I've been attending the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival every year since 2001, and I drive eleven hours…read moreeach way to do it. Barefoot. In the snow. Uphill both ways. Just kidding. :) But I probably would if I had to. It used to take place the fourth weekend of July, but this year it was the first weekend of August. Probably best to watch the website for next and subsequent years' dates. Falcon Ridge is a three-day-long festival of contemporary folk music. I qualify it as "contemporary" to distinguish it from traditional folk, which you can find there to some degree, as well, but the roster centers mostly on singer-songwriters who perform their own work or develop new ways of presenting older tunes, along with string-driven bands. Cajun, bluegrass, and occasionally even polka are represented, as well. In addition to the main stage, there's a family stage with entertainment for the little ones, a dance tent featuring contra and other kinds of dancing until 2am, and a workshop stage for a more intimate experience. Tickets at the gate are around $40-50 for one day or $130-160 for the weekend, but they're much cheaper online ahead of time. The festival offers camping for the weekend across a huge expanse of farmland. RV and tent camping are both welcome, and the camping area is much more comfortable than at some other music festivals I've been to. There's plenty of room for groups to spread out, though the area nearest to the stages and the flattest ground get filled up pretty early. There's no modern plumbing or electrical hookups (it is just a farm), but the site crew volunteers build a fairly decent set of showers that operate by hose. Hike your way "up the hill" and you can find all-night stages set up in the campground itself for nighttime concerts organized independently from (but still permitted by) the festival itself. Though the scheduled stages in the main festival area run from roughly 10am to 2am (or to 6:30pm on the last day), it's possible to find music playing somewhere or another for a solid and unbroken 72 hours. Sometimes you have to remind yourself to sleep. I've been volunteering since 2004 and have met some awesome, amazing people by doing so. I look forward to seeing them year after year. When I head out from Ohio to get there, people ask me, "You're going alone?" and I have to say, "Only until I get there!" Volunteering gets you free admission and two meals a day. Different crews come with different demands on your time, but they'll all leave you plenty of time to enjoy the festival. The food and craft area has inexplicably shrunk in the past few years, but all my favorite food stands are still there where they've always been. There are food options for everyone from vegans to carnivores and everywhere in between. Absolutely obligatory (unless you're avoiding sugar, wheat, or chocolate, I suppose) are the chippers from Taste Budd's: chocolate chip cookie bars with the taste of a cookie and the density of a firm brownie. There's one vegan option, while dairy/egg eaters have a selection of a few varieties. There are two quibbles I have with the festival, which are shared by most festival regulars I know. One is not the festival's fault, but it's something to be aware of if you come. Although cellular phone service works mostly ok there, data service is nil, not just at the festival itself but in the entire town and surrounding area. I couldn't check into Falcon Ridge on the Yelp app because by the time I drove out far enough to get the signal I needed, Yelp told me I was too far away from the festival to check in. So although phone calls can go through, most people found text messages to be slow as muck, and most smartphone apps were useless. Not a tragedy if you're prepared for it. It might be questionable why you'd want to come out and be rustic for the weekend yet spend the whole time on your phone. The other quibble most definitely is the festival's responsibility, and that is performer booking. Now... I don't have any problem with the specific performers who do play regularly. I love and appreciate them. But aside from the Emerging Artists Showcase, the new blood is just veeeeeeery slow to trickle in. To be clear, I'm not talking about this year. This year was the 25th anniversary, and artists who'd been regular go-to acts in the past decade or so were plentiful, and that was to be expected. But the stagnant performer list has been the norm for some time. It is my understanding (though I could be wrong) that booking is currently done by one person. I think that it's the kind of task that could be better taken on by a full committee who can all contribute their varying tastes and battle it out to keep the performer list diverse and interesting for festival-goers from 10 to 100. But in case you couldn't tell, I'll still be going back for music each year regardless of who's playing.

This was a pretty amazing festival. Lots of good music. Everyone is extremely friendly. They had…read morevery unusual food. They had about 3 tents with bands always playing. Plus there are people playing music with small crowds all over the area. Lots of people camp here. Bring low chairs and/or a tarp and a flashlight. Book hotels B&B early or camp. Great services for kids. We had a great time over the three days.

If you like roots music this is a wonderful music festival located on a beautiful Farm in the…read moreBerkshires. There is camping but no hoockups no electricity and porta potties only. Lots of bluegrass, rockabilly, old time, Cajun and some others. Big dance tent outdoor stage and a workshop stage. The setting is amazingly beautiful. The farmer raises Scottish Highland cows just gorgeous. If you like fiddles and banjos and accordions this is the place. They were no jerks at this Festival. the people were really nice those who run the festival were really nice the farmer and his wife were really nice it was just wonderful wonderful weekend for us. There was music and jamming all night right into the sun coming up. This was the third year of the festival it is usually the first weekend in September and we can't wait to go again. And there was great food . smokers and veggies and all kinds of wonderful things

Love this place! Been here like 6x already! Biggest fair in the area that is easy for us to get to…read morewithout a plane ride and a hotel for 3 nights lol! It's like a 3 hour ride for us, but so worth it! So many vendors, so much food, so many cows. Seriously like 200 lol! So many animals! 300 vendors if not more. 250+ food vendors! If you want a new belt buckle, a new cowboy hat, a new car, a tractor, combine, gutters, septic, life insurance, coffee, flagpole, shed, lawn ornaments, bed, and so many other items, this is the place! Huge selection of everything. Huge selection of shows. Huge selection of food. Get the bratwurst!!! Tons of other things to do as well. Seriously so many, way too many to list! Honestly if you have nothing to do when it's here, go, spend the day. Learn about animals, watch a show, eat some good food! Come one come all!

This review is for the ArtRider craft fair, that weekend…read more There is a better selection of better quality crafts on sale here. Many take credit cards. For some reason there were more than the usual glass, blowers, and glass crafting people. Some of the pieces are definitely museum quality. The sitdown restaurant is there, as well as several food trucks from which to choose. It's a "Rain or Shine" weekend event.

Weekend fun. We like to Visit this festival almost every…read moreyear. First visit is to the delicious apple fritters stand. OMG its just a very popular treat, eating it as soon as they come out its an amazing experience. We noticed how popular this festival is becoming and more people visiting every year. The stands and food vendors are always great. We stopped to watch a few dances too. It was a bummer that they didn't have a second parade, most people gather for that but its only once over two weekends event. Until next time

The annual Southington Apple Festival occurs in the fall for 6 days and on two weekends. In the…read moreNortheast, it is one of the longest and largest festivals. There's plenty of activities for the 100,000 people that visits. There were plenty of food tents, a parade, fireworks, carnival rides, arts & crafts, live music, and more. There were parking ordinances throughout. I saw many lots charging a fee and free parking throughout. We were able to find free parking at a municipal parking lot, after some driving aorund. The event was packed! I had apple cider margarita at a booth with live music. Also, I had apple crisp with vanilla ice cream from a church; both items were good! My family had a fun time at this traditional event and glad to have checked it off our list.

This was my first time at the River Street Festival. Parking, as usual in these places, was…read moreterrible, and we looped around for quite a while until we found a spot to squeeze in. There were definitely a wide range of different artisan crafts and goodies! Ranging from homemade soaps and scents to special meat scrubs, we got to try out a plethora of novel things! Sadly, we missed the Farmer's market, but there's always next year! Also, awesome tact to have the Yelp booth supply us with a charging station. Loved it!

It was great to see a stage set up for music, and all the great vendors…read more The only problem I had was I couldn't find the farmers market!

This is an excellent spot to bring the kids with a kids discovery garden, kids veggie garden, and a…read moretopiary garden with and elephant you can 'ride'. Among other things like the pond and ampitheater. The garden is on both sides of the road. They have a crosswalk w/signal to cross safely. Areas within the park are a mix of sun and shade with several shady benches scattered throughout. The gift shop has plenty of items including cold drinks. Parking lot is gravel. Public restrooms are available

We have not been to the Berkshire Botanical Garden in probably 15 years and it has certainly grown…read moreand improved. Lovely gardens mostly identified with the type of plant which is always helpful. We used passes from our local library so we did not have to pay admission. The gift shop is difficult to leave empty handed. A great way to spend two hours outdoors.

No notes! This place is cozy, professional, affordable and the performance of Jesus Christ…read moreSuperstar was professional and brought tears to my eyes multiple times. Worth the visit whether you are taking a date or just looking for something to do on a weekend.

Off-Broadway at its best. Intimate theater in the round with an exceptionally talented vocal and…read moredance cast. Save that trip to NYC.

Much to see, buy, do and eat, especially if you like sheep, knitting, crocheting, felting, etc. But…read morebe prepared to spend money and to be patient with crowds and lines as it goes into afternoon. If these things aren't necessarily your thing I think you'll still have fun if you like people watching and have curiosity, but likely more of a once in a few years experience. If you purchase tickets before the festival starts, you'll save $1.50 per ticket. Otherwise you'll pay $15 pp. I suggest getting there early if you can to have some breathing room at vendors and within enclosed spaces. Since it's on the fairgrounds, there's a fair amount of walking to be done, and the vendors seem to go on and on. There are so many skeins of yarn don't know how you keep track of it! But if you look, you'll likely find quite a few items to buy. And if you have the energy to explore take a look around before making shopping decisions. There are also demos like sheep herding, a Llama parade, competitions, a museum/blacksmithing, workshops that you have to pay extra for and do sell out, and author signings. If you don't arrive early to the demonstrations though you won't be able to see anything as it got very crowded. They also had some exotic animals like kangaroos and lemurs. I was pleasantly surprised by the number and type of food vendors and not just fried carnival food. We enjoyed the fried Brussels sprouts ($14 for a smallish bowl), fried chicken sandwich ($18), and pierogis (6 for $12) that came in flavors like mushroom and sauerkraut, potatoes and onions, spinach and feta). There weren't a lot of dessert places but there was one place that sold apple cider donuts, Ice cream, and apple pie with ice cream. Some places charged a fee for credit cards but not all. It seemed like you could find seating if you looked for it which was nice. Overall we had a nice time but I was tired of traffic, lines and people by days end.

Nice day for exploring the world of sheep and wool for newbies as well fiber lovers. Lots of extras…read morelike animal parades and sheep herding demonstrations.