MidwestWeekends.com — Your Travel Guide to the Upper Midwest

Spring festivals 2013

March

  • (Mar. 2)International Tongue Twister Contest

    Burlington, WI

    Spit out a peck of pickled peppers at this event at the downtown Logic Puzzle Museum. Prizes for winners and door prizes for everyone.


  • (Mar. 8 – 10)Canoecopia

    Madison, WI

    It's the world's largest paddlesports expo, according to host Rutabaga, with dozens of demonstrations, workshops and presentations plus discounts on boats and gear. Bike-O-Rama, with discounts on bicycles and gear, is next door. At Alliant Energy Center.


  • (Mar. 9)St. Patrick's Day parade

    Milwaukee, WI

    The big parade starts at noon, starting at Third and Wisconsin downtown and followed by music, dancing and pipes and drums at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center.


  • (Mar. 9)Celtic Fest

    Moorhead, MN

    This free festival at the Hjemkomst Center includes two entertainment stages, heritage programs, arts and crafts, interactive booths and Celtic food and treats.


  • (Mar. 11 – 16)St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish Fest

    New London, WI

    This town west of Appleton becomes "New Dublin'' for the week, with festivities that include a big Grand Parade at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed with Irish music, food and marketplace under a heated big-top tent.


  • (Mar. 14 – 16)St. Patrick's Day Festival

    Emmetsburg, IA

    In northwest Iowa, this is the state's Irish capital, and it celebrates with many festivities, including a parade at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.


  • (Mar. 16 – 17)Soar With Eagles

    Wabasha, MN

    The National Eagle Center holds live-bird programs and nature presentations weekends in March, when bald eagles migrate northward along the Mississippi.


  • (Mar. 17)St. Patrick's Day parade

    St. Paul, MN

    In this traditionally Irish city, the noon parade runs along Fourth Street to Rice Park.


  • (Mar. 17)St. Patrick's Day parade

    Madison, WI

    The parade is at 1:30 p.m. and runs from Capitol Square.


  • (Mar. 17)St. Patrick's Day Parade

    Chicago, IL

    In Chicago, they really do dye the river green. Watch the dye job at 10:45 p.m. from the Michigan Avenue or Columbus Drive bridges, then watch the noon parade through Grant Park.


  • (Mar. 23)Soldier Field Spring Egg-Stravaganza

    Chicago, IL

    The stadium opens at 9 a.m., and the candy grab for kids 10 and under is at 10 a.m. There also will be face painting, balloon artists and inflatables.


  • (Mar. 23)Art of Beer Festival

    Benton Harbor, MI

    Try beers from across the nation at the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center. Tickets are $30-$35.


  • (Mar. 23)Celebrate Easter

    Cambridge, WI

    This town between Madison and Milwaukee holds an Easter Bonnet parade at 10:15, followed by an Easter egg hunt.


  • (Mar. 30)Easter Cache Hunt

    Boulder Junction, WI

    An introduction to geocaching, with a hunt, free lunch, prizes and wagon rides.


  • (Mar. 30)Egg Day

    Milwaukee, WI

    There will be crafts, face-painting, bubble art and treats at the Hop-to-it Bunny Hunt, plus a parade at the Milwaukee County Zoo.


  • (Mar. 30)Easter Egg Hunt

    St. Paul, MN

    Children ages 2-7 can hunt for eggs on the lawn of the James J. Hill House on Summit Avenue. Visitors can win prizes, get a small snack and look around the first floor of the mansion. Reserve at 651-297-2555.


April

  • (Apr. 2 – 7)Mission Creek Festival

    Iowa City, IA

    Dozens of musicians, artists and writers perform and read at downtown venues. On Friday evening, there's a literature crawl.


  • (Apr. 5 – 7)Roots and Bluegrass Festival

    River Falls, WI

    Hear music at half a dozen venues in the downtown of this western Wisconsin college town.


  • (Apr. 6 – 7)Maple-syrup festivals

    Around the region

    Tour the sugarbush, learn how to tap trees and boil sap and eat a pancake breakfast with real maple syrup.


  • (Apr. 6)Maple Syrup Festival

    Poynette, WI

    The MacKenzie Environmental Center, between the Wisconsin Dells and Madison, offers a pancake breakfast, guided tours of the sugarbush, demonstrations of tapping and syrup-making, intrepretive talks about how Indians and pioneers made syrup, old-time music and horse-drawn wagon rides.


  • (Apr. 11 – 18)Wisconsin Film Festival

    Madison, WI

    See 150 independent films from Wisconsin and around the world in seven theaters in and around State Street.


  • (Apr. 11 – 28)Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival

    Minneapolis, MN

    More than 170 films from 50 countries are shown at St. Anthony Main Theatre on the Minneapolis riverfront.


  • (Apr. 12 – 13)World Festival

    Rochester, MN

    There's a Parade of Nations, music, food, dance, ethnic food and children's activities, all at John Marshall High School.


  • (Apr. 12 – 14)Prairie Chicken Festival

    Wisconsin Rapids, WI

    There's pre-dawn viewing of prairie-chicken courtship from blinds, bird-banding, guided birding tours and a Boomin' Brewery Bash.


  • (Apr. 12 – 14)Ibsen Festival

    Lanesboro, MN

    Festivities in this southeast Minnesota hamlet revolve around Commonweal Theatre and its world premiere of an adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher of Ibsen's "A Doll's House.'' There will be Scandinavian food, art, film, music and walking tours.


  • (Apr. 13)Brew & Vine Festival

    Tinley Park, IL

    There's beer, wine and food tasting at the Convention Center in this south Chicago suburb.


  • (Apr. 13 – 14)World War I Encampment

    Rockford, IL

    A living-history encampment at Midway Village, with reenactors portraying soldiers from the United States, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, marks the 99th anniversary of the start of World War I.


  • (Apr. 18 – 20)Mid West Music Fest

    Winona, MN

    More than 75 musical groups in all genres play in museums, galleries, cafes and arts centers across town. There are arts workshops for children, too.

    Headliners include Astronautalis, The Big Wu, Claudia Schmidt, Willie Murphy and Charlie Parr.


  • (Apr. 19 – 21)U.S. Grant's Birthday Celebration

    Galena, IL

    There's a lamplight tour of Grant's home with Gen. and Mrs. Grant, strolling Civil War reenactors, a Confederate kidnapper trial and a pie auction.


  • (Apr. 19 – 21)Midwest Horse Fair

    Madison, WI

    There's a Friday-night rodeo, blacksmith championships, stagecoach rides, Texas trick riders, music and performances, including the Wisconsin Mounted Police Team. At Alliant Energy Center.


  • (Apr. 20)Dairy State Cheese & Beer Festival

    Kenosha, WI

    A tasting of cheese and microbrews at the Brat Stop.


  • (Apr. 26 – 28)Spring Outdoor Adventure Expo

    Minneapolis, MN

    A spring kickoff for outdoor enthusiasts, with presentations on outdoor adventures and destinations and a gear sale and auction of used canoes and kayaks.


  • (Apr. 26 – 28)Minnesota Horse Expo

    St. Paul, MN

    There's a parade of breeds daily at noon, free horse, pony and carriage rides and a rodeo Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon. At the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.


  • (Apr. 26 – 28)Bluff Country Studio Art Tour

    Northeast IA/Southeast, MN

    Take a spring drive through southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa and visit artists in and around Winona, Lanesboro, Spring Grove and Harmony in Minnesota and Decorah in Iowa.


  • (Apr. 26 – 28)Art Attack

    Harbor Country, MI

    The eight Lake Michigan towns between the Indiana border and Warren Dunes State Park offer gallery receptions, artist demonstrations, theater, music and wine tasting.


  • (Apr. 27)Between the Bluffs Beer, Wine and Cheese Festival

    La Crosse, WI

    Sample beers from 20 to 25 breweries. Tickets go on sale in March. It's 2-6 p.m. at the Oktoberfest grounds.


  • (Apr. 28 – May 5)Homegrown Music Festival

    Duluth, MN

    More than 100 musical acts will perform in venues around the Twin Ports, plus film, visual arts and beer.


May

  • (May 2 – 5)Festival of Nations

    St. Paul, MN

    Food, music, crafts and dance from 90 different ethnic groups at the downtown RiverCentre.


  • (May 2 – 4)Pella Tulip Time

    Pella, IA

    This big Dutch heritage fest features daily historical tours, a craft market and afternoon and evening parades.


  • (May 3 – 5)100-Mile Garage Sale

    Lake Pepin

    It's a good excuse to make the scenic, 70-mile drive around this wide spot in the Mississippi (the sales extend south to Winona).


  • (May 3 – 5)Kettle River Paddle Festival

    Sandstone, MN

    Watch a kayak whitewater rodeo, learn to paddle in a clinic, see fireworks. In Sandstone's Robinson Park and Banning State Park.


  • (May 3 – 4)Dutch Days Festival

    Fulton, IL

    This Mississippi town, across from Clinton, Iowa, celebrates its heritage with Dutch dancing, windmill tours, street scrubbing and a 3 p.m. Saturday parade.


  • (May 4)Kids & Kites Festival

    Chicago, IL

    This festival at Montrose Harbor in Lincoln Park includes free kite kits for kids, games and a candy drop from kites.


  • (May 4 – 11)Tulip Time

    Holland, MI

    More than 6 million tulips bloom during this festival, which features a Dutch market, dancers, trolley tours, big-name performers and three parades, ending with the Meijer Muziekparade, with 40 bands and 40 floats, at 2 p.m. Saturday.


  • (May 4)Cinco de Mayo

    St. Paul, MN

    This fiesta on the West Side (just south of downtown) features a parade, low-rider car show and lots of food, music and dancing.


  • (May 4 – 5)Maifest

    Amana, IA

    There's a lot going on in this former communal society in eastern Iowa — a 10 a.m. Saturday parade, polka music, keg-tapping, food-sampling, artisan demonstrations and pony rides.


  • (May 4)Minnesota Scottish Fair & Highland Games

    Farmington, MN

    This fest south of St. Paul features Celtic music, a British car show, a harp competition and heavy games -- hammer throwing, sheaf tossing, caber turning and the stone put.


  • (May 4 – 5)Polish Fest

    Chicago, IL

    This fest at the Copernicus Center celebrates Polish Constitution Day and features polka dancing, a pierogi-eating contest, music on two stages and a kids' stage with magic and games.


  • (May 5)May Day Parade and Festival

    Minneapolis, MN

    This earthy, lighthearted Sunday-afternoon event in south Minneapolis' Powderhorn Park features the giant puppets of Heart of the Beast Theatre and a people's parade to the park.

     


  • (May 10 – 12)Spring Festival & Folk Fest

    Gays Mills, WI

    This Kickapoo Valley village in southwest Wisconsin offers a rodeo and Maypole dancing and crown-making, a ceili dance, fiddle bee and Saturday-night concert.


  • (May 10 – 13)Horicon Marsh Bird Festival

    Horicon, WI

    This large festival in east-central Wisconsin is around a large marsh often called the Everglades of the North. There are bird hikes, bird-banding demonstrations, pontoon-boat tours, canoe and kayak tours, bus tours and a round-the-clock Big Sit, in which participants try to identify as many birds as possible.


  • (May 10 – 12)Mushroom Festival

    Mesick, MI

    This northwest Michigan town is morel central in May, celebrating the spring hunt with a carnival, carriage rides, flea market, duck races and a parade at noon Saturday.


  • (May 10 – 12)Gold Rush

    Rochester, MN

    Antiques dealers from across the United States come to Graham Park to display their wares.

     


  • (May 11)Bluebell Festival

    Carley State Park, MN

    This park, 15 miles east of Rochester, is famous for its masses of Virginia bluebells. The festival features such activities as a guided wildflower hike, kids' fishing clinic and geocaching with prizes and events in Plainview, four miles north.


  • (May 11)CelebrAsian Asian Heritage Festival

    Des Moines, IA

    This festival at the State Capitol Complex features martial arts, lion dancers, chopstick races, a fashion show and a fortune-cookie world-record attempt.


  • (May 16 – 18)Tulip Festival

    Orange City, IA

    The festival in this Dutch town in northwest Iowa draws 100,000 with dance, music, street scrubbing and parades at 2:15 and 6:30 p.m. daily.


  • (May 16 – 19)Festival of Birds

    Detroit Lakes, MN

    This festival in northwest Minnesota is near the convergence of prairie with northern pine forest and eastern hardwood forest. Space in field trips to local refuges fills quickly.


  • (May 16 – 18)Chequamegon Bay Birding & Nature Festival

    Ashland, WI

    Based out of the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center, activities include bird-banding, hikes and expeditions, hatchery tours and kayaking tours of estuaries.


  • (May 16 – 19)MorelFest

    Boyne City, MI

    This town on the east end of Lake Charlevoix is all about morels in May, with a guided mushroom hunt, a competition with prizes, drawings for free morels and The Taste of Morels, with morsels provided by local restaurants.


  • (May 17 – 19)Syttende Mai

    Stoughton, WI

    The festival in this town south of Madison, which celebrates Norwegian constitution day, is the largest in North America and probably the world. The big Norwegian parade is at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.


  • (May 17 – 19)Syttende Mai

    Spring Grove, MN

    In Minnesota, Norwegians settled first in this town in bluff country. There's Norwegian food, music and dance, and a big parade Saturday.


  • (May 17 – 19)Syttende Mai

    Westby, WI

    This Norwegian town, southeast of La Crosse, holds a bicycle tour, troll hunt, rommegrot-eating contest, old-time music, children's tractor pull and a big parade at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.


  • (May 17 – 19)Fresh Art Spring Tour

    Lake Pepin, WI

    Artists' studios and gardens will be open along the Mississippi and in the bluffs between Maiden Rock and Pepin in western Wisconsin.


  • (May 17 – 19)Art-A-Whirl Studio and Gallery Tour

    Minneapolis, MN

    More than 500 artists take part in this tour of the northeast Minneapolis arts district, around the old Grain Belt brewery at Broadway and Marshall avenues.

    On Saturday, there's a Craft Beer Festival and Block Party outside Stanley's Barroom at Lowry and University avenues.


  • (May 17 – 19)DubuqueFest

    Dubuque, IA

    This downtown arts festival includes dance, music on two stages, storytelling, food, children's activities and an Old House Enthusiast's Old Home Tour.


  • (May 17 – 19)Civil War Weekend

    Evansville, WI

    This town just west of Janesville reenacts activities on the home front, with army camp life and training; period musical performances; a parade; a patriotic meeting of citizens and a “talking spirits” presentation at the cemetery.


  • (May 18 – 19)Morel Mushroom Festival

    Muscoda, WI

    This town along the Wisconsin River calls itself the Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin. Fried morels are available from 10 a.m. till they're gone, and there's a parade.


  • (May 18)Stand Still Parade

    Whalan, MN

    In this village on the Root River State Trail, just east of Lanesboro, it's the spectators who do the parading. There's music, food and games.


  • (May 19)Norwegian Constitution Day Parade

    Park Ridge, IL

    Syttende Mai festivities in this near-west suburb of Chicago start in Hodges Park at noon, with the parade starting at 1 p.m. at Talcott and Cumberland streets.