USA TODAY 10Best
Water Lantern Festival wins second straight Readers' Choice award
Best Cultural Festival (2020)
Raucous or restrained, artistic or irreverent, our 10 winners for Best Cultural Festival are each travel-worthy in their own right, and each offers the chance to broaden horizons, try new things and connect with others from around the continent and the world.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Cultural Festival are as follows:
- Aloha Festivals - Hawaii
- Artscape - Baltimore
- Frozen Dead Guy Days - Nederland, Colo.
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Ashland, Ore.
- Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta - Albuquerque
- San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade - San Francisco
- Fiesta San Antonio - San Antonio
- Kutztown Folk Festival - Kutztown, Penn.
- Carnaval of Quebec - Quebec
- Water Lantern Festival - Multiple Locations
Photo courtesy of Aloha Festivals
No. 10:
The Aloha Festivals bill themselves as a "cultural showcase of Hawaii" — a celebration of the music, dance, food and cultural traditions of the Hawaiian archipelago. The festivities started out as Aloha Week in Honolulu and has since expanded to include hundreds of events on six different islands. Event highlights include the Aloha Festival Parade, coronation of a royal court, hula performances, block parties, food and plenty of live, local music.
Photo courtesy of Edwin Remsberg / Artscape
No. 9:
Artscape, Baltimore’s largest free arts festival, brings in more than 350,000 attendees over three days each year. Each July, more than 150 fine artists, craftspeople and fashion designers come together for an artists’ market, live concerts, visual arts installations, performing arts, literary arts workshops and cooking demonstrations.
Photo courtesy of Frozen Dead Guy Days
No. 8:
Quirky, irreverent and more than a little macabre, Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, Colo. centers around the cryogenically frozen corpse of Bredo Morstoel, a Norwegian patiently awaiting reanimation in the town. In honor of this bizarre resident, Nederland residents hosted the first installment of its festival in 2002. Events include coffin races, costume polar plunging, ice turkey bowling, frozen t-shirt contests, a parade of Hearses, a poetry slam, frozen salmon toss and snowy human Foosball.
Photo courtesy of Oregon Shakespeare Festival
No. 7:
The marathon Oregon Shakespeare Festival runs from February to October and features 11 plays (four of them works of Shakespeare) at various venues. But the festival extends well beyond the stage. Attendees can experience backstage tours, park talks, classes, workshops, lectures and post-show conversations to enhance the theatrical experience. Enthusiastic festival-goers can see as many as nine different plays in a single week during this annual celebration of the stage.
Photo courtesy of iStock / Greg Meland
No. 6:
For nine days each October colorful "upside down ornaments" dot the big, blue Albuquerque skies during the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The world's largest ballooning event welcomes some 500 balloon teams from two dozen countries to the Southwest city, with the headlining event being the weekend mass ascension, when hundreds of balloons take to the sky together. Popular events like the Special Shapes Rodeo and Balloon Glows are complemented by a juried art show, local food trucks and live music.
Photo courtesy of Knight Lights Photography / San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade
No. 5:
San Francisco has celebrated its Chinese heritage during its annual Chinese New Year Festival & Parade since just after the Gold Rush. The parade ranks among the best in the world, with 100 units, elaborate costumes, fireworks and the perennial crowd favorite 268-foot Golden Dragon, which takes a team of 100 men and women to navigate through the streets. It has become one of the largest events of its kind in the world, drawing some three million spectators and television viewers.
Photo courtesy of Betsy Newman Photography / Fiesta San Antonio
No. 4:
The aroma of sizzling fajitas fills the air as margarita-sipping visitors stroll the River Walk to the sounds of live mariachi music. This is Fiesta, an 11-day citywide celebration of San Antonio's rich and diverse cultures. The festival began in 1891 as a single parade to commemorate the heroes of the Alamo and San Jacinto, but today it's grown to include pageants, river and street parades, masquerade parties, fireworks, a carnival, oyster bakes, sporting competitions, art fairs, races and parties — truly something for everyone.
Photo courtesy of Kutztown Folk Festival
No. 3:
The nine-day Kutztown Folk Festival is the nation’s oldest continuously operated folklife festival, drawing visitors from around the globe. A celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and heritage, the event includes America’s largest quilt sale, 200 craftsmen and folk artists, local food and family friendly entertainment.
Photo courtesy of Carnaval of Quebec
No. 2:
The Quebec Carnaval is a 10-day festival of winter, the world’s largest, complete with night parades, ice skating, snow sculptures and a towering ice palace. Other highlights include ice canoe racing, a sugar shack and iconic Caribou drinks.
Photo courtesy of Water Lantern Festival
No. 1:
The Water Lantern Festival is all about connections. Magical nights in cities across the U.S. include food, live music and the beauty of thousands of lanterns adorned with letters of love, hope and dreams floating on the water.
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Congratulations to all these winning events!
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Barry Kahn
When newly minted Everfest CEO Barry Kahn saw the... Read More
When newly minted Everfest CEO Barry Kahn saw the opportunity to merge Everfest into Qcue, the company he has run for more than a decade, there was no hesitation. Both companies shared a common history as successful Austin software startups that received worldwide recognition for reimagining the live entertainment space. Since its founding in 2014, Everfest has grown into the market leader in festival discovery, showcasing more than 20,000 festivals and hosting the renowned festival guide and magazine, Fest300. The Everfest platform hosts an online community for festival fans globally and gives festival organizers another channel for ticket sales, while connecting vendors, artists, sponsors and volunteers to new opportunities.
Barry Kahn
When newly minted Everfest CEO Barry Kahn saw the opportunity to merge Everfest into Qcue, the company he has run for more than a decade, there was no hesitation. Both companies shared a common history as successful Austin software startups that received worldwide recognition for reimagining the live entertainment space. Since its founding in 2014, Everfest has grown into the market leader in festival discovery, showcasing more than 20,000 festivals and hosting the renowned festival guide and magazine, Fest300. The Everfest platform hosts an online community for festival fans globally and gives festival organizers another channel for ticket sales, while connecting vendors, artists, sponsors and volunteers to new opportunities.
Gareth Hornberger
As Director of Consumer at Eventbrite, Gareth is... Read More
As Director of Consumer at Eventbrite, Gareth is responsible for establishing Eventbrite as the best place to discover live experiences. Gareth has spent more than a decade developing innovative strategies and award-winning campaigns for iconic global brands including Google and Levi Strauss & Co. He currently lives in San Francisco and in his spare time you’ll find him at a yoga class or hunting down the best electronic music shows.
Gareth Hornberger
As Director of Consumer at Eventbrite, Gareth is responsible for establishing Eventbrite as the best place to discover live experiences. Gareth has spent more than a decade developing innovative strategies and award-winning campaigns for iconic global brands including Google and Levi Strauss & Co. He currently lives in San Francisco and in his spare time you’ll find him at a yoga class or hunting down the best electronic music shows.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
