Summer Festivals in Alabama

If you are a person who likes to get outdoors during the summer, Alabama is chock full of unique festivals to get you outside.

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival, which lasts from January 11 through June 30 this year, is the sixth largest Shakespeare festival in the world. The festival takes place in Montgomery, AL, and it attracts over three hundred thousand visitors from all over the world. Plays run throughout the course of the festival. This year you can see Henry VI (broken into parts A & B), Richard III, Menopause the Musical, and a festival of new plays. Clearly, it is not all Shakespeare, but the Alabama Shakespeare Festival is determined to offer all great theater. To learn more, or to purchase tickets, go to http://www.asf.net/index.aspx

Maybe theater is not one of your interests. That is okay too. If you would rather see country artists Tracy Byrd and Mark Wills, or rock out to a Beach Boys Tribute Band, you can find it at the Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ. The event takes place May 4^th and 5^th this year at the Historic Huntsville Depot. For specific event information, visit http://www.rocketcitybbq.com/

A barbecue cook-off, and a chance to buy barbecue from previously award-winning cooking teams, highlight the festival, but there is also a kid's activity area and plenty of dancing.

If you are looking for some great blues or jazz, you can't get much better than the W.C. Handy Music Festival that takes place from July 22 - 28 at The Shoals in Florence, Alabama. Sponsored by the Music Preservation Society, the festival honors W.C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues", who was born and raised in Florence. The annual event features jazz and blues artists from around the country. Past performers have included Dizzy Gillespie and Dianne Reeves. You can get all of the details at http://www.wchandymusicfestival.org/

Looking for a little Alabama history? The Stevenson Depot Days Festival, which takes place from June 8 - 10 on Main Street in Stevenson, Alabama, focuses on the historic Stevenson Depot, and the days when train travel was the only form of cross-country travel in the United States. Live music, arts and crafts, a parade, and a model railroad exhibits are all features of this fun three day event. Find out more at: http://www.stevensonalabama.com/depotdays.shtml

If what you would really like to do this summer is eat and drink, Alabama can offer that too, with the Southern Breeze Wine & Culinary Festival. Global wines, regional foods, and informative events about Gulf Coast Culture come to several Gulf Coast destinations this year with the Southern Breeze Wine & Culinary Festival. Catch it in Orange Beach near Gulf Shores from May 18 - 20. Detailed information is available at http://www.coastalwinetour.com/ME2/Default.asp

As you can see, there is an interesting variety of festivals taking place all over the state of Alabama this summer. The Southern Breeze Wine and Culinary Festival should not be missed as it also offers up the beautiful white sand beaches of Alabama's coast.