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  • Features

    Time Out Chicago / Issue 166 : May 1–7, 2008
    Summer festival guide

    Top three… fests worth the trek

    1
    Aviation heads won’t be the only ones spooled-up (that’s “excited” in pilot talk) at Oshkosh’s EAA AirVenture. Organizers expect more than 750,000 sets of eyes on Wisconsin’s skies (about three hours north of Chicago) for a look at 10,000 antique, rare and home-built planes, including the nation’s only aerobatic helicopter, which performs rolls and back flips. Past fests have also included fly-in regulars Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong; Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band is already on the roster. Kiddie copilots can spread their wings at the KidVenture area, the onsite EAA AirVenture Museum or aboard plane and helicopter rides.—July 28–August 3

    2
    Cheese, glorious cheese—it’s everywhere at Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival, and in the form of cake, curds, sculptures and, of course, free samples galore. About a three-and-half hour drive north, this 20-year-strong exercise in dairy debauchery attracts cheeseheads for a three-day binge that’s supplemented with a cheesecake-baking contest, a cheese-curd-eating contest and cheese-carving demos featuring international cheese carving sensation (yes, there is such a thing) Troy Landwehr. Lactose-free activities include fireworks, the Big Cheese Parade and, for kids, a carnival and live entertainment.—June 6–8

    3
    One of the biggest buzz-kills for an eco-conscious music fan is a formerly green field transformed into a muddy, postfestival cesspool of garbage and water bottles. The Rothbury Festival, located about three-and-a-half hours away in Michigan, aims to make that a thing of the past with the nation’s first fully sustainable music, arts and energy festival of its size. Set in a forest on the beach, the fest’s 70-plus band bill includes Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic and Phil Lesh; as well as less-jammy offerings such as Snoop Dogg and Modest Mouse. The fest’s goal is near-zero waste, with mass recycling, composts and carbon offset purchases. There’s also a Think Tank area featuring talks with green thinkers, politicos and corporate types. Ahem…more beer, please.—July 3–6

    — Martina Sheehan



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    • 34061 infobury.com Wed, Aug 20, at 07:53pm
      check out http://www.infobury.com, a message board dedicated to the Rothbury Festival and created by its biggest fans!

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    • 11181 DB Sat, Jun 21, at 04:27pm
      Milwaukee Summerfest . . . best open air music festival this side of bonaroo

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