Festivals - help me create a comprehensive list...

I love festivals. Many of you must know that about me by now. I don't care if they're well attended, boring, if there's free food, if it's lavishly decorated... There's so much more than that. I love seeing how people interpret the word "festival." It's about seeing people share their passions.

I once wrote a story about the shock of going to my first Chocolate Festival where instead of white tents with white lights and chocolate fountains as far as the eye could see, there was a plastic bowl full of unwrapped Rolos on a fold out table in the middle of a gymnasium. That has become on my favorite festivals ever because I learned that festivals are not only about pleasing the attendee. It's about a community getting together and sharing something they love. It's about learning what interests people. I love going to festivals.

Last weekend my mother, sister and I went to the Canby Tamale Festival. Was it as magical as it sounds? Of course. There's nothing quite like watching a man in a mullet wait patiently for his tamales. My mother posed a question which caused me to think. She asked, "Lily, have you kept track of all the festivals you have attended?"

Here's a list of what I can think of. Please add to this list if there's anything you can think of..........

To get the ball rolling, here's a picture of my sister Emme and I at the 2008 annual Portland Pirate Festival at the park under the St. John's bridge.

The Chocolate Festival - at the Provo Community Center
The Chocolate Festival - at the Expo Center in Salt Lake
The Gingerbread Festival (2 years) - at Thanksgiving Point, Utah
The Taxidermy Festival - at the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum on BYU campus in Provo
The Dalai Lama's Birthday Festival - outside his house in Dharamsala, India
The Dahlia Festival - at the State Fairgrounds in Salt Lake City
The Dahlia Festival - in Canby Oregon
Asian Festival - BYU Campus in Provo, Utah
Sundance Film Festival - Park City, Utah
India Fest - Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah
Llama Festival - Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah
Festival of Lights - Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah
Festival of Colors - Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah
Himalayan Festival - Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah
Festival of Trees - Salt Lake Expo Center
International Food Festival - Salt Lake City
International Festival - BYU Campus
World Fest - Salem, Oregon
The Tamale Festival - in Canby Oregon
The Wilsonville Art Festival
The Greek Festival - in Honolulu, Hawaii
The Greek Festival - in Salt Lake City, Utah
The Greek Festival - in Portland, Oregon
Latin Festival - Portland, Oregon
WordStock - Portland, Oregon
The Portland Pirate Festival - in Portland, Oregon