning quilts.
3. New Orleans Mardi Gras
Of all the festivals celebrated in America, there’snothing more colourful and
thrilling than a Mardi Gras festival, which is marked by a lot of parades and
events, all over the city.
New Orleans Mardi Gras is an event that is organised by the social clubs in the
city, and people dress up in colourful costumes and parade around the city, and
giant floats are driven all over the city as well.
The festival is celebrated till Ash Wednesday
4. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly hot air balloon festival
that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during early October.
The Balloon Fiesta is a nine-day event occurring in the first full week of October,
and has over 500 hot air balloons each year far from it humble beginnings of
merely 13 balloons in 1972.
The event is the largest balloon festival in the world, followed by the Grand Est
Mondial Air in France.
The number of registered balloons reached a peak of 1,019 in 2000, prompting
the Balloon Fiesta Board to limit the number to 750 starting in 2001,[4] citing a
desire for "quality over quantity". The limit was changed to 600 in 2009 –; citing
recent growth in the city and a loss of landing zones.
5. Burning Man Festival
Burning Man is an event held annually since 1986 in the western United States.[1]
Since 1998, the event has been located at Black Rock City, a temporary city
erected in the Black Rock Desert of northwestern Nevada.
The late summer event is an experiment in community and art influenced by ten
principles: Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-Reliance,
Radical Self-Expression, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving No
Trace, Participation, and Immediacy
6. Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called Coachella or the
Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo
Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert.
The event features musical artists from many genres of music, including rock,
pop, indie, hip hop and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and
sculptures. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music.
The festival's origins trace back to a 1993 concert that Pearl Jam performed at
the Empire Polo Club while boycotting venues controlled by Ticketmaster.
7. Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is a popular American tradition observed in the United States and
Canada on February 2.
It derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog
emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will
retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks; but if it does not see
its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.
While the tradition remains popular in modern times, studies have found no
consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the
subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.[
8. Electric Zoo
Electric Zoo is an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend
in New York City on Randall's Island.
The festival represents all genres of electronic music, bringing top international
DJs and live acts from multiple countries to four stages.
Electric Zoo expanded to a 3-day festival and with 85,000 attendees. Electric
Zoo received International Dance Music Awards nominations in 2010, 2011, 2012,
and 2013 for "Best Music Event”.
9. Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza /ˌlɒləpəˈluːzə/ (Lolla) is an annual four-day music festival in Chicago,
Illinois, at Grant Park, founded in 1991 and since expanded to other countries.
Performances include but are not limited to alternative rock, heavy metal, punk
rock, hip hop, and electronic music. Lollapalooza has also provided a platform for
non-profit and political groups and various visual artists.
10. Art Basel Miami Beach
This three-city modern art festival has additional locations in Basel, Switzerland
and Hong Kong, China, but it’s the Miami leg that really turns up the heat.
It’s a cultural event showcasing modern art from top galleries and artists from
around the world, so it attracts Miami’s cool, hipster crowd. If you’re ready to take
a break from raging your face off at the most wild US music festivals and want to
show off your artsy side, Art Basel is the festival to do just that!
11. South by Southwest (SXSW)
More than just a festival, South by Southwest is a combination of conferences,
film, media and music festivals all rolled into one.
A true trend-setter in the world of music and media, you’ll need to be cool AND
interesting to attend this festival, and your career might just get a little boost as
well! If you think you have what it takes, get down to Austin to enjoy everything
this eclectic festival has to offer.