The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 60

NEXT MONTH'S TRAVEL A worldly fair in Florida; a chocolate affair in Hershey Don your spiffiest outfit for the International Folk Fair Feb. 17-19 in St Petersburg, Fla. People will be decked out in native costumes showcasing 43 cultures for the Parade of Nations. And you'll also find a cornucopia tatives holding a 30-foot-by-60-foot U.S. flag to recognize their American heritage.

Information: (813) 327-7999. Chocophiles unite Feb. 1 7-20 at Hershey, Great American Chocolate Festival. Sample chocolate waffles, pasta and sculptures. There's even chocolate bingo with cards and chips made of the real stuff.

You're not in a dream as you cruise down streets with names such as Chocolate and Cocoa lined with streetlights shaped like Hershey Kisses. Information: 1-800437-7439. fit of ethnic food. "You can eat your way around the world," says director Anna Trakas. Then waddle through the throng of 40,000 in the International Marketplace to gaze at the arts and crafts.

The fair closes with ethnic represen fSffl Three cities ready to party hearty for Mardi Gras OK party animals, this is your zoo. That party of parties, Mardi Gras, cranks up Feb. 7. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, and lots of cities are celebrating. Here's a sam pling of festivities: The biggest.

New Orleans, kicks off its celebration in traditional style with two weeks of parades, including the legendary Bacchus on Feb. S. Comedian Billy Crystal, in the role of Bacchus, leads the parade. All stops are pulled out on Feb. 7 as revelers, bejeweled and bedecked in their festival finery, take to the streets.

Blend into the crowd with a costume of your own or get competitive at the annual Mask-A-Thon, which offers special categories for out-of-towners. Information: (504) 566-5068. Not to be outdone, Mobile, claims the oldest Mardi Gras, dating to 1703, originally called Boeuf Gras. The 1989 version includes parades, masked balls and the coronation of a king and queen. Information: (205) 432-3324.

In St Louis, join the merriment of Soulard Mardi Gras, Feb. 4-7. One of St Louis' most historic neighborhoods, i C-V' vf; rets- v.fiTfff'r1?:'.- iwusi BRING IN THE CLOWNS: The madness of Mardi Gras sweeps several cities on Feb. 7. Soulard might not have the biggest festival, but "we have just as much fun," says organizer Tom Gullickson.

Activities include parades, jazz and Cajun zydeco music, a CajunCreole cook-off and a "Taste of Soulard," featuring nibbles from local restaurants. Information: (314) 621-7032. A hot time in Texas; the date of the year in California If hot stuff is your desire, don't miss the 11th annual Jalapeno Festival in Laredo, Texas, Feb. 17-18. Featured for the 60,000 hot green pepper aficiona dos: a jalapefto eating contest (last year's record: 57), the Miss Jala plete with midway, parades, pageants, cotton candy and the nation's only celebration of the wrinkly little fruit Indio is nestled in the Coachella Valley, where 95 percent of the Western Hemisphere's dates are grown.

The whole town gets into the act from bank tellers dressed as Arabian princesses to turbaned merchants all to celebrate the end of the harvest Festivities include camel and ostrich races, an Arabian Nights Street Parade, a diaper derby, a tractor pull, musical entertainment and more dates and date dishes than you can imagine. Information: (619) 342-8247. By Pamela Brown and Christine Maggio peno Contest, a jalapeno recipe contest For the kiddies who cannot savor such flavor, there's a Jell-O-peflo eating contest with green Jell-O. Information: (512) 722-0589. For a variation on the dating game, grab your sweetie and head for the Riverside County National Date Festival and Fair in Indio, Feb.

17-26. OK, so it's not that kind of but it is a guaranteed good time. Com ft "i in "fr-1- USA WEEKENDJAN. 27-29, 1989.