Midwest travel: Good eats at Navy Pier's Great American Lobster Fest
Chicago
Rock lobster
The largest lobster festival in the Midwest, the Great American Lobster Fest, crawls all over Navy Pier for the second year in a row. Enjoy live lobster flown in from the East Coast, cold beverages, musical performances, family-friendly carnival games and activities, browsing and shopping craft wares and eyeballing the airborne antics as the Chicago Air & Water Show flies high overhead. Stay late on Saturday to enjoy Navy Pier's Saturday night fireworks display. There will be other food options for those noncrustacean fans. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15-16, at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Chicago. Advance lobster meal order with live music ticket is $39 until Aug. 13; same-day price (while supplies last) is Market Price. Live Music Ticket only (entertainment in the Grand Ballroom) is $10 in advance. americanlobsterfest.com/.
Glenwood Ave. goes artsy
The Glenwood Avenue Arts District in Chicago's historic Rogers Park neighborhood has a European ambience, narrow cobblestone streets, murals and quaint storefronts. The 14th annual Glenwood Avenue Arts Fest, a free, weekend-long arts festival that features more than 100 artists, open studios and live entertainment on outdoor stages, is a perfect time to experience the neighborhood. Shop for handmade arts and crafts, sample items from local food and drink vendors and bring the kids for their own activities. 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15-16, at 6900 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago. Free. sites.google.com/site/glenwoodaveartsfest.
Earth, air or water sign?
Airplanes are fun - when you're a spectator at the Chicago Air and Water Show, that is. It may be middle-aged, but at 57, the 2015 show is still about lean and mean flying and gliding machines like the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, the Breiting Jet Team, U.S. Navy Parachute Team Leap Frogs and the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team who perform heart-pounding stunts along Chicago's stunning lakefront next weekend. You'll see a wide array of military and civilian aircraft as well as wave-riding, water skiing and wakeboarding at the oldest and largest free show of its kind in the country. Get to the free spectacular early - millions are expected over the weekend. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15-16, on Chicago's lakefront from Fullerton Avenue to Oak Street with North Avenue Beach as the focal point. Free. (312) 744-5000 or chicagoairandwatershow.us.
Midwest
Apple watch
The first Traverse City Cider Week will feature tap takeovers in local taverns, orchard tours, workshops so you can learn how to make your own cider, and a Cider and Sausage Salon with live music, games and tastings of Michigan ciders and sausages. Michigan ranks third in the country in cider production, with more than 9 percent of the nation's cider makers. Don't expect the sweet cider sold in plastic jugs at farmers markets - hard cider is clear, lightly carbonated, alcoholic and served in bottles or fresh from the tap. Sunday through Sunday, Aug. 16-23, in Traverse City, Michigan. For details, check the Michigan Cider Association website at mca30.wildapricot.org/event-1929407. For lodging, see traversecity.com/.
Harbor songs
Satisfy all kinds of musical fans at the annual HarborPark Jazz, Rhythm & Blues Festival in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Headline performers are the Grammy-winning New Orleans born Rebirth Brass Band. Other performers bring jazz, blues, classical, R&B and Latin music to enjoy: Kai Anderson and the Pickups; Frank Catalano Group; Kenosha Jazz All-Star Tribute Band; and others. Pack a picnic or purchase food from one of the many vendors on site.
1 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, at HarborPark's Celebration Place, 54th Street and Lake Michigan, Kenosha, Wisconsin. Tickets cost $25 for advance general admission; $85 for preferred seating and refreshments. (262) 654-2412 or mahonefund.org/harborparkjazz.php.
Leave a massive footprint
Leave behind the small plates and modest mindsets because there's nothing if not great, big fun at the 35th annual Paul Bunyan Fest in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Legend has it that Paul Bunyan was a giant lumberjack who traveled the Midwest cutting down trees for townspeople, carving out the Grand Canyon with his pal, Babe the Blue Ox, and getting awfully hungry in between. All you need do is bring your appetite for chain-saw woodcarving demos, more than 80 arts and crafts vendors, live musical entertainment by the Pinery Boys, and massive meals that include a huge beef sandwich, potato salad, corn and a pickle (served from 11 a.m. until the food's gone). 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, at Wall and Railroad Street in downtown Eagle River, Wisconsin. (800) 359-6315 or eagleriver.org.