So far every weekend I’ve been looking for festivals in the local events listing. I loves me a good collection of booths, trinkets, exhibits and street food.

Last weekends was perhaps the lamest, but it was high in kitsch value. The Vacaville, CA Middle Earth Festival. I was very disappointed that there were not hobbit-costumed midgets everywhere.

My theory on the event is that in some chamber of commerce meeting they were brainstorming on ways to get folks to shop at the many fine stores in Vacaville, which is essentially in Nowhere’s-ville between SF and Sacramento. Being out in a bumfuck area, getting some commerce probably ain’t no small feat. So, the Tolkien dork in town and member of the chamber pipes up with “Let’s all get in costumes and have a festival. All of my LARP buddies are looking for something to do on weekends.”

And, thus a small suburban town of folks walking around in costumes is born.

Today might be the more mainstream Cherry Blossom Fest in SF’s Japantown.