Two More Festivals Not to Miss | Travel + Leisure

Two More Festivals Not to Miss

Return to main article

by Alison Goran

Milwaukee Irish Fest

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
August 16-19, 2007
The Henry W. Maier Festival Park
$15 per day, children 12 and under free
414/476-3378; irishfest.com

Every August, more than 100 bands and dance companies, plus some 130,000 visitors, gather at Maier Festival Park, on Lake Michigan, for the biggest Irish festival in the world.

Music: Musicians and dancers perform all day on 16 stages. Don't miss Gaelic Storm, the folk quintet that went from playing pubs in Santa Monica to touring the United States, and Líadan, a six-woman band from Galway, Limerick, and Dublin.

The draw: At the festival's Cultural Village reps from ancestry.com are on hand to trace your roots and you can smack the softball-like sliothar with an ash wood stick just like the hurling champions do.

For kids: New this year, family passports guide you to the kid-friendly attractions, including the children's stage and the Celtic Canines area, where Irish Terriers and Setters are there for the petting. And if your brood is red in the head, don't miss the red hair-and-freckles contests-kids win trophies and march in the parade.

For full immersion: Sign up for summer school-a week of courses in Gaelic, Irish music and dance, and art-prior to the festival.

Celtic Colours International Festival

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
October 5-13, 2007
Tickets for each event and concert from $20
902/562-6700; celtic-colours.com

Music: Cape Breton fiddling, a style brought over by Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances, reigns supreme at the festival-there's no where else that you can find Celtic music as pure as it is here.

The draw: Cape Breton is one of the few areas in the world (outside of Scotland and Ireland) where Gaelic is a living language and culture. The fest is an island-wide celebration, so you'll need a few days-and some wheels-to visit the scattered fire halls, churches, and community centers that host music, dance, and storytelling performances. Plus, it's prime foliage time, as you'll notice as you wind around Bras d'Or Lakes, Canada's largest saltwater lake, or down the Cabot Trail highway en route to the next fiddle show.

For kids: A storytelling theater, step-dancing lessons, and fiddling 101-all for the under-18 set.

For full immersion: At Nova Scotia Highland Village Museum, kids become Gaels-for-a-day, gardening, spinning wool, and making candles while decked out in petticoats and trousers.

Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.