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Seattle Has An Everything Under The Umbrella Festival For Labor Day

If hot air balloons and chuck wagons aren’t in your plans for Labor Day, there’s still plenty of other ideas for you to waste away your holiday weekend.

One of the best festivals of the year is Bumbershoot 2009, and it’s conveniently taking place at Seattle Center from September 5-7. Film, theatre, arts, and of course music, will all be yours to enjoy. So grab a triple venti something or other and hit the festival running.

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Up, Up, and Away At New York State's Hot Air Balloon Fest

If you’ll be chilling in upstate New York this Labor Day weekend, you may want to consider a little more action than just chowing down a couple of white hots off the grill. The New York State Festival of Balloons is taking place all weekend in Dansville, and it’s only about an hour south of Rochester. There will be plenty of food, arts and crafts, entertainment, and a huge amount of hot air balloons. You can even camp right at the festival in case you get stuck with overnight balloon duty.

To celebrate their 28th year running, organizers will kick things off on September 3 with their Thursday Night Balloon Glow. Swing by the town’s municipal airport to see the balloons fire up their burners and watch them shine in the night sky. Maybe if you’re lucky you can sweet-talk a pilot into a free ride over the weekend.

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Horses Will Be Hauling At Arkansas' Covered Wagon Races

If that other festival dedicated to the wild west isn’t doing it for you, then we have another one that may help you move along your little doggies. It’s the 2009 National Championship Chuckwagon Race in Clinton, Arkansas, and it’s off to the races throughout Labor Day weekend. Just remember to bring your best horse and your dinner bell, and you’ll fit right in.

The festival is just what it sounds like—covered wagons hauling as fast as they can against other Conestogas. We’re still wondering why Dr. Quinn wasn’t all over this sport when her show was on the air, because maybe then we would have watched. More than 20,000 people will be on hand to check everything out, and some of them will likely being cozying up to the weekend’s winners who hope to share in over $20,000 in prizes.

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Labor Day Is The Apple Of North Carolina's Eye

Of course we’re sad that summer is winding down right before our eyes, but Labor Day is usually a good send off into the crisp days of the fall. That’s why we’ve picked the North Carolina Apple Festival as a cool way to ease us into an autumnal attitude. After all, a few apples in the system will probably help counteract all the overindulgences we’ve experienced this summer.

Set in the western part of the state, among the mountains, is Hendersonville, and their main street area is going to be buzzing with the sights of Red Delicious, Galas, and Rome Beauties. The state is in the top ten of apple production in the country, and they certainly want you to know it. Music, arts and crafts, and of course food will all ring in the harvest season. Make it a priority to get an applejack; it’s pretty much an apple fritter, but with a better name and a better taste.

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Celebrate All Things Oregon Trail At A Mizzou Festival

It’s hard to believe, but the end of summer is just around the corner. That’s why it’s time to start thinking about your Labor Day plans, so you can make it a priority to attend this year’s SantaCaliGon Days Festival in Independence, Missouri. If you preferred Oregon Trail to Number Munchers back in computer lab class, this festival is right up your alley. It celebrates the heritage of the Missouri town as the starting point of the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon Trails. See, the name of the festival does make sense.

More than 225,000 people hit the streets to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of this Labor Day festival. Of course there’s a carnival to entertain the kids and kids at heart, and it opens on September 3 so you can get an early start to your holiday weekend. Just remember to dedicate some time to practicing for the Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest, as you’ll want to make your family proud.

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Scream For Ice Cream At Austin's Scoop Fest

If you weren’t paying attention earlier this year and missed out on the party in Beantown, you’ve got a second chance to totally pig out on the sweet treat that is ice cream. This Saturday, Austin hosts its third annual Austin Ice Cream Festival. Of course there’ll be loads of ice cream to eat, but as the festival celebrates its third scoop, there’s much more than just gluttony to keep everyone entertained.

Yes, there will be an ice cream eating contest, but it’s only available to the first 30 people that sign up on the day of the festival—so get there early. We’re wimps and can’t stand the thought of a solid hour of brain freeze, so we’ll probably bust out our elementary school arts and crafts skills at the Popsicle Stick Sculpture Contest. It’s free to enter and there are pretty much no rules, just no pre-notched sticks, so make whatever you want to impress the judges.

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Bring The Beano For A Canadian Baked Bean Festival

About two hours outside of Detroit and within a stones throw of Lake Huron sits the town of Zurich, Ontario. If you haven’t already had more than your share of baked beans this season, then you may want to head north to Zurich in a couple weeks to take in their 44th Annual Bean Festival on Saturday, August 22.

Any festival that has been going strong for this long has got to be a good one, and the Zurich festival is no exception—especially with a such a unique food focus. Friday night kicks things off with a classic car cruise and ends with a blast of fireworks in the night sky. They’ll park the cars so you can see them over the weekend, and there are a lot of them too; it’s one of the largest car shows in Ontario.

The big day is when the “bean meal” is consumed. Over a ton of raw beans are turned into their top secret recipe and are served along smoked pork, coleslaw and applesauce. However, if the aftershocks of all that bean consumption hasn't cleared the area by dark on Saturday night, there'll even be a "bean dance" to wrap up the festivities.

Related Stories:
· Zurich Bean Festival [Official Site]
· There's Nothing Corny About Iowa's 'Shuckfest 2009' [Jaunted]
· Festivals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mattsip]

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There's Nothing Corny About Iowa's 'Shuckfest 2009'

When you think of Iowa, one of the first things that comes to mind has got to be corn. The state has loads of it, and there's no better way to celebrate all things corn than hanging out at the West Point Sweet Corn Festival. Where else can you take a free ear of fresh corn and gnaw on it during the coronation of the Corn Festival Queen?

The highlight of this week’s events kicks off tomorrow, as volunteers get to business to prepare for the festival. At Shuckfest 2009, community members will happily shuck bushels and bushels of corn. In 2003 they prepared over 17 tons of corn; let’s hope there’s an equal amount of butter to slather on top.

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Texas To Welcome The State's First Ever Guy Stuff Festival

Folks in the Lonestar State are hoping that their latest idea is the start of something big. Organizers are set to open the doors to the first ever Texas Testosterone Festival in just over a week and their mantra is "grow a pair," which sounds like success (we kid).

Located within the Palmer Events Center in Austin, it’s a exhibition of all things manly. There’ll be talk of sports, hunting, fighting, and of course one or two pretty ladies wandering around.

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Get Some Air At Washington State Kite Festival

Here's a breezy summer getaway: The Washington State International Kite Festival may leave you with a crick in your neck from all that looking up, but these high flyers are worth it.

Held in the southwestern town of Long Beach, WA near the Oregon border, the festival transforms the skies in the third week in August every year. Different types of kites compete each day for ribbons and demonstrate techniques like kite fighting, but you don't just have to watch: August 17, opening day, also features a workshop on making your own kites, and Wednesday the 19th offers the same class especially for kids.

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There Are Lobsters On The Loose In Maine This Weekend

It’s only Thursday, but things are well underway at this year’s 62nd Annual Maine Lobster Festival. The party kicked off yesterday and will run throughout the weekend, so get out your favorite lobster bib and have the drawn butter ready. Last year they cooked over 20,000 pounds of the crustacean critters and there’s plenty of other undersea delicacies if lobsters aren’t your thing—just bring your appetite and you’ll be pleased.

Although we have no problem with a festival just based on eating, in fact we prefer it, this summer fest has a lot more to offer than just seafood gluttony. There’s plenty of entertainment, cooking demonstrations, arts and crafts, and of course, the coronation of the 2009 Maine Sea Goddess. The winner will be awarded a scholarship and will represent the town of Rockland and the lobster industry throughout the year.

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Nevada Desert Getting Ready for the Big Burn

All you fans of pyrotechnics, hallucinogenic drugs, peace and love, and running around naked better listen up…well actually if you’re a fan of all those things, you probably already know exactly where you’ll be August 31 to September 7: Nevada.

Some 48,000 like-minded folks will hit Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for the 23rd annual edition of the Burning Man arts festival. Attendees basically view the vast desert landscape as a blank canvas, erecting gigantic art installations, performing guerilla theater, and of course singing and dancing everywhere, all day and night, until everyone passes out (which is never). Of course, half the people there nowadays are mostly just there to watch the giant sculpture burn down at the festival’s close.

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