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• Stampede to the North Shore
  If you're planning to join the annual fall pilgrimage, nail down lodgings now.
• Next weekend
  Watch dragon boats and red-hot dancers.
• Best bets for the weekend
  Hop a bike and see some scenery.
• Take a break on a lake for less
  Penny pinchers, start your engines.
• In Pipestone, an era ends
  After 60 years, town says goodbye to 'Song of Hiawatha' pageant.
• For football fans, a preview
  Watching is free and festive at team training camps.
• Blast from the past
  Train aficionados offer special excursions.
• Where to find mosquito-free camping
  Breathe a sigh of relief in southeast Minnesota.
• The buzz on bugs
  Summer is here, and so are the pests.
• Free weekend in Minnesota
  Grab the chance to visit parks and try fishing spots.
• Free weekend in Wisconsin
  Grab the chance to visit parks, trails, historic sites and fishing spots.
• Sightsee and learn on Lake Superior
  For a different kind of cruise, hop a research vessel.
• On the road/A brewery in Potosi
  After a 36-year hiatus, taps flow again.
• A throng of tall ships
  In 2010, schooners from around the world will converge on Great Lakes ports.
• Calling all Elizabeths
  A village near Galena plans to set a new world record every year.
• On the road in Wisconsin
  Happy discoveries: art pottery, burgers, bike trails and lighthouses.
• Snorkeling the Namekagon
  Face down in the swift, clear Wisconsin river, you'll see why it's a national treasure.
• Watch out for wild parsnip
  This flowering weed may look pretty, but it bites.
• Try a new bike trail
  In Minnesota, fresh stretches of trail invite bicycle tourists.
• The best of the fests
  Plan a weekend around a festival.
• Fourth of July weekend
  There's a celebration everywhere.
• Steaming down the Mississippi
  Fall-color excursions pulled by historic locomotive.
• Plan ahead to get Wisconsin guides
  Wisconsin welcome centers are closed.
• Step out on National Trails Day
  The time is ripe for a hike.

This weekend

Walk over water, fly a kite or toss a chip.

Mackinac Bridge Walk across Michigan's Mackinac Straits. Once a year, on Labor Day, people can walk across the five-mile span, the third-longest suspension bridge in the world. Sept. 6.

Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw in Prairie du Sac, Wis. There's chip-chucking contests in this Wisconsin River town, but also music, kids' games and an arts and crafts fair. The Tournament of Chips parade is at noon Saturday. Sept. 3-4.

Kites Over Lake Michigan in Two Rivers, Wis. Precision stunt team performances, free kite-making for kids and a Saturday night bonfire, release of sky lanterns and fireworks. At Neshotah Beach. Sept. 4-5.

Chicago Jazz Festival. The 32nd annual festival includes free performances by big-name musicians in the Chicago Cultural Center and Grant and Millennium parks. Sept. 2-5.

Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minn. Revel in the past during this show of antique machinery, which includes rides on trains and a carousel, square dancing, roving musicians and nightly jamborees. Sept. 3-6.

Marquette Area Blues Fest in Marquette, Mich. Two days of music in Mattson Lower Harbor Park on Lake Superior. Sept. 4-5.

On the Waterfront music festival in Rockford, Ill. More than 75 performers appear on five stages, with headliners Adam Lambert, Hinder and Billy Idol, and there's food from more than 50 booths. Sept. 2-5.

National Old Time Country Bluegrass Festival in LeMars, Iowa. More than 600 musicians perform on 10 stages in this town in northwest Iowa. Aug. 30-Sept. 5.

Riverblast in New Ulm, Minn. This festival in Riverside Park features horse-drawn trolley rides, a bike tour, music and a paddling rally and canoe obstacle course. Sept. 3-4.

Wilhelm Tell Festival in New Glarus, Wis. This Swiss town near Madison has been putting on an outdoor William Tell pageant since 1938. A children's lantern parade is on Friday, and festivities include yodeling and an arts show. Sept. 3-5. For more, see Swiss at heart.

Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. It's the annual extravaganza of competitions, concerts, carnival rides and food on a stick. Through Sept. 6.

More festivals

For ethnic festivals, see Celebrating roots.

For food festivals, see A feast of festivals.

For outdoor art fairs, see Art al fresco.

For dragon-boat festivals, see Waking the dragon.

For beer festivals, see Best brew fests.

For more events, see our Events Calendar.

Last updated on August 30, 2010