Main Street Festivals: Traditional and Unique Events on America's Main Streets (National Trust City Guides) [Paperback]

National Trust for Historic Preservation (Author), Amanda B. West (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 1998 | Series: National Trust City Guides

Main Street America is kicking up its heels--and you're invited to the party!

Goodbye sprawl-and-mall--hello downtown! Long-neglected town centers are coming to life once again, and the buzz is back on main streets all across the country. Come celebrate their rebirth with this one-of-a-kind guide to over 700 local festivals and events nationwide. From the weird and wacky to the wild and wonderful, the fun starts with Main Street Festivals. Which will you do first?

Enter a rubber duck race . . . Join a "walk of art" scavenger hunt . . .

Find hot-rod heaven . . . Play cow patty bingo . . .

See antiques and heirloom displays . . .

Discover "bullistic" bull riding . . . Go to a hog slopping contest . . .

Eat black dirt cake . . . Hear blues, bluegrass, and brass bands . . .

Watch a Little Miss National Peanut Pageant . . .

Inside you'll also learn where to find: an onion rodeo, cornstalk shooting, a beautiful baby bagel contest, arts and crafts demonstrations, the perfect-pierogie cookoff, a slugburger fest, quilting exhibitions, farmer olympics, and more. . . . There's something for everyone in Main Street Festivals.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This is the only national guide to over 300 Main Street communities across America and more than 700 special events happening on these Main Streets throughtout the year - from Rodeo Stampedes to fruit festivals to winter carnivals. The special events featured in this guide captialize on local history, popular culture, provinical character and seasonal themes.

From the Back Cover

Main Street America is kicking up its heels—and you're invited to the party!

Goodbye sprawl-and-mall—hello downtown! Long-neglected town centers are coming to life once again, and the buzz is back on main streets all across the country. Come celebrate their rebirth with this one-of-a-kind guide to over 700 local festivals and events nationwide. From the weird and wacky to the wild and wonderful, the fun starts with Main Street Festivals. Which will you do first?

Enter a rubber duck race . . . Join a "walk of art" scavenger hunt . . .

Find hot-rod heaven . . . Play cow patty bingo . . .

See antiques and heirloom displays . . .

Discover "bullistic" bull riding . . . Go to a hog slopping contest . . .

Eat black dirt cake . . . Hear blues, bluegrass, and brass bands . . .

Watch a Little Miss National Peanut Pageant . . .

Inside you'll also learn where to find: an onion rodeo, cornstalk shooting, a beautiful baby bagel contest, arts and crafts demonstrations, the perfect-pierogie cookoff, a slugburger fest, quilting exhibitions, farmer olympics, and more. . . . There's something for everyone in Main Street Festivals.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471192902
• ISBN-13: 978-0471192909
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,397,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not what i expected, my state wasn't even included, January 26, 2004

By 

jerseybookseller (nj) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Main Street Festivals: Traditional and Unique Events on America's Main Streets (National Trust City Guides) (Paperback)

Despite the wording of the title, I didn't realize that there is a very narrow criteria to be included in thsi book. I expected sort of a USA only version of Chase's Annual Events that was specifically focused on festivals. Wrong...

Here's what this book is, using their own words... "this guides hilights those communities partipating in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street program that have developed down town festivals as part of their revitalization process. Reaching deep into their communities identity, Main street programs have created wonderful and original themes for festivals, which could not have come from anywhere else but the communities rich heritage."

So I'm thinking, why couldn't the Shad Festival in Lambertville, NJ be part of this book? It fits their definition. Whoops. No it doesn't, it's probably not part of the historic trust. Oh well.

So to say this book disapointed me is an understatement, as not only it the scope much more narrow then I expected, some states aren't even included. So if you're looking for a guide to festivals in your state, here's a list of what states are covered: CT, DE, MA, PA, VT, VA, WV, AL, AK, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, IL, IN, IA, MI, MI, WI, KS, NE, SD, WY, AZ, NM, OK, TX, CA, ID, OR, WA. If your state isn't listed, then this book may not be for you.

That said, the book is a decent collection of events both small and large, plainly interesting and coyly charming, I jsut wish they werne't so selective. As I felt about Chases Annual Events, I felt there was so much more that could've been included, and I find it hard to believe that they couldn't find at least one qualifying event in every state.