Lately I've felt like a tourist in my own city. Part of that is peer pressure: there are so many visitors in Manhattan right now it seems as if no one actually lives here permanently. Another thing I have noticed is that New York City goes all out in the summer with amazing free events. Planning a home exchange around one of these yearly events series would enhance any trip here.
We have been attending the "Lincoln Center Out of Doors" events. This is a month-long festival with more than a dozen free events each week. We saw "the bad boy of juggling" last weekend. This week there was a hula dance troop, a cabaret and musicians from India. We are really looking forward to the roots music festival next Saturday and Sunday (roots music is blues, gospel, celtic and bluegrass). Again, all of these events are free and feature world-class performers. See http://www.lincolncenter.org for daily free events.
"River to River" (http://www.rivertorivernyc.com) is another summer festival with over 500 events, including concerts by well-known headliners.
Designing a home exchange around a special event is as easy as doing a search combining the word "festival" with the city you wish to visit. You will find the home pages of individual events, but with a little digging you will also find listings of festivals in the city or state that interests you.
As interesting as it can be to find festivals in an area you want to visit, it's even more important to find special events in your own town. If you live in an "invisible" home exchange area which is off the beaten tourist track, pointing out fun tourist events to entice others to swap with you can turn home exchangers on to your area.
Be a tourist in your own city, or encourage new exchange partners to visit while you explore fun festivals in their town. You may be bored to visit another art museum, but your child learning to play an instrument at the "Bang on a Can" festival (yes, it exists) will become a priceless memory.
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