Unconventional festivals by train travel

[Northwestern]

There are a lot of offbeat or unconventional festivals, around the country, that I would like to attend. Some are near Amtrak stations or depots while others would require a rental car and possibly 2-4 hours of driving.

Duct Tape Festival, Avon Ohio. Not far from Cleveland:

Avon Heritage Duck Tape Festival returns with new locations at Mercy Health Stadium in Avon

Three years removed from the last Avon Heritage Duck Tape Festival, the free three-day affair returns June 16 through 18 at Mercy Health Stadium in Avon.

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Chicken Show in Wayne, Nebraska. Amtrak Hastings stop the nearest.

Wayne Chicken Show | Wayne, NE - Official Website

Wayne Chicken Show

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Amtrak Mooning festival in Laguna Niguel, Calif

Mooning of The Amtrak

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Texas Mosquito Festival, Clute, Texas. Nearest stop woud be San Antonio on the Sunset or Heartland Flyer.

Great Texas Mosquito Festival - Brazosport

The 41st Annual Great Texas Mosquito Festival is a three day fun-filled, family event. There are many booths with a variety of foods, a 5K, a cook-off, along with arts […]

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Cow Chip Throw in Prairie de Sac, Wisconsin. Not far from Portage or Madison:

Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw

5-11:30 pm on 9/2 and 8 am-11:30 pm, 9/3, Marion Park, Prairie du Sac, with music, kids' activities, food. Click through for schedule.

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DB Cooper Days in Ariel, Washington. Cooper was the guy who stole some money, hijacked a plane, and parachuted to the ground near Ariel, Wash. (they think).

D.B. Cooper Day

What more is there to this mysterious case of hijacking, air piracy, and intrepid skydiving?

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Billy Barker Days, in Quesnel, BC. The Rocky Mountaineer stops in Quesnel during their "Rainforest to Gold Rush" tour.

Billy Barkɘr Days | Stake Your Claim to the Goodtimes!

UFO Festival, Roswell, NM. Closest Amtrak station would be Albuquerque, about a 3.5 hr. drive.

Roswell UFO Festival

This summer make plans to invade Roswell, the UFO capital of the world, for the annual UFO Festival. Believers and skeptics alike are invited to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the famous “Roswell Incident.” Mix and mingle with UFO and space enthusiasts while enjoying live entertainment...

www.newmexico.org

Richard

 

[Willbridge]

There actually is a travel market for these events, as well as some of the bigger ones like Indian Days in Browning, Montana. And from a different angle, my Japanese tour wholesaler colleagues in 1974 had me gathering information on North American Halls of Fame. Business groups wanted them included in tours. I had visions of a carload of Japanese tourists alighting from the Broadway Limited in Canton, Ohio in the middle of the night.

For most of these events, what is missing is spare rolling stock. For others, no charter buses are available in places off the tourist beaten path. Sometimes it all works out: