Tulip time: an event so massive it practically defines the season in the Skagit Valley.  As always, the festival runs throughout the entire month, but bloom status is best tracked online to strategize for peak petal. Four gardens have tulip fields and displays this year, and as always a midweek visit means less traffic.

If Kurt Cobain knew his hometown had mermaids, would be have been so eager to leave? The International Mermaid Museum at Westport Winery Garden Resort, about halfway between Aberdeen and Westport, hosts an annual festival with underwater mermaid performances and family friendly activities. Paint a sand dollar, do a treasure hunt, and listen to a music duo that calls themselves the Bad Little Space Mermaids.

The fairgrounds host a slightly smaller and calmer event than the fall blockbuster over two long April weekends. Agriculture displays join animal events (think pig races), and the usual fair food and rides are in full swing. For entertainment, the slate of live music performances joins a series of lumberjack demos and shows.

If the tulip frenzy up north feels a little much, things stay a bit calmer at the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens. The signature flower here is known for both its beauty and its scent, which means it makes for a good Mother's Day gift—no accident this festival is held in spring. Visit the farmhouse and the garden's new museum after strolling the fields.

There's nothing more classic than the kind of annual event with a royalty court and a pancake breakfast. The rest of Wenatchee's 105-year-old festival includes a grand parade and a bake-off, plus an arts and crafts fair and more than two dozen rides at the downtown carnival.