USA TODAY 10Best's Readers Choice Awards are currently on hold. We asked our readers to vote for the top events across six categories: music, general food, specialty food, film, cultural and emerging industries (founded in the past five years). These are some of the winners:
Kutztown Folk Festival
The nine-day Kutztown Folk Festival is the nation's oldest continuously operated folk life festival, drawing visitors from around the globe. A celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch culture and heritage, the event includes America's largest quilt sale, 200 craftsmen and folk artists, local food and family friendly entertainment.
Water Lantern Festival
The Water Lantern Festival is all about connections. Magical nights in cities across the U.S. include food, live music and the beauty of thousands of lanterns decorated with letters of love, hope and dreams floating on the water.
Carnaval of Quebec
The Quebec Carnaval is a 10-day festival of winter, the world's largest, complete with night parades (庆祝游行), ice skating, snow sculptures and a towering ice palace. Other highlights include ice canoe racing, a sugar shack and iconic Caribou drinks.
San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade
San Francisco has celebrated its Chinese heritage during its annual Chinese New Year Festival & Parade since just after the Gold Rush. The parade ranks among the best in the world, with 100 units, fancy costumes, fireworks and a 268-foot Golden Dragon, which takes a team of 100 men and women to march through the streets. It has become one of the largest events of its kind in the world, drawing some three million spectators and television viewers.
