Go Here, Not There: Cheapflights.ca Picks the Best Alternative Summer Events

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Jul 6, 2016) - Every year, tradition-bound vacationers get a hankering for their favourite summer events. But after many years of the same-old, it might be time to experience a similar but smaller, cheaper or more edgy version of the event. To help you pivot your summer vacation, the travel experts at Cheapflights.ca, the champions of simple travel search, have come up with swaps for 11 of the most popular summer gatherings with their Go here, not there: Summer festival edition.

Here are five of our suggestions for where to go for a different take on your favourite summer event:

• Go to the Calgary Stampede, Alberta, Canada, instead of Cheyenne Frontier Days, Wyoming - Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wy., might be one of the oldest outdoor rodeos and western celebrations, but the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a more budget-friendly celebration of western Canadian heritage. Wear your denim best for the 10-day event, which runs July 8-17 and includes a rodeo with ladies barrel racing, bareback, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc and bull riding, chuckwagon racing, stage shows, concerts by Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Jeff Dunham and Simple Plan, amusement rides and more for just $18 per day for adults and $9 per day for children.
  
  
• Go to Toronto International Film Festival, Canada, instead of Venice International Film Festival, Italy - For film buffs, the Venice International Film Festival is a must-do, but forego the long flight in favour of a trip to Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival to see Oscar-worthy films. Many films have had their world or North American premieres here, including "Argo," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Silver Linings Playbook," and "The King's Speech." This year's festival runs September 8-18.
  
  
• Go to Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, Quebec, Canada, instead of Brooklyn Comedy Fest, New York, New York - Go big or go home, right? Instead of going to the boutique Brooklyn Comedy Fest, opt for the largest international comedy festival Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival July 13-31 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The festival includes French- and English-speaking comedians, with events such as a Nathan Lane Gala, a Russell Peters Gala and An Evening with the Cast of "Veep" all on the bill. Ticket prices vary by event.
  
  
• Go to the Maine Lobster Festival instead of the North Carolina Seafood Festival - While the North Carolina Seafood Festival is a three-day food and entertainment extravaganza, it doesn't roll around until the end of September. Can't wait that long to get your seafood fix? Try the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland, Maine. For five days (August 3-7), this small coastal town serves up whole lobsters as well as lobster rolls, lobster salad and even crab cakes, calamari and clams, all for a (reasonable) price. In addition to the food, the festival has carnival rides and concerts (not included in the general admission ticket price). Sunday is Family Fun Day and admission is free for all ages. Adult tickets range in price from $6-$13 depending on the day.
  
  
• Go to Shakespeare in the Park instead of "Hamilton", New York, New York - You could enter the "Hamilton" ticket lottery to try to score tickets to the hottest show on Broadway, or you could go with free tickets to Shakespeare in the Park. The Public Theater's annual free plays at the Delacorte Theater in New York's Central Park are a hit with locals and tourists alike. This year's line-up includes "Troilus and Cressida" July 19 to August 14 and "Twelfth Night" September 2-5.
  
  

If it's jazz you crave, skip Newport's festival for the free Chicago event; if you're a Lollapalooza regular, why not opt for KAABOO in San Diego this year; if you're a tennis fan, check out the less crowded Connecticut Open instead of the U.S. Open; fans of watery festivals can participate in Park City, Utah's Slip 'n Soar instead of just watching the antics at the Long Beach Sea Festival; and, food festival fans, replace the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival with Luckyrice in Los Angeles; or swap the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest for Hooters World Wing Eating Competition in Las Vegas. Get all the details on these suggested swaps and see Cheapflights.ca's complete list of Go here, not there: Summer festival edition at www.cheapflights.ca/news/best-summer-festivals-worth-travelling-for.

About Cheapflights.ca, part of the Momondo Group
Founded in 1996, Cheapflights is a leading global flight comparison and deals publishing platform dedicated to taking the complexity out of finding the best value flights through the application of innovative, intuitive technologies: Smart search. Made simple. It is now a market leader in the UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand generating more than C$4 billion in global downstream revenue for its partners as it expands into numerous other territories. More than 120 million users visit its websites and apps each year, receiving more than two billion search results a month from across 900,000 routes. The 10 million strong opt-in subscribers to the Cheapflights newsletter receive the best deals from more than 120 travel businesses -- for whom it has driven more than C$80 million in revenue this year. Together, the Cheapflights platforms generate enough bookings for its partners to fill a Boeing 747 every five minutes.

In 2011, Cheapflights became part of the privately owned online travel search and inspiration network, Momondo Group.

Follow us on:
  Twitter: twitter.com/cheapflights
  Facebook: facebook.com/cheapflights
  Instagram: instagram.com/cheapflights
  Pinterest: pinterest.com/cheapflights