It's time to party! But where to go?

Most tempting food festival:

Taste of Chicago, two weeks in late June and early July. "I've never seen so many people come out to stuff themselves. The event is pure Chicago, and the food — pizza, steak, old-style beer — was wonderful." (tasteofchicago.us)

Wildest party:

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St. Patrick's Day in Butte, Mont., in the week leading up to March 17. "I had no idea how wild it was. It's a hoot. Butte was a huge copper mining boomtown in the 1870s, and (descendents) of the Irish miners are still there. It's like nothing I've seen before. The party is out on the streets of the entire city. For days."

Most bizarre confab:

The World's Largest Disco in Buffalo, held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. "It's the biggest weekend of the year in Buffalo. They sell out 8,000 tickets in about 72 hours. The convention center is packed, and people are disco dancing and having a great time." (worldslargestdisco.com)

Most surprising celebration:

Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Feb. 7 (but usually the last Saturday in January). "It's a re-enactment of a pirate invasion, where the ship sails in, the mayor hands over the keys to the city, and a 500,000-person moving block party results." (gasparillapiratefest.com)