This festival just continues to grow each year! I genuinely love checking out Festival in the Park every single year, because there's always something new to see. There's probably hundreds of vendors at this point, from food, drinks, desserts, artists, charities, jewelry. I mean there's SO much to see at this festival! My favorite part about it is the live music. My friends and I always bring a blanket and just come lay out there and enjoy the live band. This year it was actually the same singer as last year and she was great!!! Love her voice and she always sings upbeat songs everyone knows. It's always a whole vibe. We grab food and bring our own cooler and just pick a spot up on the hill and enjoy. That's exactly what we did this year too. For food I couldn't decide what I wanted so I kinda settled for a gyro and it was pretty good, all things considered. The fries we great though! Nice to have so many food options available though. I'll continue to come to this festival year after year!! Definitely a lifetime fan. read more

Festival In the Park - Our view! The main stage for the live music is always straight ahead under that pavilion. - Festivals Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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I enjoy FITP every year. The variety of vendors lets me purchase items I can't find in my weekly journeys. It's great to find something I've never seen before. I stopped by a cookie vendor, deliciousness! However, the food lines are typically ridiculously long. Not my speed. There should be a vendor who sells water only for one price. Parking is a task and requires a lot of patience. It may help to catch a ride and skip parking altogether. read more

True Story: I've never been to Festival In the Park until 2019. I've always gotten stuck in the East Blvd traffic for it every year, but I think it's probably better to go into the festival instead of sitting in traffic. I met some friends and we actually walked from my place in Southend cause I had a feeling parking/driving would be a nightmare. They did have parking "close" to freedom for $10 but it was a good morning for a walk. Got there right when the festival opened. The smell of kettlecorn was pretty intoxicating, but it was fun to walk around and visit all the vendors, artists, and listen to some music at the main stage. It started getting crowded around lunch time, so I made my purchases (after making a couple trips around). Food: fair-style, festival food here: turkey legs, fried everything, lemonade for miles. Ended up getting some fried oreos as a snack and then visiting the food vendor selling empanadas - yum! Also got to talk to some of the artists when the festival was just opening up (and it was slower). Some of them come from long distances to be there and show... New York (state), Florida, Georgia..... I didn't realize this festival drew a big out-of-state artist crowd. Overall, a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Family friendly - something for everyone. Also a great way to showcase our very own Freedom Park! read more

Festival In the Park - Fried oreos - Festivals Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Don't use the turkey leg vendor when you come in , they put fraud charges on my account !!! Other than that we had a great time listening to Carmen Tate and the chain Fleetwood Mac tribute band . We Had two kids in tow and one adult with autism , i wish there were more sensory friendly things for the older kid w autism to do . Pros : band , cool things to see Cons: debit card rip off (use cash ) , long walk , expensive parking , not enough sensory friendly things for older kids with autism to do read more

This is one of my favorite Charlotte festivals. They also put on the King's Drive Artwork in the spring. It usually takes place towards the end of September. It happens Friday night, and all day Saturday and Sunday. Parking is available at a few off-site lots, but they charge you $10 per car and then shuttle you to the park. This year we went on Friday night. It was actually really nice compared to Saturday/Sunday. It was a lot less crowded and not nearly as hot. It does get harder to see the art once it gets dark out but the artists have lights. I do wish they had better food options. There are a couple of food trucks, but most of it is just carnival food. This year I found an arepas food truck which was pretty good. They also have love music at two different stages. There are a ton of artists that surround the pond. If you've never been to Festival in the Park, I definitely recommend checking it out! read more

Festival In the Park - Festivals Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

It was fun love all of the different people and food options! The kids had fun playing the games and rides

This festival needs to be reviewed from the other end - from the insider/participant end. This year was my first to participate as an artist and I can responsibly state that this was the worst festival I have participated in. The organization is massive but lacks in so many ways. They do not restrict visitors to the park during our times for set up and break down and the tight alleys and pathways are extremely stressful to negotiate while visitors are there - we need to move vehicles, park in impossibly tight spots, take down large pieces of equipment and having crowds around us is just dangerous. The "lake side" of the festival is just awful, the pathways are dirt, gravel and dust and the crowds shuffling all day stir up such mess that it takes half day just to keep things clean, not to mention I had to wear a mask to protect my lungs. That side also has the food trucks and the artists intermingled and the noise and smells from the trucks make it pretty tough to talk to customers who are already distracted by the food. The management favors returning artist and fulfills all their requests while newcomers get the worst placement and treatment. They have a policy of "no dogs" but despite the dozens of security personnel, no one enforces it and the dogs just make it so much more complicated. Not to mention that the festival does not provide reliable internet so many vendors could not use their card readers and take credit payments. In summary, this was the ugliest, dirtiest, dustiest and noisiest environment I had worked at in the hardest of conditions with inadequate profit. Do not recommend. read more

Festival In the Park - Here is an image showing the dust that accumulated on my black tablecloth during a day of vending with the imprints of my product. - Festivals Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Packed to the max on most days in good weather. Large area for kids. Nice artwork, decent food. Something I'd go to every other year, but I don't really spend any money there. Best park is the stage with the young teen bands. That's always fun to watch kids/young adults take the stage and jam! read more

It's like a fair... but instead, substitute the adult rides with a lake that you can walk around. Let me start over. Festival in the park is a fantastic place where tons of vendors get together and offer up their best handmade unique crafts, art, services, you name it. For instance, this year, The Lady and I purchased this really cool geode candle thing as well as some honey from Cloister. It's fantastic to see the faces behind the businesses and get to hear everybody's stories. In addition, there's lots of art, photography, always live music going on, and all of the carnival food you could want. I got a turkey leg this year and found out that my semi-not-really-vegetarian fiancee is way better at destroying these than I am. I was straight up shown up. Anyways, there are always lots and lots of people there, but it's never been super ridiculous in my opinion. There are actual carnival rides and animals for the kiddos, and they do a good job of keeping that separate. They also have complimentary bike parking, since The Lady and I opted out of the stress of trying to find a place to park. Can't wait to go again next year :) read more

This past weekend I went to Festival in the Park with the family and boy was it a reminder of how much Charlotte has grown! The weather was perfect so that combined with all the events they have made for a decent crowd but not so crowded so that we couldn't find a nice shade tree to rest under for a few hours. Vendors everywhere, multiple stages with plays, music, etc. going on all around will keep you as busy as you want to be! read more

It was a beautiful day for the park, but poor options when it came to parking. Hopefully, it will be better next time. I will definitely go again... read more

Festival In the Park - Utilize the trail to get to festivities, it goes all the way to midtown so you may also save parking frustration. - Festivals Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

You always know what to expect with Festival in the Park. Lots of crowds, many many art vendors, fair food and no parking. There are performances from local groups and schools too! If you are lucky it will be a gorgeous sunny day that isn't too hot. We took a blanket this year and just people-watched which is always fun here. Freedom Park is a great place to hang out and watch the doggies sniff each other's butts. Always a great time but glad it is just once a year! read more

Festival in the Park is such a great time and an excellent way for local artists to demostrate their talents!! It is a yearly event. However, they do a smaller scale event in the spring off of Kings Drive. We came on Sunday to check out the event. Parking: Parking isn't the best. There was an auxilary lot but they charged $10 to park. Considering that we only had $9 of cash on hand (see payment section below for more about making this poor decision), we went to park in one of the neighborhoods around the park. We actually found a great spot on the street that was close to the park and free! Just have to be patient. Vendors: There are vendors selling everything from sculptures to clothes to jewelry and more. The prices range from super cheap to out of this world expensive. I liked just walking around the pond and checking out all the cool things people could make....partly because I have zero artistic talent whatsoever. Food: Typical fair food. We got a bbq sandwich and some deep fried something (I mean come on...who can resist!). Plus, there were some booths giving away free samples. One of them had this pork and slaw slider for free that was awesome! Payment: Most of the vendors took card. It is so easy now cause you can just use your phone or tablet. Every vendor we bought something from took card. However, the food places were all cash only. Thus, we ended up in a predicament where we were having to decide between a delicios rootbeer in a can or deep fried oreos. My husband actually tried to get less oreos for less money but that was a big old no go....though, who really needs 6 deep fried oreos anyways!!! So bring a little bit of cash and save yourself the hassle. I did notice that they had mobile ATMs stationed around the place. However, being a banker, I just couldnt justify the stupid crazy transaction fees that they were gonna charge you! read more

Oh, Festival In the Park - I love thee! As always, a Fall favorite in Charlotte brought the good stuff this year from local and national artisans. Whether you want to have some fried Snickers, buy a $2000 painting, a $20 painting, or get your face painted while listening to a jam band, it's all at FITP. Good things to note about it: 1. Prepare to walk from your car to the park - it gets busy and you'll have to park on side streets OR you can use one of the uber convenient shuttles from Holy Trinity Middle School or St Ann's Church (both on Park Rd close by) 2. If it's rained, don't wear your good shoes. Obviously this is all set up at the park so if it's rained hard, the ground tends to get a bit puddly so it's definitely a No-Suede zone. 3. Bring the kids (in a stroller)! Bring the Dogs (on a leash)! But only if they're well behaved ;) 4. Bring some cash - not all vendors accept CC, especially for the lower priced items If you're around Charlotte at the end of September, it's worth going - I like it best at night when all the lights are on and reflecting in the lake. A great place for a stroll, anytime of year of course! read more

What a fun time!! The park really transformed into a festival with lights at night, clowns, ribbon dancers, and fun during the day!!! Their were tents galore with food and venders. I thoroughly enjoyed myself & I know you will too!! read more

I can't speak to the posting re: judges because I don't really know anything about that. I can say that is a great family friendly festival. When the weather cooperates, you could really spend hours and hours enjoying everything the festival has to offer. Don't expect healthy food because you surely won't locate it here. You will find a plethora of corn dogs, fried foods, funnel cakes, and don't forget to try the "chicken on a stick." (It's tasty, I swear) Parking is a major issue with this festival but they do try to accommodate the crowds with satellite lots that offer shuttle transportation to and from the entrance. Plan ahead and come early to try and scour some street parking. I think the artists they have are some of the best of the best. You can really enjoy a very wide variety of art work and very beautiful things while you explore the tents. The kids section has plenty for young children, lots of bouncy house type things and small carnival rides. Bring your family and enjoy the day.....! Although for a fun and romantical evening, I think coming in the evening is a great time too. A cool breeze, live musical performances, cotton candy to share....and all the lit tents surrounding the lake. Its a really nice time. read more

Alright rich folks, gather up your spare change. Pawn your grandma's wedding ring. Cash in those 401ks. Festival in the Park is upon us. That's right, a dazzling festival of vendors surrounding the grody pond at Freedom Park. ...wow can I not start reviews in such a horrible way? For real though, Festival in the Park is pretty cool. I've been several times over the course of my 10 years here in Charlotte. On rainy days it sucks - the mud run off is unbearable. But when the weather is nice - as it just happened to be this past weekend - it's a great event. Think a combination of local artists with traveling carnival/fair types. There is easily a mile of vendors displaying artwork of all types from photography to paintings to pottery to jewelry and on and on. If you're looking for a unique gift and are willing to spend top-dollar, you will find it here. To clarify, in keeping with my intro to this review, the items for sale here tend to be quite pricy and, in my opinion, often gaudy. Though I will say there are plenty of nice and useful things to find in the mix. You see, I'm a practical guy after all. Things have to be more than just art for me, they must be somewhat useful too. You can also find lots of frozen & fresh squeezed lemonades, deep fried anything and the requisite funnel cakes among other typical fair fare. There are typically a few "vendors" handing out freebie items and such. Naturally there's a lot for the kids to do in the park, though I can't review that since I don't have kids. There is a pretty cool old defunct train engine that has been parked in the middle of a playground. Last but not least, there is a stage at the center that always features lots of live music to make your day complete. I wouldn't recommend making a full day or weekend of the event but to each their own. It does add a nice thing to do to a busy Saturday full of fun. You can enjoy a relaxing slow walk around the park with a break to nap in the grass under some of the trees in this beautiful park (other than the grody pond). read more

This is an art festival... which isn't exactly my cup of tea. Yet I love festivals in general and I have to say walking around Festival in the Park at night is the best! The lights hanging around the tents reflect into the pond, giving Freedom Park a romantic side that we seldomly get to see. This year the weather sucked. Walking around in wet grass wasn't appealing but I managed it :) I see that they have seperated the food area out but let me warn you, there was one better sauage dogs option than the big one right smack in the middle of the food area! Don't regret it like I did! It was too late for me to bail when I got that deer-in-the-headlight look after I asked if they have cheese sauce and chili for my polish dog. I wasn't speaking Greek... chili is legit for a dog. One interesting find we discovered was the waffle ice cream/cheesecake sandwich stand all the way out by the kids playground area. It's exactly what I said, 2 freshly made rectangular waffle on the outside, with ice cream bar (dipped in chocolate and sprinkles if you wish) in the middle. Or try a frozen cheesecake. We had both, and somehow my boyfriend managed to eat 1.5 of this thing AND a funnel cake. He proceeded to be on sugar high for the next hour afterward. I look forward to coming back here year after year... I do wish organizer does a better job with parking/shuttle option. They can learn something from the Greek Festival for sure! read more

The tradition continues! We went on Saturday evening this year. It was as crowded as ever but that's part of the fun! My wife found plenty of gifts from all the wonderful vendors/artists to purchase. I noticed this year a lot more "local" artists selling Charlotte themed items. One of the coolest was a guy (can't remember his name) that had beautiful pictures of old businesses, buildings and places in Charlotte. Brought back tons of memories! Every year is a new experience. Can't wait for next year! read more

One of the loveliest festivals I've ever been too. Love the local artists and beautiful scenery that come together to make this such a beautiful event. read more