5 unique summer festivals not to miss

by Aimee Heckel · May 13, 2013

By Aimee Heckel

There’s a festival for that.

Yep, it seems there’s some kind of festival every weekend, these days, and on almost any topic imaginable.

Here are five unique summer festivals to add to your summer vacation to-do list:

1. Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival, Aug. 24 in Boulder, Colo. The motto: “Ready, set, smoke.” Boulder is known for its annual 4/20 smoke-outs, but this event is geared toward a different crowd: high-end shoppers. Here, you can find premium cigars, hand-crafted brews, fine cars, great food — “everything encompassing the finer things in life,” the event advertises. Tickets aren’t cheap, either. They range from $93.50 (if you want to smoke) to $450.

2. Sonic Bloom music festival, June 13-16, Georgetown, Colo. This electronic music fest is different than other music festivals this summer. It has a strong earth-friendly angle, with dish washing stations around the campground, local organic vendors (read: no hot dogs here!) and a leave-no-trace goal. In addition to music, expect live painting, yoga and movement classes, belly dancing, astrology, moon-tracking workshops and tantra classes — yeah, definitely not your everyday, normal concert venue.

3. Comic-Con Internationa l, July 17-21, San Diego, Calif. This marks the 44th year for Comic-Con, the country’s longest-run comics and popular art convention. It started as a showcase of comic books and sci-fi/fantasy shows and arts, but has since expanded to also include genres of horror, anime, video games, animation and more.

4. DEF CON Hacking conference, July 26-29, Las Vegas. This is the world’s longest-running — and one of the largest underground — hacking conferences, for hackers, IT pros and others interested in testing and building their computer skills. Def Con started in 1993.

5. The Buddhafield Festival, July 17-21, in Taunton, Somerset, United Kingdom. Here, you will find no alcohol and no mosh-pits. Instead, people gather to meditate and practice Buddhism. This family-friendly festival includes yoga classes, a kids area, massages, body treatment, tai chi, green arts and crafts and music. Eat at one of the vegan or vegetarian cafes. Note: Bring something red to wear during the public ritual.