Oct. 31--There's plenty to pique the palate in November, with a food-and-wine tasting north of Seattle and "the granddaddy of all chili cookoffs" in Texas. November also turns the page to literary amusements, as authors sign their books in Miami, Mexico and Portland, Ore.
Nov. 5-7: Terlingua International Championship Chili Cookoff, Terlingua, Texas, www.abowlofred.com. 10,000 "chili-heads" bean-count on the Rio Grande.
Nov. 5-8: WOMAD festival, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, www.womad.org/fuerteventura. World of Music, Arts and Dance offers foods, crafts and cabarets.
Nov. 7: Bayou Bacchanal, New Orleans, www.bayoubacchanal.org. Steel-pan musicians and masqueraders meet in Louis Armstrong Park.
Nov. 7: Wordstock: Portland's Book Festival, Portland, Ore, www.portlandartmuseum.org/wordstock. Authors' portfolio includes Cheryl Strayed and John Irving.
Nov. 13-14: Taste of Tulalip, Marysville, Wash., www.tasteoftulalip.com. Annual gourmet gala highlighted by "La Famiglia" multicourse Italian dinner.
Nov. 13-15: Four Corner States Bluegrass Festival, Wickenburg, Ariz., www.wickenburgchamber.com. 36th annual hoedown shines with fiddle, banjo, mandolin and flat-pick guitar stars.
Nov. 13-17: Siesta Key Crystal Classic, Siesta Key, Fla., www.siestakeycrystalclassic.com. Sand sculpting transforms Siesta Beach into an outdoor art gallery.
Nov. 15: Toast Martinborough, Martinborough, New Zealand, www.toastmartinborough.co.nz. Nine family wineries team up in village celebration near Wellington.
Nov. 15-22: Miami Book Fair International, www.miamibookfair.com. Literary party finishes up with a street fair 450 authors strong.
Nov. 20-22: Holiday Folk Fair International, West Allis, Wis., www.folkfair.org. 65 cultures exhibit their own best dances, dishes and folkware.
Nov. 21-Jan. 6: Natchitoches Christmas, Natchitoches, La., www.natchitocheschristmas.com. 300,000 lights cast a seasonal glow downtown and along Cane River Lake.
Nov. 21-Jan. 31: St. Augustine Nights of Lights, Florida, www.nightsoflights.com. Millions of tiny white lights bestow glitz and glitter on nation's oldest city.
Nov. 26: America's Thanksgiving Parade, Detroit, www.theparade.org. Woodward Avenue fills with bands, floats and the 2,000-member Distinguished Clown Corps.
Nov. 26: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, New York, social.macys.com/parade. 89th edition brings out the celebrities, dancers and iconic giant balloons.
Nov. 27-Dec. 23: Rothenburg Christmas Market, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, www.germany.travel/en/specials/christmas/reiterlesmarkt-in-rothenburg-ob-der-tauber.html. Germany's "Christmas City" launches Christmas market season.
Nov. 28: ClauWau, Samnaun, Switzerland, www.clauwau.ch (not in English). Events in the "Santa Claus World Championship" include sledding, singing and chimney-climbing.
Nov. 28-Dec. 6: Guadalajara International Book Fair, Mexico, www.fil.com.mx. Latin America's largest page-turner attracts 750,000 fans.
Dates may change; always check in advance to confirm.
Margaret Backenheimer is a freelance reporter.
