Summer Festivals: August 16-18

VanFest 2013, August 17
Organized by Van Wolfe, $10 ($15 at the event) buys you a ticket to this all-day awesome MegaShow in Renton, WA. Plus, funds raised benefits the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. Head on over to Royal Arch Park at noon and kick it till 9pm- be sure to check out Fly Moon Royalty, Eighteen Individual Eyes, Dude York, Chastity Belt, and lots of others on three different stages (and an acoustic tent!).
  
CatapultFest, August 17
FREE. Woo! Lots of festivals will break the bank, but not CatapultFest! up in lovely Anacortes, WA. What started 13 years ago as a garage show to celebrate the end of the school year has blossomed into a nicely represented, PNW-centric Mega Show. You can also join their fun run (2-mile, 7k and 15k routes). Funds raised at the event go to positive mentoring at Youth Dynamics and Catapult InFocus. The 2013 lineup is:

CatapultFest 2013 Lineup:
9pm - Hey Marseilles (2013 Headliners)
8pm - SHEBEAR (EMP Sound Off! Catapult Prize Winners)
7pm - THE FAME RIOT
6pm - Dave B. (EMP Sound Off! 1st place)
5pm - SEACATS
4pm - Special Explosion
3pm - The Terrible Buttons
2pm - Specters
1pm - Maiah Manser
12pm - New Lungs
11am - Tangerine
10am – Sleepy Lagoon

Helsing Junction Sleepover, August 16-18
Want another opportunity to get away? Head down to Rochester, WA for the Helsing Junction Sleepover, featuring fun outdoor activities (camping, picnicking, swimming), underground films, literary showcase, and music from K Records at the 30 acre Helsing Junction organic farm. And the price is only $50 for all three days plus two nights of camping. Sweet! Acts to look forward to include Ashley Eriksson, Karl Blau, LAKE, Imaginary Pants, Wampire, and Hive Dwellers.

21st Annual Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, August 16-18
Music is celebrated at festivals throughout British Columbia, not just in Vancouver! And this one is located just east of Kamloops, pretty far northeast of Van. The festival organization's goal is "to encourage and promote performers from all parts of the world (with a special emphasis on Canadian talent), and to introduce audiences to the world’s incredibly diverse genres of music, musical instruments, and the artists who play them." Awesome! Bands you might catch at this one: City and Colour, Sallie Ford & The Outside Sound, and a bunch of other bands I confess I've never heard of. O, Canada!