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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.
• Valleys of Vernon County
  In the nooks of Wisconsin's coulee country, people of all kinds found a niche.
• 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.
• Heritage travel: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark
  Led by Norwegians, an exodus from Scandinavia changed the face of the Upper Midwest.
• Destination: Stockholm
  Once the promised land, a Lake Pepin village now is a favorite day trip.
• Heritage travel: Dakota and Ojibwe
  Despite centuries of disruption, their cultures survive.
• 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.

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 2013.

African-American

June 15, Juneteenth Day in Minneapolis. At North Mississippi Regional Park.

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

Aug. 10, Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic in Chicago. On the South Side, ending in Washington Park.

American Indian

All powwows and wacipi are celebrations of culture, and many are held on Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends. For a list, see Powwow primer or check Drumhop.

Sept. 6-8, 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 11, CelebrAsian: The Annual Asian Heritage Festival in Des Moines. At the State Capitol.

Belgian

July 13-14, Belgian Days in Brussels, Wis., in Door County.

Caribbean

July 4-7, African-Caribbean International Festival of Life in Chicago. In Union Park.

Aug. 4, Belize Day in the Park in Chicago. In Washington Park.

Celtic

March 9, 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. 21, Celtic Highland Games of the Quad Cities at Centennial Park in downtown Davenport. 

Sept., Celtic Festival and Copper Hammer Highland Games in Hancock, Mich. At the Houghton County Fairgrounds.

Sept. 27-28, Cornish Festival in Mineral Point, Wis. At Pendarvis and around town. 

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

Chinese

July 13, Chicago Dragon Boat Race on the Chicago River past Chinatown.

July 21, Chinatown Summer Fair in Chicago.

Czech

May 17-19, Houby Days in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In Czech Village.

June 8-9, Cesky Den in Hillsboro, Wis.

June 14-16, Czech-Slovak Festival in Phillips, Wis.

Sept., Dozinky in New Prague, Minn. 

Danish

May 25-26, 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 2-4, Tulip Time in Pella, Iowa.

May 3-4, Dutch Days in Fulton, Ill.

May 4-11, Tulip Time in Holland, Mich.

May 16-18, Tulip Festival in Orange City, Iowa.

July 12-13, Dutch Festival in Edgerton, Minn.

July 26-27, Holland Festival in Cedar Grove, Wis., near Lake Michigan just south of Sheboygan.

Sept. 21, Kermis Dutch Festival in Little Chute, Wis., just east of Appleton on the Fox River.

Finnish

June 8, Finnish-American Summer Festival in Embarrass, Minn.

June 19-23, FinnFest USA in Hancock, Mich.

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

French

July 11-14, Bastille Days in Milwaukee. On Cathedral Square.

German

May, Maifest in Chicago. In the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

July 19-21, Bavarian Blast in New Ulm, Minn..

July 25-28, German Fest in Milwaukee. At Maier Festival Park.

Sept. 6-8, German-American Festival in Chicago. In Lincoln Square.

Sept. 20-21, German Fest in Guttenberg, Iowa.

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

June 21-23, Greek Fest in West Allis, Wis. At Wisconsin State Fair Park.

Aug. 24-25, Taste of Greece in Chicago. In Greektown.

Icelandic

Aug. 2-5, the 124th Islendingadagurinn in Gimli, Manitoba, the largest Icelandic community outside Iceland.

Irish

May 31-June 2, Irish Festival in Oshkosh, Wis. In Riverside Park on the Fox River.

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

Aug. 2-4, Iowa Irish Fest in Waterloo. In Lincoln Park.

Aug. 9-11, Irish Fair in St. Paul. On Harriet Island.

Aug. 9-11, Irishfest in La Crosse, Wis. On the Southside Fest grounds.

Aug. 15-18, Irish Fest in Milwaukee. In Maier Festival Park.

Sept. 13-15, Michigan Irish Music Festival in Muskegon, Mich. At Heritage Landing on Muskegon Lake.

Italian

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

July 18-21, Festa Italiana in Milwaukee. At Maier Festival Park.

July 26-27, Viva L'Italia in Des Moines. Court Avenue Bridge.

Aug. 2-4, Festa Italiana in Rockford, Ill. On the grounds of Boylan High School.

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

Japanese

Aug. 9-11, Ginza Holiday Festival in Chicago. At the Midwest Buddhist Temple near LIncoln Park.

Luxembourg

Aug. 8-11, Luxembourg Heritage Weekend in Belgium, Wis.

Mexican/Latino

May 4, Cinco de Mayo in St. Paul's District del Sol on the West Side.

June 21-23, Fiesta Waukesha in Waukesha, Wis. In Frame Park on the Fox River, just west of Milwaukee.

July, Puerto Rican Heritage Festival in Aurora, Ill. In North River Street Park, with a parade at noon Sunday.

Aug. 23-25, Mexican Fiesta in Milwaukee. At Maier Festival Park.

Sept. 7-8, Latino Heritage Festival in Des Moines. At Water Works Park.

Middle Eastern

July 19-21, Middle Eastern Festival in West St. Paul, Minn. At St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church.

Norwegian

May 17-19, Syttende Mai in Stoughton, Wis.

May 17-19, Syttende Mai in Westby, Wis.

May 17-19, Syttende Mai in Spring Grove, Minn. (See In the land of Norwegians.)

June 22-23, 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 4, Polish Constitution Day parade in Chicago on Columbus Drive past Grant Park.

May 4-5, Polish Fest in Chicago at the Copernicus Center.

June 14-16, Polish Fest in Milwaukee (See Polish for a day). At Maier Festival Park.

Aug. 1-4, Polish Festival in Boyne Falls, Mich.

Aug. 10-11, Twin Cities Polish Festival in Minneapolis, on the Mississippi riverfront across from downtown.

Aug. 30-Sept. 2, Taste of Polonia in Chicago. At the Copernicus Center.

Scandinavian

June 7-9, Scandinavian Days in Story City, Iowa.

June 7-8, Nisswa-Stãmman Scandinavian Folk Festival in Nisswa, Minn.

June 22, Midsommar Festival in South Elgin, Ill. In Vasa Park on the Fox River.

June 28-29, Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minn.

July 25-27, Nordic Fest in Decorah, Iowa. For more, see Nordic nirvana.

Sept. 8, Scandinavian Day in South Elgin, Ill. In Vasa Park on the Fox River.

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

Scottish

May 4, Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games. On the Dakota County Fairgrounds in Farmington.

June 1, Scottish Fest & Highland Games in Milwaukee. At Hart Park in the suburb of Wauwatosa.

June 22, Manitoba Highland Gathering in Selkirk. 

Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Wisconsin Highland Games & Celtic Fling. At the Expo Center in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee.

Swedish

June 7-9, Midsommarfest in Chicago. At the Swedish American Museum in the Andersonville neighborhood.

June 16, Swedish Day in Geneva, Ill., held since 1911. In Good Templar Park.

June 18-23, Midsommar Festival-Swedish Days in Geneva, Ill.

June 23, Midsommar Dag in Scandia, Minn. At Gammelgården Museum.

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

July 11-14, 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 28-30, Heidi Festival in New Glarus, Wis.

Aug. 4, Swiss Volksfest in New Glarus.

Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Wilhelm Tell Festival in New Glarus.

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

Turkish

May 31-June 1, Turkish Festival in Chicago. At Pioneer Court on the Magnificent Mile.

Ukrainian

Aug. 2-4, 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. 4-17, 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 listed 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. For more about Winnipeg, see Bazaar on the prairie.

Last updated on May 2, 2013