Detroit Lakes, Minn.
You can come for a day or camp out for three days at the 36th annual We Fest Thu.-next Sun. at the Soo Pass Ranch. Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood will headline the fest and dozens of other chart-topping artists will perform on multiple stages, including Florida Georgia Line, Vince Gill, Chris Young, Justin Moore and others (wefest.com).
Duluth & Ely, Minn.
Fans will be anything but blue in August during two blues festivals in northern Minnesota. Three days of music on two stages set along Lake Superior will mark the 30th annual Bayfront Blues Festival Aug. 10-12 at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth. Tickets range from $45 to $119 (bayfrontblues.com; 1-800-438-5884). The Boundary Waters Blues Festival features top local and regional performers Aug. 31-Sept. 1 in Ely. While in town, visitors are also invited to camp and explore the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Festival tickets and camping fees vary (elyblues.com; 1-218-349-5520).
Cokato, Minn.
Parades, live music and free sweet corn will draw visitors to the 68th annual Cokato Corn Carnival Aug. 13-15 at Peterson Park. At 6 p.m. Mon., a kiddie parade will begin and the main parade will commence at 6:20 p.m., followed by live entertainment and food stands (fresh corn will not be served yet). On Tue. and Wed., the much-anticipated hot sweet corn will be served from 4 to 9 p.m. and the Cokato museum and Akerlund studio will open at 10 a.m. both days. Other highlights include rides, games, a book sale, live stage entertainment and a raffle for a 2018 Chevrolet Cruze (cokatocorncarnival.com).
Colleen A. Coles
