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Other stories in "Heritage travel"

• Polish for a day
  At Milwaukee's lakefront festivals, visitors get a big helping of another culture.
• Nordic nirvana
  Every July, Decorah puts on one of the best fests in the Midwest.
• Cozying up to the Cornish
  A fall festival honors the miners who left their mark on Mineral Point.
• Valleys of Vernon County
  In the nooks of Wisconsin's coulee country, people of all kinds found a niche.
• Destination: Stockholm
  Once the promised land, a Lake Pepin village now is a favorite day trip.
• Heritage travel: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark
  Led by Norwegians, an exodus from Scandinavia changed the face of the Upper Midwest.
• Heritage travel: Germany
  In the Midwest, many of our favorite traditions came over with the Germans.
• Finding Embarrass
  Minnesota's cold spot is stronghold of the Finns.
• Heritage travel: Switzerland
  In Wisconsin's cheese country, townspeople hang on to tradition.
• Heritage travel: Dakota and Ojibwe
  Despite centuries of disruption, their cultures survive.

Celebrating roots

No matter where you're from, there's a festival for you.

In general, I like my heritage. It involves Vikings and trolls and populist politics. At festivals, tow-headed children dance around in cute outfits.

But the food . . . not so much. When it comes to herring and lutefisk, I'd rather be Polish. Plump pierogi with sour cream and sauteed onions — now, there's an ethnic food I can love.

Luckily, it's easy to piggyback on other cultures in the Upper Midwest. Yes, many of us came  from Germany, Ireland and Norway. But we also came from Greece, Ghana, Switzerland, Iceland, Scotland, Ukraine — and there are festivals honoring those cultures and those of the Dakota, Ojibwe, Cree and Ho-Chunk, who already were here.

Some of these festivals are the biggest in the region — Decorah's Nordic Fest brings 75,000 people to a town of 8,000 — so it's a good idea to plan far in advance.

If you’d like to reconnect with your heritage, or explore someone else’s, here's a list of summer and fall festivals.

And for stories about ethnic communities in the Upper Midwest — Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Swiss, Dakota and Ojibwe — see Heritage Travel.

For more on towns that celebrate their heritage, see our Ethnic towns stories.

For exploring the ethnic neighborhoods of Chicago, see Globe-trotting in Chicago.

Here are some of the best festivals in 2012.

African-American

June, Juneteenth Day in Minneapolis. At North Mississippi Regional Park.

June 19, Juneteenth Day Festival in Milwaukee. On Martin Luther King Drive.

Aug. 11, Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic in Chicago. On the South Side, ending in Washington Park.

American Indian

Memorial Day weekend, Ho-Chunk Nation Powwow in Black River Falls, two miles east of Majestic Pines casino on Wisconsin 54, competition.

It's just one of many  Memorial Day powwows; for others, check Drumhop or see Powwow primer.

Labor Day weekend, Ho-Chunk Nation Powwow. Many other powwows are held over Labor Day.

Sept. 7-9, Indian Summer Festival in Milwaukee. At Maier Festival Park.

For more about Dakota and Ojibwe culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Dakota and Ojibwe.

Asian

May, CelebrAsian: The Annual Asian Heritage Festival in Des Moines. At the State Capitol.

Belgian

July 14-15, Belgian Days in Brussels, Wis., in Door County.

Caribbean

July 4-8, African-Caribbean International Festival of Life in Chicago. In Washington Park. Admission, $10.

July 28, Carifest in Minneapolis. On the west bank of the Mississippi between Broadway and Plymouth avenues.

Aug. 5, Belize Day in the Park in Chicago. In Washington Park.

Celtic

March 17, Celtic Festival in Moorhead, Minn., at the Hjemkomst Center, sponsored by Moorhead Parks.

For St. Patrick's Day festivals, see Toasting St. Pat.

Sept., Michiana Celtic Festival and Highland Games in South Bend, Ind. In Howard Park.

Sept. 15, Celtic Highland Games of the Quad Cities at Centennial Park in downtown Davenport.

Sept. 28-29, Cornish Festival in Mineral Point, Wis. At Pendarvis and around town. 

Sept. 22, All Things Scottish Celtic Fest in Middle Amana, Iowa. At Community Park.

Chinese

July, Chinatown Summer Fair in Chicago.

July, Chicago Dragon Boat Race on the Chicago River past Chinatown.

Czech

May 19-20, Houby Days in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In Czech Village.

June 9-10, Cesky Den in Hillsboro, Wis.

June 15-17, Czech-Slovak Festival in Phillips, Wis.

Sept. 15, Dozinky in New Prague, Minn.

Danish

May 26-27, Tivoli Fest in Elk Horn, Iowa, at the Danish Museum.

July, Aebleskiver Days in Tyler, Minn. 

For more about Danish culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Dutch

May 3-5, Tulip Time in Pella, Iowa.

May 4-5, Dutch Days in Fulton, Ill.

May 5-12, Tulip Time in Holland, Mich.

May 17-19, Tulip Festival in Orange City, Iowa.

July 13-14, Dutch Festival in Edgerton, Minn.

July 27-28, Holland Festival in Cedar Grove, Wis., near Lake Michigan just south of Sheboygan.

Sept. 15, Kermis Dutch Festival in Little Chute, Wis., just east of Appleton on the Fox River.

Finnish

June, Finnish-American Summer Festival in Embarrass, Minn. 

For more about Finnish culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

French

July 12-15, Bastille Days in Milwaukee. On Cathedral Square.

German

June 7-10, Bavarian Festival in Frankenmuth, Mich.

July 20-22, Bavarian Blast in New Ulm, Minn..

July 26-29, German Fest in Milwaukee. At Maier Festival Park.

Sept. 7-9, German-American Festival in Chicago. In Lincoln Square.

Sept., German Fest in Guttenberg, Iowa.

Oct. 13-14, German Festival in Cedarburg, Wis.

For more, see Toasting Oktoberfest .

For more about German culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Germany.

Ghanaian

July, Ghana Fest in Chicago. In Washington Park.

Greek

Aug., Taste of Greece in Chicago. In Greektown.

Icelandic

Aug. 3-6, the 123rd Islendingadagurinn in Gimli, Manitoba, the largest Icelandic community outside Iceland.

Indian

July, Eye on India festival in Chicago. In Millennium Park and surrounding cultural venues.

Irish

June 1-3, Irish Festival in Oshkosh, Wis. In Riverside Park on the Fox River.

July, Irish Fest in Chicago. At the Irish American Heritage Center.

Aug. 3-5, Iowa Irish Fest in Waterloo. In Lincoln Park.

Aug. 10-12, Irish Fair in St. Paul. On Harriet Island.

Aug. 10-12, Irishfest in La Crosse, Wis. On the Southside Fest grounds.

Aug. 16-19, Irish Fest in Milwaukee. In Maier Festival Park.

Sept., Michigan Irish Music Festival in Muskegon, Mich. At Heritage Landing on Muskegon Lake.

Sept., Irish Festival in Winnipeg. At the West End Cultural Centre.

Italian

June, Festa Italia in Madison. At McKee Farms Park in Fitchburg, presented by the Italian Workmen's Club.

July 19-22, Festa Italiana in Milwaukee. At Maier Festival Park.

July, Viva L'Italia in Des Moines. Court Avenue Bridge.

Aug., Festa Italiana in Rockford, Ill. On the grounds of Boylan High School.

Sept., Festa Italiana Minnesota in St. Paul. On Harriet Island.

Japanese

Aug. 10-12, Ginza Holiday Festival in Chicago. At the Midwest Buddhist Temple near LIncoln Park.

Luxembourg

Aug., Luxembourg Heritage Weekend in Belgium, Wis.

Mexican

May, Cinco de Mayo in St. Paul's District del Sol on the West Side.

June 22-24, Fiesta Waukesha in Waukesha, Wis. In Frame Park on the Fox River, just west of Milwaukee.

Aug. 24-26, Mexican Fiesta in Milwaukee. At Maier Festival Park.

Sept., Latino Heritage Festival in Des Moines. At Water Works Park.

Middle East

July, Middle Eastern Festival in West St. Paul, Minn. At St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church.

Norwegian

May 18-20, Syttende Mai in Stoughton, Wis.

May, Syttende Mai in Westby, Wis.

May, Syttende Mai in Spring Grove, Minn. (See In the land of Norwegians.)

June 23-24, Midsummer Festival near Westby, Wis. At Norskedalen heritage museum. 

For more about Norwegian culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Polish

May 5, Polish Constitution Day parade in Chicago on Columbus Drive between Balbo and Monroe.

June 15-17, Polish Fest in Milwaukee (See Polish for a day). At Maier Festival Park.

Aug. 2-5, Polish Festival in Boyne Falls, Mich.

Aug., Twin Cities Polish Festival in Minneapolis, on the Mississippi riverfront across from downtown.

Puerto Rican

June 12-17, Fiestas Puertorriquenas in Chicago, with Puerto Rican Day parade Saturday on Columbus Drive. At Humboldt Park.

Scandinavian

June 1-3, Scandinavian Days in Story City, Iowa.

June 8-9, Nisswa-Stãmman Scandinavian Folk Festival in Nisswa, Minn.

June 22-23, Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minn.

July 26-28, Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa. For more, see Nordic nirvana.

For more about Scandinavian culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Scottish

May 19, Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games. On the Dakota County Fairgrounds in Farmington.

June 2, Scottish Fest & Highland Games in Milwaukee. At Hart Park in the suburb of Wauwatosa.

June, Manitoba Highland Gathering in Selkirk.

Aug. 31-Sept. 2, Wisconsin Highland Games & Celtic Fling. At the Expo Center in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee.

Swedish

June, Midsommarfest in Chicago. In the Andersonville neighborhood.

June, Swedish Day in Geneva, Ill., held since 1911. In Good Templar Park.

June, Midsommar Festival-Swedish Days in Geneva, Ill.

June, Midsommar Dag in Scandia, Minn. At Gammelgården Museum.

June 24, Svenskarnas Dag in Minneapolis. At Minnehaha Park.

July 5-8, Karl Oskar Days in Lindstrom, Minn., in the Chisago Lakes area.

For more about Swedish culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

Swiss

June 22-24, Heidi Festival in New Glarus, Wis.

July, Swissfest in Berne, Minn. 800-322-2478.

Aug. 5, Swiss Volksfest in New Glarus.

Aug. 31-Sept. 2, Wilhelm Tell Festival in New Glarus.

For more about Swiss culture in the Upper Midwest, see Heritage travel: Switzerland.

Turkish

May, Turkish Festival in Chicago. On Daley Plaza.

Ukrainian

Aug. 3-5, Canada's National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin, Manitoba. 

Sept., Twin Cities Ukrainian Heritage Festival in Minneapolis. At the Ukrainian Event Center near Nicollet Island.

And everywhere else

Aug. 5-18, Winnipeg holds Folklorama, with 45 pavilions celebrating the nationalities who have come to this melting pot on the Manitoba prairie. Pavilions are devoted to the countries above as well as to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Hungary, India, Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, Serbia, Croatia, Cuba, El Salvador, Indochina, Russia, Slovenia and the Tamil region on the Indian Ocean.

Venues are throughout the city. 

Last updated on January 10, 2012