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Fall Food Travel: The Chitlin' Strut

It's getting to be the time of year when foodies start dreaming about what they're going to do with the Thanksgiving feast this year. But a very special set of foodies are more excited about the day after Turkey Day.

That's when Salley, South Carolina (pop. 410) hosts one of the most oddball fall food festivals of them all. The Chitlin' Strut celebrates all things chitlin', which, if you don't know, is a contraction of the word chitterlings, better known as fried pig intestines. Mmm...

But don't be turned off if celebrating 10,000 pounds of pig guts isn't your bucket of lard: The Chitlin' Strut has something for everyone, from the eardrum-shattering hawg-calling contest to the no-they're-not-kidding Chitlin' Strut Beauty Pageant.

Related Stories:
· Chitlin' Strut [Official Site]
· Fall Festivals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Chitlin' Strut]

Tags: Oktoberfest / Beer / Fall Festivals / Jaunted Travel Videos / Videos / → All Tags

Oktoberfest Post-Mortem: The Five Things You Need to Know for '09

Oktoberfest 2008 has come and gone--in Germany at least--but the memories will live on forever. Thankfully, the vomit is easy enough to wash away.

This is a video from inside the Hofbrau tent at the storied Oktoberfest fair grounds in Munich. You can watch "Beer Fest" as many times as you like but nothing, we repeat, nothing can prepare you for the real Oktoberfest.

So to make it easier, we've put together this handy list of rules and tips to remember for Oktoberfest 2009.

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Tags: Beer / Fall Travel / Fall Festivals / → All Tags

Oregon Is for Beer Lovers

While the attraction for most ale-heads at this weekend's Great American Beer Festival was the 1,800-plus brew list, the festival's not just about getting sloshed: There are also a bevy of awards handed out, and they can reap serious dividends for small breweries.

The prestigious awards span 75 categories, from best fruit or vegetable beer to best coffee flavored beer. The big winner this year: Oregon's hop-heavy breweries, who walked across the podium in Denver again and again. The Beaver State beat out almost all of its larger competitors by taking home nine gold medals and 19 overall.

For those looking to get a taste of just what these Oregonian brewers have going on, the state's Fresh Hop Beer Tastivals offer a chance, coming up in Portland on October 18 and in Eugene on October 25.

Related Stories:
· 2008 GABF Winners [Official Site]
· 2008 Fresh Hop Beer Tastivals [Official Site]
· Fall Travel: Say "Scumps" at the Great American Beer Festival [Jaunted]

[Photo: inajeep]

Tags: Fall Festivals / Food Travel / Harvest Festivals / → All Tags

Fall Festivals: Brooklyn Hoe-Down

Fall is harvest time in America's farmland, and, if you look closely enough, in the cities too. Brooklyn, which probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think "harvest," has a fall food festival of its own this weekend.

The Gowanus Harvest Festival will bring locally-grown veggies, potato sack races, pony rides and other down-home excitement to the banks of the (not-so) scenic Gowanus Canal. Of course, this is still Brooklyn, so there will be live indie rock and local microwbrews on hand as well. Obviously.

The festival, which takes place Saturday, October 11, will be held at outdoor performance space The Yard.

Related Stories:
· The Yard [Official Site]
· Fall Festivals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Gowanus Harvest Festival]

Tags: Jazz / Music Travel / Live Music / Fall Festivals / → All Tags

Pack Your Axe Travel: Anguilla's Tranquility Jazz Festival

If you love jazz but prefer sandy tropical beaches to smoky underground clubs, pack your bags for Anguilla's Tranquility Jazz Festival, celebrating its sixth year and taking place November 6-9 on the island.

Venues like the Cuisinart Hotel, Temenos Golf Club and Johnnos will host performances by jazz greats such as Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Arturo Sandoval and Christian Scott by day and by night.

Individual performance tickets range between free and $50, but check here for festival-specific travel packages that include airfare on American Airlines, performance tickets and a range of hotel options.

Related Stories:
· Tranquility Jazz Festival [Official Site]
· Datebook: Anguilla [NYT]
· A NOLA National Park? It's All About Your State of Mind [Jaunted]

[Photo of the 2007 event: Tranquility Jazz Festival]

Tags: Fall Travel / Food Travel / Fall Festivals / → All Tags

Fall Culinary Travel: That's a Mole!

No longer shall you order a Mexican dish topped with mole sauce--a concoction of unsweetened cocoa and chilies, among other things--because it's cool to say. After a visit to the Atocpan Feria del Mole, which starts this Saturday in the Mexican town of San Pedro Atocpan, you'll be a mole expert worthy of pushing back your plate from Don Loco's and saying, "Pfft. This isn't real mole."

South of Mexico City, many people work in "mole mills" that prepare the famously complex sauce--in fact, an article in the local newspaper La Jornada estimated that 92 percent of San Pedro Atocpan's residents are involved in some way with producing or selling mole. Since most of their product is consumed in and around the Distrito Federal, it's rare for any "real" mole to trickle northward.

San Pedro Atocpan is only one of several cities laying claim to the title "birthplace of mole." (The Times awarded the title to Puebla two years ago.) After you've tasted the many varieties of mole infused with cinnamon, cilantro or raisins, check out the work of local artisans--and by then it'll be time to eat more mole.

Related Stories:
· An Uber Foodie's Guide to Las Vegas Restaurants [HC]
· Chili to Chili in Mole-Sauce City [NYT]
· Food Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ekz.]

Tags: Theater / Festivals / Fall Festivals / Videos / → All Tags

Unlikely Mashups Travel: When Hip-Hop and Theater Collide

New York is always the world's hub of hip-hop, as well as its capital of theater, but once a year, the best of both worlds fuse together in an unlikely pairing: The Hip-Hop Theater Festival.

Running now through October 11, the HHTF presents spoken word, drama, dance, rapping, singing and other performances that embrace the hip-hop aesthetic. If you want theater to be just a little less snobby--or hip-hop to get a little bit more intellectual--this one's for you. The highlight of this year's festival is Taking Over: The All City Tour, a new play from festival founder Danny Hoch.

The festival is taking over venues throughout four boroughs (sorry, Staten Island!), and many performances are free. But that doesn't mean you can just show up--the free events are ticketed and usually "sold" out--check out the HHTF website to reserve seats.

Related Stories:
· Hip-Hop Theater Festival [Official Site]
· Theater coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Fall Festivals / Fall Travel / Fall Culture Travel / Videos / → All Tags

Fall Culture Travel: Celebrating Your Scottish Side

There's a lot going on this fall in Virginia, mostly because these four will be battling each other there. But if you're looking for something with a little more culture, look no further than the Williamsburg Scottish Festival, complete with more kilts, clans and Celtic music than you can shake a caber at.

The fest starts October 3 and carries on through the weekend. Celtic bands including Albannach and Greenwich Meantime (clever!) will ensure that you get your fill of bagpipe. And of course there will be traditional athletic events that involve people throwing really heavy things as far as they can.

The festival also seeks to assist people in tracing their Scottish roots. Take a trip down "Clan Row" to try to find your link back to the mother country. Last year there were almost 50 groups from across the nation with their own unique lineage, so you're almost guaranteed to find a picture of Grandpa McManus.

Related Stories:
· Williamsburg Scottish Festival [Official Site]
· Fall Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Religious Travel / Fall Festivals / → All Tags

Fall Festivals Travel: Ancestors' Day in Cambodia

In Cambodia, respect for elders extends beyond holding the door for old ladies. Even the dead get their due during Prachum Benda, also called Ancestors' Day or Festival of the Dead, which kicked off last weekend. Cambodian Buddhists believe that the deceased stuck in the spirit world need their help so families deliver food to monks in an attempt to reach the souls of their ancestors and friends by virtue of the monks' sermons.

Everything climaxes on the 15th day of the waxing moon during the tenth month of the Khmer calendar, called "Pheaktrobotr." This year, it falls on September 30.

Metropolitan Khmers flood out of the capital city of Phnom Penh to spend time with relatives at their homes in the countryside. There, they cook, pray, cook and pray some more. At the end, the hope is that loved ones received the Karmic boost they needed for reincarnation.

Related Stories:
· Temple Time in Cambodia [Jaunted]
· Cambodia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: hanz2use]

Tags: Beer / Fall Travel / Fall Festivals / → All Tags

Can't Make Oktoberfest? More Frothy Fall Travel

Boston beer drinkers may be stereotyped as a blue jeans-wearing, Sam Adams-swilling set, but there are plenty of folks in the town who know their way around a high-quality, cask-brewed ale.

Case in point: The Return of the Belgian Beer Fest, which comes to Boston this weekend. This festival is run by the hop experts at Beer Advocate, so you know it's not your run-of-the-mill drunken Oktoberfest imitation.

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Tags: Fall Travel / Fall Festivals / Space Travel / Videos / → All Tags

Fall Travel: October Sky Festival

For fans of space, rockets and the movie "October Sky", it's time to make the pilgrimage to Coalwood, West Virginia, for the 10th anniversary of the October Sky Festival. The festival celebrates local hometown hero, Homer Hickam, the author who inspired the film about his childhood adventures involving rocketry.

Festival attendees will enjoy model rocket launches from nearby "Cape Coalwood," and performers from across the state will provide a backdrop of bluegrass.

The festival starts at 10 am on October 4 and it's free. Shuttle Astronaut Tom Jones will also be on hand to share his space experience, and NASA is even bringing a moon rock for guests to check out. After the click, check out an exceedingly earnest video tour of 2007's fest.

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Tags: Food Travel / Fall Travel / Fall Festivals / Time Travel / → All Tags

Fried Food on a Stick Travel: RennFest Season Gearing Up

Ah, fall. Time for harvest season, leaf peeping and--for a surprisingly large number of Americans--lacing up the corsets.

For reasons that remain unclear, autumn is prime Renaissance Festival season throughout America, and now through early November, fairgrounds all across the country will be hosting jousting competitions and suffering legions of poorly done old English accents.

But RennFests aren't just for 15th-Century geeks--they're for foodies too. Express Night Out took a trip to the Maryland Renaissance Festival and reports it picks up where summer's state fairs left off:

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