Indianola, IA
This giant hot-air balloon festival includes daily flights, rides for the public, music, night glows and closing fireworks.
Grand Haven, MI
There's nightly entertainment on the waterfront, a downtown carnival, tours of Coast Guard cutters, a Grand Parade and fireworks.
Canceled in 2020.
Bemidji, MN
In addition to boat races, there will be kids' activities, cultural performances, music and a parade of teams.
Hayward, WI
You can't see this kind of thing just anywhere: cut-throat log rolling, boom running, springboard chopping and speed climbing.
Davenport, IA
Since 1972, fans of this Jazz Age cornetist and composer have held this festival in his hometown on the Mississippi.
Lanesboro, MN
Ride the Root River State Trail, then enjoy music, kids' games, sports tournaments, fireworks and a parade on Sunday.
Grand Marais, MN
There's a lot going on at the North Shore's biggest festival, including loon-calling, log-rolling, herring-eating and rock-skipping contests; Saturday fireworks; and the grand parade on Sunday.
The main event is canceled in 2020, but locals are working to organize some music, food stands and fireworks.
Chicago, IL
This big music festival features dozens of bands and, unlike other Grant Park festivals, is not free. Reserve rooms far in advance.
Appleton, WI
More than 180 singer-songwriters perform at more than 40 venues along College Avenue downtown.
Sheboygan, WI
This town on Lake Michigan is sausage central. There's music, a carnival, beer and, of course, a brat-eating contest. The parade is Saturday.
Chicago, IL
Professional musicians, many of them world-famous, offer free classical concerts in Millennium Park's beautiful Pritzker Pavilion.
The festival is virtual this year.
Iowa City, IA
This is the second year of this downtown music festival.
Red Wing, MN
In this Mississippi River town, there's music, food and games in Bay Point Park and an arts show in Levee Park. The parade is at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Durand, WI
Just up the Chippewa River from Lake Pepin, this free blues festival in Memorial Park features 16 bands.
Grand Rapids, MN
In this longtime logging town, there will be lumberjack shows, chainsaw carving, music and a parade Sunday.
Naperville, IL
This festival at the Naper Settlement is a showcase for Italian culture, food, music and artisans and has two entertainment stages.
Minneapolis, MN
This juried art festival in Powderhorn Park, in south Minneapolis, attracts more than 200 artists and is not far from the big Uptown Art Fair, on the same weekend.
Winnipeg, MB
This Manitoba prairie town celebrates its heritage with pavilions representing 44 nationalities, offering music, dance and food at many venues.
Davenport, IA
There are chainsaw artists and alligator shows as well as a carnival and grandstand acts that include national country musicians. Headliners include Locash, Keith Urban, Old Dominion and Pitbull.
Arcadia, WI
This nonprofit festival is in the southwest Wisconsin bluffs, half an hour north of Winona, Minn.
Headliners include Sawyer Brown, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Switchfoot. Tickets for all three days are $15 when bought online. In addition to music, there will be a hot-air balloon launch, circus acts, car show, arts, children's activities and Saturday fireworks.
Richmond, MN
This 41st annual family-friendly festival includes music on five stages and workshops at El Rancho Mañana Campground, 20 miles west of St. Cloud.
South Haven, MI
Eat until you're blue in the face during the festival in this Lake Michigan beach town. There's a pie-eating contest, riverfront concerts, an arts fair and a big parade on Saturday.
Mendota, IL
The festival in this town between Rochelle and La Salle features nearly 50 tons of free buttered corn, live music, a flea market, a carnival and a parade.
West Allis, WI
The fair in this Milwaukee suburb features big-name musicians, a sea-lion show, a daily parade and lots of contests, including hog-calling, cookie-stacking and cream puff-eating.
It's canceled in 2020, but a Fair Food Drive-Thru will be held July 30-Aug. 2, with 40 foods from 12 State Fair vendors.
Braham, MN
Minnesota's official Pie Capital near Cambridge holds pie-eating contests, a pie trivia contest and performances of the Pie-Alleuia Chorus.
West Bend, WI
This town north of Milwaukee calls itself the Geocache Capital of the Midwest. For the festival, it hides 50 new caches and gives away $1,000 in cash prizes.
Grand Portage, MN
Re-enactors from across the continent gather at Grand Portage National Monument for the annual fur-trade rendezvous; next door, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa holds a powwow. Reserve lodgings far in advance.
St. Paul, MN
This big heritage fest on the banks of the Mississippi includes Irish Got Talent and best legs in a kilt contests, hurling demonstrations, dancing and lots of music.
Canceled in 2020.
Minneapolis, MN
This large juried art fair in the Uptown neighborhood draws crowds. Use a Nice Ride bike or download a free bus/train pass to avoid congestion.
New Buffalo, MI
In this Lake Michigan beach town, there's live music, children's activities, arts and crafts, a lighted boat parade and fireworks.
Chippewa Falls, WI
There's a big parade downtown, followed by Riverfest in Allen Park.
Seymour, WI
This town west of Green Bay calls itself Home of the Hamburger, based on a local 15-year-old who put ground-beef patties in a bun, called them hamburgers and sold them at the Seymour Fair in 1885.
The festival features a ketchup slide, burger-eating contest and parade, plus music, a car show and a hot-air balloon rally.
Dyersville, IA
The Yankees will play the White Sox at the Field of Dreams movie site in a cornfield near Dubuque.
LeClaire and Port Byron, IAIL
The two towns stretch a 680-pound, 2,400-foot rope across the Mississippi River for the ultimate tug of war. There's also a parade, fireworks, children's games, concerts and carnival rides. Score so far: Illinois 22, Iowa 11.
Milwaukee, WI
The nation's largest Irish festival features 100 acts on 16 stages, plus children's activities, red hair and freckle contests and demonstrations by Irish dog breeds. In Henry Maier Festival Park.
Des Moines, IA
See a diaper derby, outhouse races and mullet contest, and don't miss the butter sculptures.
Oronoco, MN
The antiques show and flea market in this friendly little village just north of Rochester off U.S. 52 includes more than 400 vendors and 1,200 booths. There's also pancakes for breakfast, homemade pie and music.
Duluth, MN
The 32nd annual music fest on the Lake Superior harbor showcases national and regional acts on three stages.
McHenry, IL
Listen to the blues and eat barbecued foods in Petersen Park on McCollum Lake.
White River, ON
The hometown of the famous children's-book bear celebrates with a block party, bounce houses, parades and fireworks.
White River is on the east side of Lake Superior, on the Trans-Canada Highway between Marathon and Wawa.
Kenosha, WI
This free festival is in the lakefront Celebration Place.
Calumet, MI
The humble miner's lunch — meat and rutabagas in a pocket of pie crust — has inspired this Keweenaw Peninsula festival, which includes such events as a PastyWalk, PastyPoetry contest and, of course, a PastyCook-Off.
Toivo the walking and talking pasty will appear, and there will be games, such as a PastyPull, Rutabaga Shotput, Onion Pass and Egg Toss. There's also a PastyParade.
Superior, WI
Forty musical acts will play on 10 historic porches, including Fairlawn, from noon to 6 p.m. There will also be storytellers, dance, theater, an art fair and food trucks.
Chicago, IL
The 61st annual free show features aerobatics, extreme flying and parachuting off North Avenue Beach.
Lake Geneva, WI
In this southeast Wisconsin vacation area, the festival includes a carnival, arts and crafts fair, firefighter water fight and, on Sunday, a water-ski show followed by a lighted boat parade and fireworks.
Chisago City, MN
The fest in this town just north of St. Paul features an Old World market, sandcastle and skateboard contests, Swedish dancers, a horn hunt, fireworks Saturday and a parade on Sunday.
Sun Prairie, WI
A Thursday-night parade kicks off this festival just north of Madison, and there's also a craft fair, car show, tractor pull, music, carnival rides and, on Saturday and Sunday, literally tons of steamed sweet corn.
Superior, WI
The festival on Barker's Island begins Friday with a parade of teams, fireworks and a concert and continues Saturday with races in the harbor and family entertainment.
Wausau, WI
Enjoy national and local blues musicians in Fern Island Park. There's a beer garden, of course.
Milwaukee, WI
Enjoy the best of Mexican culture at the Henry Maier Festival Park: mariachi, arts and crafts, spicy foods and contests: dance, costume, jalapeno-eating and el grito, or shouting.
Edina, MN
The juried show in this posh southern Minneapolis suburb draws 375 exhibitors and 60,000 people.
Evanston, IL
This downtown festival features live music and local food, beer, wine and fine art.
Algoma, WI
Learn about kite-flying from professionals on Lake Michigan's Crescent Beach.
Pine River, MN
This family-friendly festival, just off the Paul Bunyan State Trail, features more than 40 bluegrass shows and free workshops.
St. Paul, MN
Try flights at the Craft Beer Hall, eat food on a stick, listen to free concerts and watch the 2 p.m. daily parade.
It's canceled in 2020, but a Food Parade will be held Aug. 20-23 and 27-30 and Sept. 3-7, $20 per vehicle.
Barnesville, MN
This goofy central-Minnesota festival features mashed-potato wrestling, a golden potato hunt, potato car races, peeling and eating contests and a Saturday parade.
Green Bay, WI
Artists, performers and craft and food stands fill streets downtown near the Fox River.
Silver City, MI
Few settings are more beautiful than Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park on Lake Superior; 25 national and regional blues, folk and bluegrass acts perform.
It's canceled in 2020.
La Crosse, WI
This festival in Riverside Park includes children's activities, a traditional arts and crafts fair and music performances and workshops.
Rockford, IL
Enjoy a day of blues in Lyran Park, with food from local restaurants.
Vinton, IA
Fireworks provided by the Iowa Pyrotechnic Association are the centerpiece for this fest, which includes arts & crafts, food and kids' activities.
Chicago, IL
This free festival features music at the Chicago Cultural Center and Millennium Park.