EVENTS: MAY

PENNSYLVANIA

Stalking that

favorite pie plant

Rhubarb lovers should head for Intercourse, Pa., on May 16 and 17 for the 19th annual Rhubarb Festival, which celebrates the plant’s first harvest of the year. In the Rhubarb Race Car Derby, vehicles must be constructed of rhubarb stalks. There also will be a rhubarb pie baking contest.

Contact Kitchen Kettle Village, P.O. Box 380, Intercourse, PA 17534; (717) 768-8261, www.kitchenkettle.com.

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MASSACHUSETTS

Filled to the brim with antiques

Brimfield, in south-central Massachusetts, is the mother lode for flea market fans. The Brimfield Antiques and Collectibles Shows are held three times a year, but the May 13-to-19 show, the first after a long winter of dealer hoarding, is prized by collectors. More than 4,000 dealers set up for a mile along Route 20; there will be 23 shows held in barns, tents and the open air. Book lodgings early.

Contact the Sturbridge Tourist Information Center, 380 Main St., Sturbridge, MA 01566; (800) 628-8379, www .sturbridge.org or www.brimfieldexchange.com.

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MISSOURI

Discovering

Lewis and Clark

Lewis & Clark Heritage Days, May 17 and 18 at Frontier Park in St. Charles, celebrates the Corps of Discovery and Clark’s rendezvous with Lewis in 1894.

Military units dressed in period uniforms will raise the colors and fire muskets and cannons. Frontier skills and crafts will be demonstrated. Foods typical of 200 years ago will be offered. Visitors will be able to explore replicas of boats the corps set off in.

Contact the St. Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau, 230 S. Main St., St. Charles, MO 63301; (800) 366-2427, www.historicstcharles.com or www.lewisandclarkstcharles.com.

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OREGON

Stop and smell

the Rose Festival

After the Rose Parade, what’s the largest floral parade in the U.S.? That would be in the other City of Roses, Portland, during its 96th annual Rose Festival, May 29 to June 30. The parade on June 7 will feature all-floral floats, marching bands and equestrian units. The festival will also offer live theater, music and an amusement park.

Contact the Portland Rose Festival Assn., 5603 S.W. Hood Ave., Portland, OR 97239; (503) 227-2681, www.rosefestival.org.

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SOUTH CAROLINA

Spoleto USA

teems with talent

The 27th Spoleto Festival USA, May 23 to June 8 in Charleston, promises more than 120 opera, dance, theater and music performances, held in churches, theaters and outdoor spaces. This year’s highlights include Leo Delibes’ opera “Lakme” (set in colonial India), the Dublin’s Gate Theatre production of “Pride and Prejudice,” a one-ring European-style circus, the National Ballet of Canada and one of Spain’s top young flamenco sensations, Farruquito.

Contact Spoleto Festival USA, P.O. Box 157, Charleston, SC 29402; (843) 579-3100, www.spoletousa.org.

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VERMONT

Artisans open their studios

Dozens of weavers, potters, woodworkers, glassblowers and other craftspeople will open their studios to visitors during Vermont Open Studio Weekend, May 24 and 25. Craft lovers should request a free map and then zero in on an area, following yellow markers down country lanes and into small towns.

Contact the Vermont Crafts Council, P.O. Box 938, Montpelier, VT 05601; (802) 223-3380, www.vermontcrafts.com.

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VIRGINIA

Take a bite of apple blossom fest

The heady aroma of apple blossoms is almost an event in itself at the annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. This year’s fest, the 76th, held from April 30 to May 4 in Winchester and Frederick counties, features a circus, concerts, dances and parades. The Firefighters Parade promises to display the most firefighting equipment of any parade in the U.S.

Contact Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, 135 N. Cameron St., Winchester, VA 22601; (800) 230-2139, www.sabf.org.

Events appears monthly.