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Head to the Midwest for Summertime Festivals

Top Midwest Summertime Festivals

Summer is a great time to travel in an RV to the Midwest states where you will find a summer festival scheduled for all the days of the week!  The list of summer festivals is long and includes events that focus on food, culture, arts and crafts, music and more.  Below are three of Rentzio’s favorite festivals for Midwest summertime fun!

National Cherry Festival

Traverse City, Michigan
July 7 -14, 2012

Traverse City’s National Cherry Festival celebrates cherries, tourism and community involvement; it commands more than 500,000 visitors during its eight-day event.  The festival opens with a morning breakfast of cherry pancakes with event organizers.  The schedule is packed daily with events for all ages, including an air show, cherry pit spitting contest, and arts and crafts vendors.  Food vendors, many specializing in everything and anything cherry, are abundant. Other events include:

• Million Dollar Hole-in-One Contest
• Kid’s Cherry Teddy Bear Tea
• Family Sandcastle Building Contest

And, don’t miss the Royale parade on Saturday, July 14 featuring Grand Marshal, Tomas Holmstrom, Detroit Red Wings, 4-time Stanley Cup winner.

Taste of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
July 11-15, 2012
Free Admission; food tickets purchase required

More than 2.5 million people converge on the city annually to explore Chicago’s best known foods.  More than 59 restaurants showcase their culinary genius at this free summer festival.  Longtime Taste favorites include the popular Billy Goat Inn, Lou Malnati’s Pizzaria, and Robinson’s No. 1 Ribs.  Don’t forget dessert – Eli’s Cheesecake has been a vendor from the beginning, since 1980!

Be sure to add Pazzo’s to your list of must-try foods, this year’s debut Pop-up Restaurant, where you will taste one of the best Chicken Vesuvio sandwiches.  Or, if you prefer a more cultural culinary experience, check out these trendy menu items:

• Jolloff Rice with Sauteed Goat from Vee-Vee’s African Cuisine
• Pork-filled Banana Dumpling from Sabor Latino
• Mustard Fried Catfish from B.J.’s Market & Bakery

You can’t have dining without entertainment.  Jennifer Hudson, former American Idol contestant, headlines the entertainment of this year’s Taste. Other Taste of Chicago events include the Humana Race to the Taste, a 5K Run scheduled for July 12, and the Fleet Feet Sport Kids Dash on July 14.

Pierogi Fest

Whiting, Indiana
July 27-29, 2012
Free Admission

Visit the south shores of Whiting, Indiana to salute the Polish ethnic heritage and one of its staple foods, the Pierogi.  More than 200,000 people pay homage to this round doughy dumpling filled with cheese, fruit, meat or vegetable. Attend this event to settle the debate of which way is best to cook the ravioli-like food — boiled or pan-fried in butter?

The Pierogi festival includes a myriad of events like a polka dance-off, arts and crafts festival, and a Babushka Brigade.  If this is not enough fun for you, event organizers have announced that 2012 is the Year of the Halupki, which is cabbage leaves stuffed and cooked with a filling of meat, onion and rice.

For More Midwest Summertime Festivals

If these Midwest festivals don’t entice you to jump in your RV, check out the extensive Midwest festival listing here.

And, if you are looking for RV-friendly camping in the Midwest, there are plenty of campgrounds that are sure to meet your camping needs.