Free Republic

And just like that, here we are, Labor Day: the unofficial end of summer. Warms days are too precious now to waste the last holiday of the season on fractious politics so I opt instead for stories and recipes. What are you cooking/picking up/bringing to the Labor Day celebration? We’re doing souvlaki. I first had souvlaki in 1970, the first year of what would become the annual Festival of the Arts in my hometown of Grand Rapids, MI. At the time it was colloquially known as “the Calder Festival,” named after the giant red/orange sculpture – La Grande Vitesse – by...

Texas' biggest political festival has unveiled its 2020 lineup, and it's once again filled with political power players and big-name policy makers. Granted, the Texas Tribune Festival will (like everything) look different this year, and for its 10th anniversary, the fest is trading the traditional weekend-long format in downtown Austin for 30 days of special virtual programing. The events, notes an August 11 release, will be a mix of both live and streaming sessions running from September 1-30. Over the course of the month, Trib Fest says it will welcome 250 speakers and host 100 different sessions on topics covering...

If you are coronavirus free, organizers of the Texas Testicle Festival say you are more than welcome to come out and have a ball at the Aug. 1 event in Fredericksburg. This is the second time this year festival organizers have brought the event to the Hill Country city to celebrate animal testicles, which are a delicacy to many. The previous event was held Jan. 18, two months before a pandemic would grip the world and lead to the cancellation of large gatherings like festivals and concerts. While some places now allow gatherings, it comes with challenges and social distancing...

The Winter Party Festival, an annual, weeklong LGBTQ event held in Miami, drew thousands from across the country when it kicked off earlier this month. But though it ended March 10, in the week following the event several attendees have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to festival organizers. “We know there are many places people could have been exposed before and after Winter Party as this virus has developed, but we wanted to make this information public as soon as possible,” Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, which organized the festival, said in a statement...

Indians buy foods as offering materials for worship at a roadside market prior to Diwali in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights will be celebrated is most parts of India on Oct. 23.(AP Photo/ Bikas Das) Bikas Das, AP The lights are hung, the candles lit, the feast prepared, the New Year is almost here, families gather and the children wait to hear the dramatic re-telling of stories from the ancient past. No, it is not Christmas, nor is it Hanukkah or Kwanzaa; steeped in mythical tales, religious devotion, and socio-cultural importance, it is...

The decision is designed to make women at the event feel more welcomed (Photo: Shutterstock)In an effort to combat discriminatory attitudes at the Great British Beer Festival, The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has banned beers that feature sexist names or imagery. The event kicked off yesterday (Tue 6 Aug) and runs until Saturday at London’s Olympia. Banned beers The sale of a number of drinks has been banned by CAMRA, like those named Dizzy Blonde, Slack Alice, Leg-Spreader and Village Bike. With over 1,000 beers, ciders and perries available at the festival, they’ve all been checked to make sure...

Police and emergency personnel late Sunday responded to reports of a shooting involving multiple victims at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Ambulance crews were told 11 people were down in an active shooter incident at Gilroy's Christmas Hill Park.

An Afrofuturist group says it reversed its decision to charge white people more for tickets to its Detroit festival than black and brown people because they received threats, an artist dropped out and a ticketing website threatened to unpublish their event. The Eventbrite page for "AfroFuture Fest," hosted by Afrofuture Youth, advertised an "Early Bird POC Ticket" for $10 -- with POC meaning "people of color" -- and an "Early Bird NONPOC Ticket" for $20. The group defined "NONPOC" as white people. News of the group's charging practices hit social media last week when rapper Tiny Jag said she was...

Bacon’s back on the slab, as the fifth annual Oakland Bacon and Beer Festival is set to sizzle Saturday. e There will be more than six degrees of beer and bacon at this Saturday’s pig-out known as the Oakland Bacon and Beer Festival. A fat lot of caterers, chefs, and microbrew maestros will take over Jack London Square and bring home the bacon for an afternoon of all-you-can-eat, all-you-can drink pig partying. A Who’s-Who of Bay Area baconators like The Gastropig, The GrilledCheezGuy, Crave BBQ, Saucy Oakland and a whole bunch more will be hamming it up with an array...

Sony Entertainment has canceled the American Film Institute premiere of the film All the Money in the World amid a litany of sexual abuse allegations against actor Kevin Spacey. “All the Money in the World is a superb film and more than worthy of its place of honor in the AFI Fest,” TriStar Pictures, the film division of Sony Entertainment, said in a statement, Deadline reports. “But given the current allegations surrounding one of its actors and out of respect for those impacted, it would be inappropriate to celebrate at a gala at this difficult time. Accordingly, the film will...

What do the Las Vegas massacre, the Charleston church shooting and last weekend’s Islamist stabbing of two Frenchwomen have in common? The murderers’ sense of inadequate recognition, and the primal lure of the ecstasy of killing. Acts of deadly terror are in fashion, the default position for a wide range of frustrated egotists. From lone-wolf Islamists enabled by faith, through punk racists, to a high-stakes gambler who craved casino perks — slum-dweller, misfit or property owner — these terrorists shared a sense that their societies wouldn’t give them their due. Too much has been made of the measure of wealth...

Daniel Love, a former special agent for the Bureau of Land Management, gives a radio interview during Burning Man in 2015. (Photo: BLM Nevada/Flickr) A federal agent who had a key role in the armed 2014 ‘Battle of Bunkerville’ standoff no longer works for the Bureau of Land Management. Daniel Love had been serving as special agent in charge for BLM in Utah and Nevada in recent years, but is no longer with the agency, according to the Associated Press. Love still worked there on Aug. 24, when the feds released a report that said he’d handed out valuable rocks...

A celebration of Appalachian Heritage, Educational Demonstrations, featuring Indigenous and Bluegrass music concerts, Native American Style Dancing, Chainsaw Carvings, Gristmill demos, Homestead Activities, Photography, Needle Arts and Quilt Show, Antique Tractors and Engines, Carriage Rides, Civil War Encampment, Top quality Artisans, a Zip Line for the active ones, and Kid’s Land for the younger festival participants. Foods – BBQ (Chicken, Beef, & Pork), homemade ice cream, steak sandwiches, and more. Fun for the entire family.

Sweden's biggest music festival will be replaced next year by a women-only alternative after reports of a series of rapes and sexual assaults at this year's event.

DEERFIELD, MI - Members of American Legion Post 392 will host their 16th annual Testicle Festival on Saturday, March 18, offering savory options to patrons, such as cattle testicles and chicken gizzards. The event, which will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., typically draws a good crowd, according to Legion member Al Rau. "We usually get anywhere from 1,500 up to 2,000 people throughout the day," Rau said. "They come and go." Rau said the origins of the Testicle Festival trace back to a farmer who used to bring the delicacies to town with him twice a year and...

The incident began about 1:30 p.m. Sunday when police tried to make a traffic stop of a silver mini-van near downtown, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office said. The driver of the mini-van failed to stop and headed toward downtown, the sheriff's office said in a statement. The mini-van tried to get past a barricade in front of the annual Biggest Little City Wing Fest and then swerved toward a police officer who was on foot, the sheriff's office said. The officer opened fire, causing the man to crash into a vendor, KTVN reported. ... Wing Fest, an annual chicken wings...

ITHACA, N.Y. -- A man snatched about $700 from a Maine-based ice cream vendor who was selling at the Ithaca Festival for the first time on Saturday. Robert and Jane Walters were selling ice cream around 5:30 p.m. on the 130 block of West State Street when the incident happened. The two have run the Island Cow Ice Cream Co. for the past 20 years out of Boothbay Harbor, Maine and usually sell ice cream along the east coast during the summer. Robert Walters said he was separating the bills in a basket he places money in and began talking...

Bernie Sanders 8:26 PM (11 hours ago) to me Hello xxxxx, Thank you for your generous contribution of 27.00 to our campaign for president. A successful national campaign is a massive undertaking, especially when we will be heavily outspent. It will require the active participation of millions of Americans in every community in our country. Please like our page on Facebook to get the latest from our campaign: https://www.facebook.com/berniesanders We cannot thank you enough for your contribution to this campaign. Thank you for your support. ///////////// Operation Chaos TIME TO VOTE CALIFORNIA !! /////////// sent $27 to Bernie last night...

Showboating Obama brushes off Reagan funeral snub criticism to congratulate himself on steering America away from GREAT DEPRESSION during SXSW festival talk An ebullient Barack Obama sure sounded pleased with himself at SXSW festival on Friday – despite enduring a week of criticism for prioritizing the event over Nancy Reagan’s funeral. The President was the surprise keynote speaker at this year's Austin festival and talked about civic engagement with the editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune. During the speech he bragged about keeping employment below five per cent and congratulated himself for the recent improvement in the country's job figures. 'Because...