Unfortunately, not many kids tolerate sitting through a full-length production at the Metropolitan Opera House, but culture-craving parents can rejoice—summer is full of arts-oriented festivals that are foolproof kid-pleasers.  Summer festivals celebrating music, dance, comedy and other arts get the whole family involved in the fun. 

The following 12 summer art and music festivals are located in interesting destinations, so you could easily build your summer vacation around them. The outdoor festivals cause the locations and the performers to merge seamlessly, blurring the line between art and reality, and creating a magical environment that is sure to make a memorable vacation.

Mother’s Day is nearly here, and a getaway just might be your favorite way to be pampered.  Resorts are starting to promote summer discounts too, so it’s not too early to be thinking of your summer holiday.  Deals in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Fort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Phoenix,  the Finger Lakes and Cancun provide plenty of options.

Family travel has come a long way since my 70’s childhood. In those days, we kids were content to stay at an inexpensive motel and put coins into the bed’s magic fingers device.  For a quarter, the bed vibrated for a few minutes, which we found thoroughly entertaining. Today, the travel industry is courting families with hotel packages geared specifically to the interests of prized junior customers. If you’re looking to indulge your child with a family vacation that caters to their particular passion, there are a variety of options. Themes include American Girl, Lego, American History, Tintin, Broadway, a Barbie cruise and more.