Maxim Told Me To Go There [2/28 – 3/6]
On this week’s agenda: Beer, gumbo, and MARDI GRAS!
This is Maxim’s weekly guide to the parties, festivals, events, and assorted mayhem going on around the country. Check back each Friday to see what’s happening over the weekend and the following week, then pack your bag and hit the road!
Feb 27 – Mar 2, O’ahu, Hawaii
Ticket prices vary depending on options and length of stay.
If you’re lucky enough to be far, far away from the face-freezing bullshit of the East Coast winter right now, then you might want to indulge your hippie side and get your let’s-be-honest-it-could-do-worse-than-make-friends-with-a-yoga-mat ass to Hawaii. We’re normally pretty skeptical of any festival that puts more of an emphasis on meditation, teaching, and general tree-huggy stuff than music and drinking our faces off, but after two months of sub-zero temperatures, the idea of being in Hawaii surrounded by women in yoga pants doesn’t sound too bad right now.
Feb 28 – Mar 1, New York, NY
Tickets from $65
Want a cold beer to go with that lung-full of frosty air? Head to the NYC Craft Beer Festival for a glug-tastic selection of beer from the likes of Great Divide, Oskar Blues, Sixpoint, Widmer Brothers, and about 100 others. After you’ve sunk a few, soak them up with some classy grilled cheese and a few specialty sausages, then go and make friends with absolutely everybody – because hey, suddenly making friends with everybody seems like a really good idea after sampling 100 different beers in one day. Trust us.
Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo Cook-off And Carnivale Parade
Mar 1, Manitou Springs, CO
Free admission
As fans of both gumbo and cheesy rhyming names, the Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo cook-off is a no-brainer for us. Billed as a sort of Mardi Gras spin-off (although we’re guessing just a little bit less R-rated than the typical NOLA experience), there’s a parade, Cajun music, and most importantly, a bunch of people cooking up gumbo. It’s not Bourbon Street, but hey, you can’t go wrong with free gumbo.
Mar 4, New Orleans, LA
Admission price: Just your sanity
And here, of course, is the real deal. They’ve been celebrating Mardi Gras for weeks already, but you’ve still got time to get down there for the actual day. Traditional sentences don’t really do justice to the booze-chugging, face-stuffing, boob-flashing, street-partying chaos that is Mardi Gras in NOLA, so here are a few random words to sum it up instead: Muffuletta. Voodoo. Strippers. Grenade. Balcony. Puke. Woo-hoo! Beignets. Nipples.
Head For The Hills Music And Arts Festival
Mar 6 – Mar 8, Kerrville, TX
Tickets – $35 for single day tickets, $90 for a 3-day pass.
Returning for its second year, Head For The Hills has three stages for bands like Holding Space, The Magic Beans, and Yo Mamas Big Fat Booty Band. There are also art installations, workshops, aerial performers, and what is simply described as “the haunted woods,” which we’re pretty sure just means for the love of God don’t go near the trees if you dropped acid.
Check out last week’s Maxim Told Me To Go There, or At Ease: 6 Great Military Bases Where You Can Stay On Vacation.