Music and arts festivals

[Heather Poulsen]

Next weekend in Seattle will be the 50th anniversary of one of my favorite music and arts festivals, Bumbershoot! I have attended almost every year since I was a kid, and while I now take my brood with me, I look forward to hanging out with my "Bumberbuddies" - people whom I only know through the festival. 

When I ponder things like sabbatical or retirement, I often think how much fun it would be to do a tour of arts and music festivals around the world. So, please share with me! What are your favorite local festivals? Large ones are great, but I'm also interested in hearing about smaller, local ones that I might not find during a basic search on the internet. Bonus points if you want to share a photo!

Me and the littles getting our dance moves on (2018)

[#2]

When it comes to other festivals, one that stands out for me is the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

[#3]

My wife and I attended the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco the year before we moved to Los Angeles. The performances were great, but on the ground it was a mob scene. The only reason we were able to get past the entrance was because we had a friend working one of the catering trucks. :)

That said, there were people on the lawn streaming the live sound using their cel phones, and the technology was good enough that my brother was able to hear everything clearly tuning in from his house in SSF.

It's definitely worth checking out if they are still doing this post-COVID and if you like fiddle and banjo performances!

-->S.