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Each year, more and more festivals join the calendar across North America. From music festivals to food festivals, these 10 events represent some of the most promising to emerge in the last five years.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Emerging Festival are as follows:
- Baja Beach Fest - Rosarito, Mexico
- Mile 0 Fest - Key West
- KAABOO Del Mar - San Diego
- Reggae Rise Up - St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Fortress Festival - Fort Worth
- Hinterland Music Festival - Saint Charles, Iowa
- Dirtybird Campout - Modesto, Calif.
- Sol Blume - Sacramento
- CatCon - Pasadena, Calif.
- Rolling Loud Festival - Miami
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Congratulations to all these winning festivals!
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About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Tamara Mendelsohn
As the VP and GM of Consumer at Eventbrite, Tamara... Read More
As the VP and GM of Consumer at Eventbrite, Tamara is responsible for helping event creators sell more tickets by growing Eventbrite's global audience of consumers. She was one of Eventbrite's earliest hires in 2009, and before taking on her current role, Tamara built the company's global marketing team from the ground up. When she's not at work or home, you'll find her in a yoga class or checking out a new band at one of the many great SF venues.
Tamara Mendelsohn

As the VP and GM of Consumer at Eventbrite, Tamara is responsible for helping event creators sell more tickets by growing Eventbrite's global audience of consumers. She was one of Eventbrite's earliest hires in 2009, and before taking on her current role, Tamara built the company's global marketing team from the ground up. When she's not at work or home, you'll find her in a yoga class or checking out a new band at one of the many great SF venues.
Zack Sabban
When Festicket CEO Zack Sabban was a successful... Read More
When Festicket CEO Zack Sabban was a successful investment banker, he traveled the world to fulfill his passion for live music. After attending countless festivals, Zack realized the need for a music festival community website and founded Festicket in late 2012. Festicket empowers music fans with a seamless service to discover and book tickets and travel packages to music festivals worldwide. The platform has quickly grown to become an influential live music travel platform and the world’s largest seller of travel packages for music festivals. Based in London UK with smaller bases in the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal, Festicket recently opened an office in San Francisco to accelerate its international expansion.
Zack Sabban

When Festicket CEO Zack Sabban was a successful investment banker, he traveled the world to fulfill his passion for live music. After attending countless festivals, Zack realized the need for a music festival community website and founded Festicket in late 2012. Festicket empowers music fans with a seamless service to discover and book tickets and travel packages to music festivals worldwide. The platform has quickly grown to become an influential live music travel platform and the world’s largest seller of travel packages for music festivals. Based in London UK with smaller bases in the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal, Festicket recently opened an office in San Francisco to accelerate its international expansion.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors

USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.