Festivals everywhere!

I love hearing about all the festivals taking place at Affiliates – please send pictures!  Here’s some highlights I’ve been following recently:

Historic Bethlehem Partnership’s 22nd Annual Blueberry Festival took place last weekend… yum!  (Read the local review.)  This year’s Festival included colonial craft and  Moravian cooking demonstrations, and new this year, an antique auto show, and lots more performances and family activities.  Not to worry, all things blueberry were available too – local bakeries geared up to sell 1,200 pies, 200 blueberry strudels, 300 blueberry coffee cakes and hundreds of tarts.

 Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Mayflower II last weekend too, with a brilliant sail into the bay with members of the original crew (from 1957, not 1620!!)  They even brewed a special beer for the occasion.  Visitors enjoyed  anniversary cake and 1950s music courtesy of the Plymouth Philharmonic Symphony’s Swing Band.

  A couple weekends ago, the Mashantucket Pequot Museum held its 2nd Annual Pow Wow Festival.  (Read the review.)  And the dancing isn’t over… in August, the Pequots will host Schemitzun, its annual Feast of Green Corn and Dance.   

 And summer’s not over!!  Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District in Newark NJ is gearing up for their blow-out this weekend, the 2nd Annual Music Festival.  From July 26-29, this year’s festival focuses on gospel, hip-hop and house music.  In addition to great music, there’s a skateboard camp for kids, and a Green Vendor Marketplace.

Also this coming weekend, the internationally-known Lowell Folk Festival not far from Boston will feature such nuggets as weaving, Chinese knot-tying and Oud making; Armenian to Thai food with everything in between; and performers such as the Django Reinhardt Festival All Star Band (gypsy jazz from France) and the New England School for Carnatic Music (carnatic = Hindu devotional songs accompanied by the veena, an Indian stringed instrument.)
  

Bet on it that Affiliations staff wish we could be in 10 places at once to experience all these great events.  Rock on!!