Sailing Into Sea Music Festival With 60 Performers From U.S. and Europe

Connecticut

At Mystic Seaport’s 20th annual Sea Music Festival, June 10 to 13, more than 60 performers from the U.S. and Europe will sing, strum and tell stories aboard tall ships, on stages and in taverns and dance halls. Festival-goers are even encouraged to join a shipboard sing-along as they help raise a 1,000-pound sail. Performers include Mike Seeger, British chantey singer Louis Killen and the Ebony Hillbillies. Workshops will explore themes such as songs of the inland waterways and songs of immigration. Also featured: a children’s stage with music, crafts and a parade every day. For more information, contact Mystic Seaport, P.O. Box 6000, Mystic, CT 06355; telephone (888) 9-SEAPORT.

Hawaii

June 12 is a great day to be in Hawaii as every island celebrates the birthday of King Kamehameha. The Honolulu parade with floats, marching bands and Pa’u riders begins in downtown and winds its way along Ala Moana Boulevard to Queen Kapiolani Park. At the park, a folk-life festival includes Hawaiian arts and crafts, ethnic foods and traditional ceremonies. On Kauai, the parade and festival are at Kalapaki Park in Lihue; on Maui it’s through the streets of Lahaina; and on the Big Island, the celebration centers on Kailua-Kona. For more information, contact the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, 180 Montgomery St., Suite 2360, San Francisco, CA 94104; tel. (800) 353-5846.

Montana

The 10th annual Custer’s Last Stand Reenactment, June 25 to 27 near Hardin in southeast Montana, relives the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn, which pitted Lt. Col. George Custer and his 7th Cavalry against Sioux, Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne warriors. The script is based on Crow Tribal Elder Joseph Medicine Crow’s translation of oral and written Native American history. The reenactment is held in conjunction with Little Big Horn Days, a celebration of cultural heritage June 23 to 28 that includes a chuck-wagon barbecue, a social, an 1876 Grand Military Ball and a country breakfast. For more information, contact Custer’s Last Stand Reenactment, P.O. Box 300, Hardin, MT 59034; tel. (888) 450-3577.

New Mexico

At the World Poetry Bout Assn.’s 18th annual Taos Poetry Circus, Watts poet Wanda Coleman will challenge World Champion Sherman Alexie for the title of World Champion Heavyweight Poet. The festival, June 6 to 13, takes place in several Taos-area venues and includes the opening poetry and music event at Taos Pueblo. Other activities: two poetry slams, daily readings, a poetry video festival, a poetry performance for children plus seminars and classes. For more information, contact the World Poetry Bout Assn., 232 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, NM 87571; tel. (505) 758-1800.

Oregon

The 91st annual Portland Rose Festival, June 3 to 27, has gone far beyond its origins as a flower show and is now a citywide, almost-monthlong celebration with more than 70 events. The June 12 Grand Floral Parade is the second-largest all-floral parade after Pasadena’s Rose Parade. The Junior Parade, June 9, is the largest children’s parade (10,000 kids) in the country. The oldest rose show in the U.S. is held June 10 and 11. Also planned: an air show and dragon boat races. For more information, contact the Portland Rose Festival Assn., 220 N.W. 2nd Ave., Portland, OR 97209; tel. (503) 227-2681.

South Dakota

Czech Days, June 18 and 19 in Tabor, celebrates the Czechoslovakian heritage of the pioneers who settled in the southeast part of the state. Highlights include a parade with many participants in traditional dress, Czech foods (pork roast with dumplings, pastries), polka dancing in a huge barn and live Czech music. In the evening, the national dance, the beseda, is performed in the city park with dancers ranging in age from 6 to 75. For more information, contact Mildred Cimpl at Tabor Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 21, Tabor, SD 57063-0021l; tel. (605) 463-2476.

England

Although Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday is in rainy April, it is officially celebrated on the more-likely-to-be-sunny June 12 with the Trooping of the Color. The queen no longer rides her horse on this occasion but waves from a carriage. At 11 a.m. the queen and a detachment from her Household Cavalry leave the palace to ride down the mall to the Horse Guards Parade for an hourlong military pageant (tickets have already been distributed). The thousands without tickets line the mall beginning early in the morning for a glimpse of the royals. Most of the royal family is expected to participate. For more information, contact the British Tourist Authority, 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 701, New York, NY 10176-0799; tel. (800) 462-2748.

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