42 Best Performing Arts Venues in USA

More than 2,000 Native dancers gather in Juneau every even-numbered year in June to celebrate their heritage and the continued vitality of Alaska Native cultures. First held in 1982, this four-day cultural festival brings together tribal groups from all over the state, and includes a parade through the streets of Juneau for which participants don traditional, often very elaborate, handmade regalia. There's also a juried art show, Native fashion show, toddler regalia review, food contests, and a Native artist market. All events are open to the public, but the dance performances require a purchased ticket.

In early autumn, the calls of bull elk fill the forest as the animals make their way down the mountains for mating season. Estes Park celebrates with elk bugle contests, live music, and elk educational seminars.

Adjacent to the twinkling zoo, the Desert Botanical Garden lights up every night during Las Noches de las Luminarias, when thousands of luminarias (paper bags with lights inside) line the garden's pathways. Stroll, listen to live music, and enjoy the beauty of the desert. Tickets sell out quickly, so be sure to make a reservation for this annual event in December.

The magic of this free, weeklong music festival is its inclusivity: every performer, regardless of his or her level of professionalism, is given 15 minutes on stage, with the exception of the featured guest artists, who play two one-hour sets. Held each April, Folk Fest draws singers, banjo masters, and fiddlers from all over the state and beyond. Past guest artists have included folk singer Nanci Griffith and western swing band Hot Club of Cowtown. Almost as fun as the festival itself is the after-hours bar scene that blossoms around it. Most local bars host performances and jam sessions; on the weekend the music continues into the wee hours.

Giant vegetables are big attractions at Palmer's Alaska State Fair. Shop for Alaskan-made gifts and crafts, and whoop it up with midway rides, livestock and 4-H shows, bake-offs, home-preserved produce contests, food, and live music. The fair runs for 12 to 14 days, starting in late August and ending on Labor Day.

Come for classic fair fun, including a petting zoo, farm animals, and a rockin' concert stage every October.

In the spring, the Bethel Council on the Arts hosts a regional celebration called the Cama-i Dance Festival (in Yup'ik, cama-i means "hello"). This three-day festival takes place in the local high school's gym in late March or the first half of April. Expect dancing, singing, art and crafts, and a community potluck for sharing food and stories. Cama-i brings people together from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, along with dance groups and visitors from across Alaska and the world.

The arrival of as many as 5 million birds in the Copper River Delta each May is cause for three to five days of festivities during the first week of the month that include workshops and guided field trips. The birds, mostly western sandpipers and dunlins, feed and rest here on their long migration to their northern nesting grounds. Alaska Airlines often offers discounted fares to festivalgoers—check the chamber website for details.

In mid-July, this small-town festival draws an impressive number of artists, musicians, and athletes for the celebration of salmon (of course!) and the Salmon Runs Marathon. It's a terrific event for the entire family.

The theater packs in as much preshow entertainment as it can, such as an immersive light-and-projection show before movies such as Beauty and the Beast. There's also an on-site organ player to entertain folks as they find their seats. VIP tickets are available and include reserved seating, popcorn, and a drink.

About 30 of the Bay Area's ethnic dance companies and soloists perform at this event, which takes place over three weekends in June. Some performances may offer half-price tickets for children under 16 years of age.

This 10-day series of exhibits, activities, guided hikes, and talks in Flagstaff is a fun and interactive way to learn about current research in astronomy, geology, engineering, and biology.

A yearlong cycle of inventive puppet productions is held in a historic building featuring lots of theater and exhibit space.

The city of Unalaska holds the Heart of the Aleutians Festival every August. A beloved local tradition, this free, two-day festival brings together residents of all ages to peruse art and crafts, listen to local music, eat specialty foods, participate in fun runs, and much more during a celebration of summer, friends, family, and community.

To shake off the winter blues, the residents of tiny Cordova gather for a weeklong celebration in early February. The festivities include a parade and numerous entertaining activities, including the Ice Worm Variety Show and the Miss Ice Worm Coronation.

Billed as "The Last Great Race," the Iditarod pulls in spectators and mushers from around the world to participate as racers, volunteers, and fans in this massive feat of endurance for mushers and their dogs. Many visitors watch the dog teams take off from the ceremonial start in Anchorage and then travel to the finish line in Nome to celebrate as teams come in. The race starts on the first weekend of March and covers about 1,049 snowy, icy, backcountry miles from its official start in Willow, 90 miles north of Anchorage, to Nome.

More than 700 Native American artists and artisans are showcased at the Heard Museum for this annual March event.

Performers from all over the world head to Juneau each May to celebrate music from Bach to Brubeck. Taj Mahal, Arlo Guthrie, Booker T. Jones, and the Manhattan Transfer are among past guests. First held in 1987, the festival runs for more than two weeks, showcasing jazz and classics along with blues, rock, and soul. Many events require tickets, but others—such as lunch-hour concerts at the State Office Building and jazz jams at a local bar called Lucky Lady—are free. In this spirit of accessibility, visiting musicians also perform in Juneau schools.

Early-summer visitors to Homer join thousands of migrating shorebirds for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival on the second weekend in May. Experts offer bird-watching trips and photography demonstrations, and the simultaneous Wooden Boat Festival provides a chance to meet some of Alaska's finest boatbuilders. Various kids' events add to the fun.

Every January, the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race—“K300” to locals—brings mushers and fans to Bethel, where the 300-mile race both starts and ends. The best known of the middle-distance dogsled races, the K300 course commemorates one of the earliest mail routes used in the Bush. The $150,000 or more purse comes as a welcome reward after negotiating the notoriously harsh and difficult weather and trail conditions. Smaller, shorter races happen later in the winter in Bethel as well.

Enthusiasm for Petersburg's Norwegian heritage, expressed by rowdy locals dressed in horned helmets and fur vests, make this event one to catch. The festival has been held annually since 1958 on the weekend closest to May 17, Syttende Mai, or Norwegian Constitution Day. You won't find better Norwegian folk dancing or beer-batter halibut outside Norway.

An event held every July 4 since 1915, this race attracts runners and spectators from near and far while the entire town of Seward celebrates. The whole affair takes less than an hour, but the route is arduous: straight up the mountain (3,022 feet) and back down to the center of town. Racers are chosen on a lottery basis; enter before April for a chance, and be sure to book a hotel room well in advance.

The acrobatically inclined group generally performs at the Circus Center around Christmastime, with fire-breathing jugglers and high-flying trapeze artists. There are a few smaller productions in San Francisco and the Bay Area throughout the year.

Highly popular with kids, this 10-person dance troupe holds an annual Yuletide version of The Velveteen Rabbit (mid-November to mid-December), at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, that ranks among the city's best holiday-season performances. The group's main repertory season generally runs intermittently between January and June.

The city of Chandler hosts this annual weekend of music, entertainment, and (of course) ostrich races in March.

Consistently ranked one of the top small rodeos in the country (and a tradition since 1908), this six-day event features a parade and nightly rodeo events, such as barrel racing and saddle bronc riding.

The Bay Area has always been at the forefront of hip-hop, so it's no surprise that the world's first hip-hop festival, founded in 1999, is held here. Professional dancers from all over North America perform and give master classes at local studios for three days in November.

The politically leftist, barbed satires of this Tony Award–winning troupe are hardly mime in the Marcel Marceau sense. The group performs afternoon musicals at area parks from the July 4 weekend through September, and taking one in is a perfect way to spend a sunny summer day.

This weekend event is jam-packed with arts and crafts—and music every March.

Foodies from across the Valley mark their calendars for this outdoor weekend festival in April, which offers creations from some of the best chefs in town.