We are gearing up for a fun summer in the Tri-States' and we are all ready for it. Dogwood, Twain on Main, Q-Fest, and more are all planning on coming back this summer.

It all kicks off this weekend with the Dogwood Festival. Music, parade, and food is back and everyone is ready to celebrate. This will be the first parade since the pandemic last year, and I know people in the community are ready for it. Later in May we get Twain on Main and the Gus Macker Basketball Tournament both happening over Memorial day Weekend. One of my favorite art festival is coming back this summer, Q-Fest June 35 & 26. 

The Quincy Grand Prix is also back this summer in June. The racing will take place once again in South Park June 5 & 6. In July, National Tom Sawyers Days will take over downtown Hannibal 4th of July Weekend. Fence painting, musical acts including Eddie Montgomery, with the popular country music group Montgomery Gentry, and rock group Buckherry. Later in July we will get Hannibal BBQ Fest with Warrant taking the stage Friday Night and Travis Tritt on Saturday Night.

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Plus, tons of musical concerts including Blues in the DistrictDown By The RiverMusic Under the Stars, and Concerts in the Plaza. So, we are getting there, things are opening, events are getting planned, and we are getting back to having fun and seeing family and friends. Download this station's app to get all; the latest updates on events as they are scheduled. As soon as we know, you will know!

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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