Live music, grand tastings, blossom watching, horse races and pirate antics ...the Southern United States plays host to a full calendar of travel-worthy festivals.
After a panel of Southern travel experts nominated their 20 favorite events, we turned it over to our readers to vote for their top picks. After four weeks of daily voting, the top 10 list has been decided.
Winning the title of Best Southern Event is the Memphis in May International Festival, a month-long celebration comprising multiple big events: The Beale Street Music Festival, International Week, The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Sunset Symphony evening of classical music.
The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, runner-up for Best Southern Event, takes place each spring with dancing, concerts, a carnival, cooking contests, a parade and plenty of apples.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Southern Event are as follows:
- Memphis in May International Festival
- Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival
- Tupelo Elvis Festival
- Cruisin' The Coast
- Luling Watermelon Thump
- 30A Songwriters Festival
- State Fair of Texas
- National Cherry Blossom Festival
- FloydFest
- Bonnaroo
A panel of experts picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Larry Bleiberg (LarryBleiberg.com), Tanner Latham (AuthenticUsStories.com) and Lacy Morris (10Best Editor) were chosen based on their extensive knowledge of travel in the American South.
Additional nominees for Best Southern Event included Charleston Wine + Food Festival, the French Quarter Festival, Gasparilla Pirate Fest, Hangout Music Festival, the Kentucky Derby, Mardi Gras, New Orleans JazzFest, South Beach Wine & Food Festival, South by Southwest and Spoleto Festival USA.
10Best and USA TODAY extend their congratulations to all the winners. The contest was promoted on 10Best and USA TODAY.
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The Experts
Larry Bleiberg
Larry Bleiberg, a veteran journalist with... Read More
Larry Bleiberg, a veteran journalist with magazine, newspaper and web experience and a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, has spent much of his career living in, and writing about, the South. The Virginia native is former travel editor of the Dallas Morning News and Coastal Living magazine and founder of CivilRightsTravel.com. He served on a Pulitzer Prize team, is a seven-time Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award winner, and was honored for producing the best newspaper travel section in North America. Learn more at LarryBleiberg.com or facebook.com/larry.bleiberg.
Larry Bleiberg

Larry Bleiberg, a veteran journalist with magazine, newspaper and web experience and a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, has spent much of his career living in, and writing about, the South. The Virginia native is former travel editor of the Dallas Morning News and Coastal Living magazine and founder of CivilRightsTravel.com. He served on a Pulitzer Prize team, is a seven-time Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award winner, and was honored for producing the best newspaper travel section in North America. Learn more at LarryBleiberg.com or facebook.com/larry.bleiberg.
Tanner Latham
Tanner Latham is a writer, radio reporter and... Read More
Tanner Latham is a writer, radio reporter and multimedia storyteller. Before becoming a contributor to NPR and other publications, he worked for 10 years as a travel editor with Southern Living. Tanner’s latest book is called Country Music’s Greatest Eats, and he hosts a nationally distributed culture and travel podcast called Authentic US. To listen and learn more, visit AuthenticUsStories.com.
Tanner Latham

Tanner Latham is a writer, radio reporter and multimedia storyteller. Before becoming a contributor to NPR and other publications, he worked for 10 years as a travel editor with Southern Living. Tanner’s latest book is called Country Music’s Greatest Eats, and he hosts a nationally distributed culture and travel podcast called Authentic US. To listen and learn more, visit AuthenticUsStories.com.
Lacy Morris
Perhaps the vast emptiness of the wheat fields in... Read More
Perhaps the vast emptiness of the wheat fields in Kansas or the wooded hollers of the Appalachian mountains, where Lacy grew up, cultivated her deep longing to see the world and experience how others live their life. Lacy followed up her childhood by somehow staying put long enough to craft a degree in journalism, focusing on both travel and photography. A stint as the travel and culture editor for Southern Living magazine took her through every nook and cranny of the South, from glitzy South Beach to the horse farms in Kentucky. Though she is now loving being a fulltime resident of New York City, she sure does miss the friendly faces you’ll find below the Mason-Dixon line.
Lacy Morris

Perhaps the vast emptiness of the wheat fields in Kansas or the wooded hollers of the Appalachian mountains, where Lacy grew up, cultivated her deep longing to see the world and experience how others live their life. Lacy followed up her childhood by somehow staying put long enough to craft a degree in journalism, focusing on both travel and photography. A stint as the travel and culture editor for Southern Living magazine took her through every nook and cranny of the South, from glitzy South Beach to the horse farms in Kentucky. Though she is now loving being a fulltime resident of New York City, she sure does miss the friendly faces you’ll find below the Mason-Dixon line.