Festivals and spookiness, as it is Wednesday and that's what we do here on Wednesdays.

First, the festivities. We're concentrating on North America this week; Toronto celebrates Woofstock (with a rather amazing website), the Rose Festival happens in Portland, Hawaii gets ready for a weekend full of Kamehameha Festival madness, and the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival of Boston sets sail. In local events, the 17-day (!) Cincinnati Fringe Festival wraps up this weekend, but not before the Drag Races take place. (That last link is a Facebook event page; if you can't see it, I will briefly explain. Drag queens, high heels, downtown, running.)

Slightly spooky: Robert Bigelow talks about space -- and UFOs -- in the New York Times.

Super spooky: make your own demon baby! Yikes!