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Every July, Minneapolis goes a little bit water crazy. Since 1940, the city has celebrated the "ten best days of summer" with a tribute to its lakes and rivers known as the Aquatennial, and this year's festival - to be held July 12-27 - promises to be one of the wildest ever. The festival kicks off in a sporting fashion with the Plaza Tennis Tournament and the Life Time Fitness Triathlon, which will draw some of the most talented athletes in the world. Things get progressively zanier from there, with the Land O' Lakes sandcastle-building competition, the Summer Sounds Gala, and a beach bash with music, food, and games. The most highly anticipated event of the festival, however, is the milk carton race in the waters off Thomas Beach in Lake Calhoun, in which contestants build boats out of milk cartons in the shape of dragons, pirate ships, and the like. The first ship to cross the finish line without sinking wins the hearts and minds of a beautiful city. As with most things in life, style counts for a lot, even if you have to abandon ship mid-voyage. Starwood has several Minneapolis properties, including the stylish W Minneapolis - the Foshay.

Get into a serious groove at the Mile High Music Festival, in Denver July 19-20. The festival packs an incredible lineup into two days, from headliners Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer down the bill to Pinback, Andrew Bird and Leftover Salmon, and even lesser-known openers like Serena Ryder and State Radio. The festival also makes space for local bands, like The Photo Atlas (playing in the video here), who might otherwise never share the stage with some of these greats. The festival grounds are a 20-minute drive from the Sheraton Denver Hotel.

If the festival isn't enough music for you, don't worry, there's plenty more. Check out Hi-Dive, straight south on Broadway from the hotel, where up-and-coming bands cut their teeth (Vampire Weekend played here just before they broke, to all of a dozen people!) The eclectic D Note, in the northwest suburb of Arvada, is putting on a rockabilly show the night before the festival (July 18), which includes a swing dance lesson.

Kansas City has always had a vibrant cultural scene, but you'd be surprised at the sheer breadth of entertainment options on display at the KC Fringe. From July 21 - 27, 2008, some of the most talented local, regional, and national artists converge on venues throughout Kansas City to perform live theater, music, dance, poetry, storytelling, fashion, and much more. On the traditional side, Alan Tilson's Shakespeare in Love and War treats the audience to fifty Shakespeare monologues and three sonnets in a feast of classic English theater. Marionettes are the stars of a unique production of Sleeping Beauty by Berezovsky's Marionette Theater, whose skilled practitioners bring the dancing dolls to life. Fans of improv will get a kick out of Holy Cow! Improv Comedy Troupe, which spins tales of barnyard life in the Bovine Comedy. And those partial to dance numbers shouldn't miss Up In Arms/It Sure Is Risky by Four World's Dance, a collective of different artists dedicated to pushing the boundaries of movement and flow, a goal to which we can all aspire. Starwood has four Kansas City hotels, including the luxurious Westin Crown Center, Kansas City.

It's the summer festival season, and one of Europe's biggest music festivals is about to get underway. The annual Roskilde Festival kicks off on July 3, 2008 with three days of music from more than 180 bands and musicians, as well as films, art installations, a skatepark, and random entertainers wandering through the agoras (themed camping and hangout areas). But as far as the music is concerned, Roskilde is famous for attracting the hottest talent, and this year is no different, as the festival will welcome Radiohead, Awadi, Goldfrapp, Jay-Z, the Streets, Battles, and dozens of other artists who speak to the collective musical experience of today. Can't wait for it to start? Then show up on June 29, when the Roskilde Warm-Up gets things moving with a slate of emerging musicians, artists, and visionaries. You'll be guaranteed prime spots for a musical event that has rocked Denmark since 1971. Guests at the Palace Hotel, just a 40-minute drive away in Copenhagen, might enjoy this renowned celebration of music, culture, and life.

There are often trade-offs in travel. You can do something educational and intellectually stimulating, such as going to a museum, or you can do something frivolous and fun, like letting loose at a cocktail bar, but you can't do both at the same time. Or can you? The Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta is bridging the gap between brainy and breezy with its special Martinis & IMAX events, which add an extra element of fun and mischief to the normally cerebral museum experience. Every Friday at 5:30 p.m., visitors can enjoy cool cocktails, tasty cuisine, amazing films, and live music beneath the world's largest dinosaurs in the museum's cavernous Great Hall. It's a unique perspective on the Giants of the Mesozoic and an amusing welcome to the weekend. In a special tribute to summer on Friday, June 20, (that's the solstice, for those who care to notice such things) the museum will offer special picnic packages with summer-inspired martinis, two IMAX tickets, and a picnic-style dinner for two. It's a fine way to celebrate the first day of summer and all the adventure and fun it represents. Starwood has hotels throughout the Atlanta region, including the stylish W Atlanta - Midtown, whose Whiskey Park lounge is the perfect place to enjoy one more martini before turning in for the night and dreaming of dinosaurs. Happy, friendly, vegetarian dinosaurs.

The first sweet musical notes of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will ring out on Thursday, June 12, 2008 in rustic Manchester, Tennessee, kicking off four days of entertainment and fun on a 700-acre farm. First launched in 2002 as a showcase for jam bands, the festival has grown in popularity and broadened in scope in the years since, and this year's acts include musicians Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, Solomon Burke and Pearl Jam; comedians Louis C.K. and Janeane Garofolo; and a range of inspiring and eclectic art exhibits that fall under the banner The Art of Such N Such. Perhaps the most beautiful art of all, however, is the striking view of sunset from this southern paradise. As far as the name is concerned, Bonnaroo comes from a Cajun slang term popularized by R&B artist Dr. John that means "a really good time." I thought it sounded kind of Australian at first, but apparently I was mistaken. The farm is just an hour's drive from the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel.

New England is a diverse region, and nowhere is that demonstrated more clearly than at New Haven's The International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Running June 14-28, the festival covers just about every genre of arts and culture you can think of, from dance to sci-fi film, from art to politics, from food to theater. Hundreds of events, and more than 80 percent of them are free.

With the Four Points by Sheraton Meriden as your home base, you can reach the New Haven Green in about half an hour, just in time to watch gospel and soul superstar Mavis Staples kick off this year's festivities. Grab a schedule and a Sharpie and check off your itinerary. I'd recommend catching Orchestra Boabob on the 18th, the Sci-Fi Film Festival on the 14th and 15th and, since I'm a foodie, the the wine and oyster tasting on the 17th.

There aren't many places left where men can wear top hats and tails without looking just a tad overdressed, but at the Royal Ascot horse racing series outside London every June, "morning dress" is not only appropriate, it's required. The first event of the Stayers' Triple Crown represents five days of top-level thoroughbred racing, but it's also one of the biggest events on the society calendar, with the movers and shakers of southern England dressed to the nines and strutting their stuff. But don't fret if you can't clink champagne flutes with the Queen in the Royal Enclosure, the general public is welcome in the stands (no jacket required), which provide an excellent view of not only the action on the racetrack, but the parade of fancy hats as well. Ascot is a short drive from several Starwood hotels, including the Sheraton Skyline Hotel & Conference Centre.

A few American cities are so linked with their musical heritage that there's just no separating the two: Nashville, New Orleans, Detroit, Chicago. In the early 20th century, when African Americans began venturing north during the "Great Migration," many made their way to the Windy City. They brought their acoustic guitars and harmonicas along, and carried on the Delta blues tradition, but in this big northern city, electric guitars were added, drums, piano, bass, and saxophone joined the fray, and suddenly a new sound emerged, Chicago blues. Since then, myriad forms of music have sprung up, Chicago soul, jazz, gospel, punk, house... even the symphony orchestra is recognized as one of the world's best. From outdoor pavilions, to intimate clubs, full of tradition, and lore, Chicago today is a great place to experience live music.

For jazz, nothing beats The Green Mill, the nation's oldest jazz club, once the stomping ground of Al Capone, and Charlie Chaplin. Some of the world's best players got their start here, and today the club continues to host the greats. Buddy Guy opened his blues club, Legends in 1989. A short walk from W Chicago - City Center, everyone from Bo Diddley to Eric Clapton have graced the stage. Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair got their start at the legendary rock venue Metro. Head downstairs to SmartBar, where groundbreaking DJs spin nightly. If the weather's nice, check the Millennium Park concert schedule. From "Audio Picnics," to the "Made in Chicago" series, you'll find something truly splendid, most every night.

Every spring, residents of Hong Kong celebrate the life of Chinese national hero Qu Yuan with an amazing spectacle of color and water. According to legend, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Mi Lo River over 2,000 years ago as a protest against corrupt rulers. So concerned were the townspeople who loved him that they raced out onto the river in swift boats, banging drums and throwing food into the water so the fish wouldn't eat Yuan's body. That fateful journey of respect and loyalty by the townspeople became a legend that's been reenacted ever since. These days, Hong Kong is a glimmering tribute to the future, but the past comes alive during the annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival (June 8, 2008), as teams from the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association race against each other in colorful dragon boats. The winning team gets the respect and admiration of the crowd, and the honor of having paid tribute to a Chinese legend. In addition to the boat races, visitors will find a wide assortment of cultural entertainment and plenty of great food. Guests at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers and Le Meridien Cyberport might want to check out this fascinating festival.