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August 13, 2015
Camping in state parksFor summer, reserve far ahead to get choice spots at peak times.
So this year, you got a great campsite in your favorite state park. Or maybe you didn't. A lot of people vie for places in the most popular parks — Peninsula and Devil's Lake in Wisconsin, Split Rock and Itasca in Minnesota, all of the beach parks in Michigan. The people who get them know how to work the angles. Mainly, that means knowing when to reserve. In Michigan, you can snag a choice campsite for July in January. But in Minnesota, you should reserve the previous July, and in Wisconsin, the previous August. Best bets for the weekendTry a porker pizza or twist a tongue around pickles and peppers.
We hope you've done a lot of active outdoor stuff so far this summer, because now it's time to go to the Fair. We're agog at this list of new foods at the Wisconsin State Fair, basically cheese heaped onto meat heaped onto bacon (see: bacon-bottom porker pizza) or a fried doughnut in another doughnut heaped with ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate (see: churro sundae). The Iowa State Fair holds its own with the ultimate brisket bacon bomb and deep-fried butter. In related news, it's a weird weekend for food fests, which feature peppers, pickles, sauerkraut, coffee, corn, watermelon and not one but two garlic festivals. There are two tugs-of-war, one over the Mississippi between LeClaire, Iowa, and Port Byron, Ill., and one at Irish Fest in Milwaukee. And there are two IndiaFests, one in St. Paul and one in Milwaukee, plus Festival Cubano in Chicago and Taste of Pierogi in nearby Bridgeview. We love these heritage festivals because the food at them generally is fantastic. If you didn't do that active stuff, you can this weekend. Paddle in Floatzilla, on the Mississippi from Davenport, or pedal on tours from Itasca and Gooseberry Falls state parks in Minnesota, in Iowa's Villages of Van Buren and through Frank Lloyd Wright's old stomping grounds of Oak Park, Ill. If you just want to see strenuous activity, watch whitewater kayakers at the Midwest Freestyle Championships in Wausau, which also is hosting the Big Bull Falls Blues Fest. At the Bike Duluth Festival, see mountain-bikers in full body armor racing down a double black-diamond trail called Calculated Risk. There's a leisurely tour for regular folks and demo bikes to try. There's still plenty of time to go to the beach or see a water-ski show. Our pick: tiny Twin Lakes, Wis., near Lake Geneva, for the Wednesday and Saturday shows of the Aquanuts, who won last week's National Show Ski Championships for the first time in three decades. Next weekendFestival fun inspired by Venice, China, Mexico and Sweden.
Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival in Superior, Wis.
The festival on Barker's Island begins Friday with a parade of teams,
fireworks and a concert and continues Saturday with races. Aug. 21-22. Venetian Festival in Lake Geneva, Wis. Enjoy a carnival, arts and crafts fair, firefighter water fight and, on Sunday, a water-ski show followed by a lighted boat parade and fireworks. Aug. 19-23. Mexican Fiesta in Milwaukee. Enjoy Mexican-style fun: mariachi, arts and crafts, spicy foods and contests: dance, costume, jalapeno-eating and el grito, or shouting. Aug. 21-23. Ki-Chi-Saga Days in Chisago City, Minn. The fest in this Swedish town just north of St. Paul features an Old World market, sand-castle and skateboard contests, a horn hunt and a parade at 2 p.m. Sunday. Aug. 20-23. For more events, see our Events Calendar.
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