Revisiting Motherhood at Massachusetts Museum

Massachusetts

Mother’s Day (May 9) celebrations at Old Sturbridge Village will focus on motherhood in the early 19th century. Activities at this outdoor history museum will include a Mother’s Day gossip, grandma storytelling and a visit with a midwife who will compare child-rearing ideas of the past to today’s. All presentations will be by costumed interpreters. Sturbridge is an hour’s drive from Boston. For more information, contact Old Sturbridge Village, 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA 01566; telephone (508) 347-3362.

New York

A parade of ships up the Hudson River will kick off the 12th Anniversary Fleet Week in New York City, May 26 to June 1, with fireboat displays. At the Best Chow Contest, cooking teams will compete in providing the best food for the troops, with chefs from five-star restaurants as judges. Other events include military demonstrations and a Memorial Day commemoration. Many of the visiting vessels will be open for tours (last year they drew 100,000 visitors). For more information, contact the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, Pier 86, West 46th Street and 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10036; tel. (212) 245-0072.

South Carolina

The Charleston Tea Plantation, on Wadmalaw Island, celebrates the 200th anniversary of tea-growing in America with an open house May 1. Charleston says it’s the only tea plantation in the U.S., and it has been growing tea for more than a century. The festival includes a tour of the plantation, demonstrations, tea tastings, a classic car show and a Gullah play performed by Wadmalaw residents. For more information, contact Charleston Tea Plantation, P.O. Box 100, Wadmalaw Island, SC 29487; tel. (800) 443-5987.

Washington

The Walla Walla Hot Air Balloon Stampede will begin at 6:15 a.m. each day May 7 to 9, when balloons take off from the fairgrounds and fly to the airport, where they try to drop a sandbag as close to a target as possible and return back to the fairgrounds. Spectators also enjoy ethnic foods, skydiving demonstrations, music, antique and car shows, horse races and crafts booths. For more information, contact the Walla Walla Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 644, Walla Walla, WA 99362; tel. (509) 525-0850.

Wyoming

Old West Days, May 28 to 31 in Jackson Hole, celebrate life in the Wild West. Visitors can walk through the Mountain Man Rendezvous, which re-creates the frontier life of trappers such as John Colter and Davey Jackson. Everything is authentic to that period, from tepees to campfire food. This is also the kickoff weekend for Jackson’s Saturday night rodeo and shootout at the Town Square. For more information, contact the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box E, Jackson, WY 83001; tel. (307) 733-3316.

Austria

Tales of Graz, one of Europe’s largest storytelling festivals, takes place May 22 to 29 in Graz, Austria’s second-largest city. Most stories will be presented in both English and German. Storytellers will come from 11 sites, including India, Suriname, South Africa and Cajun country in the U.S. The 900-year-old city of Graz, one of the best preserved in Europe, will be festooned with banners, and there will be kiosk displays of storybooks, with pages turned hourly for public readings. For more information, contact the Austrian National Tourist Office, P.O. Box 1142, New York, NY 10108-1142; tel. (212) 944-6880.

Canada

The Royal Botanical Gardens Lilac Festival, May 23, 24 and 30 in Dundas, Ontario, takes place amid one of the world’s largest lilac collections, with all 800 varieties expected to be at the peak of their bloom and fragrance. A Sunday afternoon concert will take place in the dell. Dundas is a 45-minute drive from Toronto. For more information, contact the Royal Botanical Gardens, P.O. Box 399, Hamilton, Ont., Canada L2N 2H8; tel. (905) 527-1158.