Main Street America is kicking up its heels--and you're invited tothe party!

Goodbye sprawl-and-mall--hello downtown! Long-neglected towncenters are coming to life once again, and the buzz is back on mainstreets all across the country. Come celebrate their rebirth withthis one-of-a-kind guide to over 700 local festivals and eventsnationwide. From the weird and wacky to the wild and wonderful, thefun starts with Main Street Festivals. Which will you dofirst?

Enter a rubber duck race . . . Join a "walk of art" scavenger hunt. . .

Find hot-rod heaven . . . Play cow patty bingo . . .

See antiques and heirloom displays . . .

Discover "bullistic" bull riding . . . Go to a hog slopping contest. . .

Eat black dirt cake . . . Hear blues, bluegrass, and brass bands .. .

Watch a Little Miss National Peanut Pageant . . .

Inside you'll also learn where to find: an onion rodeo, cornstalkshooting, a beautiful baby bagel contest, arts and craftsdemonstrations, the perfect-pierogie cookoff, a slugburger fest,quilting exhibitions, farmer olympics, and more. . . . There'ssomething for everyone in Main Street Festivals.

AMANDA B. WEST, Senior Program Associate for Information Resources at the National Main Street Center, is an ardent back-roads traveler and local-history enthusiast. The NATIONAL MAIN STREET CENTER, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, helps communities revitalize their historic commercial districts.