A taste of summer

Noelle and I have found that regardless of what we are working on during the day, no conversation gets us quite so animated as when we are discussing recipes. Yes, even though our minds convince us to watch what we eat, we do not ever stop thinking about food! Therefore, to follow the warm weather social tradition of cookouts and picnics, we have found a wonderful list of summer food festivals across the United States:

Taste of Chicago (June 25 to July 4, 2010) Illinois: You will find food for everybody’s taste at the 30th annual event, where you’ll find more than 200 menu items at over 50 restaurants serving from booths along Grant Park, cooled by the breezes from Lake Michigan. Mmmmm…

Gilroy Garlic Festival (July 23-25, 2010) California: This event goes through 10 tons of beef, four tons of pasta, four tons of calamari, two tons of scampi — and TWO TONS of fresh garlic each year. Mmmmm…

National Cherry Festival (July 3-10, 2010) Michigan: One of the midwest’s best known festivals takes place beginning Fourth of July Weekend. This is the 84th year for the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan. Mmmmm…

Cheesemakers Festival (July 25, 2010) Vermont: There will be more than 100 types of cheese to sample from 40 different cheese makers at this one-day extravaganza in Shelburne, Vermont. Mmmmm…

Maine Lobster Festival (August 4-8, 2010) Maine: Serving more than 20,000 pounds of lobster each year! Mmmmm…

Capital City Ribfest (August 12-15, 2010) Nebraska: Barbecue fans can taste Southern, Texan, Australian, Jamaican, Memphis and Southwestern BBQ, all in one place. Mmmmm…

Winterville Watermelon Festival (August 26-28, 2010) North Carolina: What would summer be without watermelon? Mmmmm…

Shippensburg Corn Festival (August 28, 2010) Pennsylvania: Main streets downtown are closed for this one-day festival with food booths featuring corn in every available form. Mmmmm…

Hatch Chile Festival (September 5-6, 2010) New Mexico: The tiny town of Hatch jumps from 2,000 to 30,000 people every year savoring hot chiles in the hot dessert. Mmmmm…

Persimmon Festival (September 18-25, 2010) Indiana: Cool down at this venerable fest in Mitchell, Indiana, now in its 64th year. We’re not talking the the Japanese hybrid import variety of the persimmon, but the fruit of the native American tree that grows in the wild in southern Indiana. Mm…? Eh, not so much. Love Indiana, not really sure about the persimmon.

For more Road Trip Foodie information, visit http://www.roadtripsforfoodies.com/?p=3491