Dublin Dr Pepper Birthday Celebration
Dublin, Texas

When: early June

Where: Dublin, Texas

Don't let the city limits sign fool you as you drive into the tiny Texas town of Dublin in early June. For one week each year, the Erath County community replaces the Irish-inspired moniker with the name of the soda that put the town of 4,000 residents on the map, all to mark the Dublin Dr Pepper Birthday Celebration, a nostalgic nod to the past that's as sweet as the pure sugar cane that makes the pop a unique Texas treat.

Visitors can slip on their sneakers for the 10-2-4K Fun Runs, where fleet-footed festival-goers may notice a celebrity in their midst. (Governor Rick Perry has joined joggers in several past races.) Later, keep those tootsies tapping as the house band belts out tunes.

For shoppers, a bevy of vendor booths display arts and crafts items, and food vendors will keep visitor's stomachs satisfied. Just be sure to save some room for a slice of Dr Pepper birthday cake!

Festival attendees who want to learn how their favorite pop is produced can take a free tour of the Dublin bottling plant and Dr Pepper museum. Before heading home, savor a complimentary sip of Dublin Dr Pepper's original formula at Old Doc's Soda Shop, where visitors can buy a soda-themed souvenir of their trip.

Children's Activities: Costumes transform happy half-pints into clowns, acrobats, lion tamers and wild animals as children perform in a mini-version of The Greatest Show on Earth, The Backyard Circus. Carnival games will entertain energetic imps, as will the 2K fun run, its diminutive distance custom-made for little feet.

For more information:

• visit www.dublindrpepper.com