Small towns are great for things like this. They take pride in what a lot of us would consider small matters, but really, it's very important to them.

I grew up in a place called Junction City, OR. At the time, the place had less than 2,000 people (actually it depended on which population sign you saw on the way in). There the big deal was and continues to be the Scandinavian Festival. In comparison to many, it's very large. Lots of food and craft booths, a parade, a 5K run, and wall to wall people.

There used to be a lot of mint grown around there, too. They didn't make a big deal out of it, but I loved the smell of mint as it grew, and especially when they harvested the oil.

Now, we live close to a couple of communities who usually have some kind of festival. One is a mint festival (though the mint isn't grown there any more), and the other is a lamb and wool fair. Sheep are actually raised out that way, and they have sheep trials, sell mutton and lamb dishes, have a car show, parade, talent contests, etc.

They are big productions with quite a bit of man hours put in per volunteer behind the scenes. I don't know how much money the vendors make every year, but they seem to come back, too.

There's fond memories associated with all of these, as a youth and an adult. We still go back to the Scandinavian festival almost every year.