This is a great event drawing people in even from out of state. I saw the races in boats with…read moredragon prows, dance ceremonies, singing in a variety of genres, and a huge variety of foods along with other merchandise for sale. Tried and like a mix of different rices, beans and coconut cooked inside a piece of bamboo. There is parking across the street in a muddy lot (only drawback) and ample restrooms with no lines. The view of the river is nice. Various organizations have tables set up and give out swag. Come early if you don't like crowds, which grow over the course of the day. It's great to experience another culture in a friendly, welcoming atmosphere.

Much improved from 12 years ago, which is when I last went. I went a couple of summers and then I…read moregave up on it. (see last review) Well, it's grown to be MUCH bigger and it's also better. There are now vendors all the way down to the boat house. That's over a half mile of vendors. They actually DO sell Asian food now! There are vendors with clothes, jewelry, CDs, grocery-type items and much more. It was fun to watch the boat races. I'm glad they improved it. It's another great thing about Lowell. Get there early. It was crawling with people today. There was no parking in a mile radius. Even Sheehy Park's parking lot, across the river, was full.

We went last summer just for the food as we saw a vendor serving Filipino food and have a very hard…read moretime finding any places serving it in our area. The food was AMAZING. You could see everyone working together to cook the food for quite literally the longest line at the festival because of how good it was. We got pancit, garlic rice, lumpia, pork and chicken BBQ, and turon. Each dish was also served with a small vinegar based sauce as well. There is something for everyone at the folk festival as well, with SO many different food vendors from all over the world sharing their unique flavors with the city of Lowell! The festival itself is free, but parking around the festival is not so you definitely need cash. It is also suggested to have extra cash inside the festival as well because many vendors are cash only. There are always concerts playing with live bands and plenty of local artists selling their work. HIGHLY suggest going one of the days it is available over the summer.

The Lowell Folk Festival, always the last weekend in July, is the nation's largest free folk…read morefestival. The Festival starts on Friday night and runs through Sunday afternoon. All of the performances are FREE. There are American Folk, Jazz and Blues performers as well as very many international singers and performers. There are sundry food stalls selling meals from around the world. The prices are always good. The downtown shops and restaurants actively participate, too, with great specials. All of the venues are within walking distance of each other. Everything is held outside, rain or shine. There are lots of tents set up in case it rains and to give shade. Schedules are available on line and from volunteers when you arrive. There are free shuttle buses from the Lowell train station.

Andona's annual Clowntown is back in action from swings, gliders, fairies wheels, and UFO…read morespaceship. All rides for toddles to teenagers. Best of all the fried dough!!!

My daughter and son in law had their baby shower a few weeks ago at Smolak farms. The venue was…read morefantastic. We loved the setting with a large tent, animals to view and feed, raspberries to pick and a lovely farm store. Elaine, the event coordinator, and her staff was very accommodating, helping with the decor and making sure everthing was just right. The food was great especially the ice cream bar with apple cider donuts. They were very flexible and accommodating.

I love bringing my daughter here for an hour or two when the weather is nice. There are animals to…read moresee, and for a quarter you can also feed them as well! She also loves the playground as well. Theres a castle, pirate ship, train, a slide. And when we're finally done, we'll grab an ice cream as well. Theres plenty of seating to enjoy that and other foods as well in their shop. There are more events on the weekends including hayrides. Its a very family friendly spot. Highly recommend!!

The festival is held in July each year…read more There's lots of loud Puerto Rican music, a quincenera festival for the girls and lots of music and dancing. You know how good Puerto Rican food is. Ya gotta go just for that at least.

Even with a 40% discount on a weeknight ticket, it's not worth it. It's in the middle of nowhere…read moreon some very rural roads, with no signs to convince you you're on the right path to the entrance. The displays are mostly all flat wire panels with some lights outlining characters, buildings, and landmarks. They are OK, and pretty enjoyable. But then there's the road. This is a dirt road rambling through farmland with divots and potholes so deep even an SUV will bottom out. I'm not kidding. The road is horrendous. Some spots they put down some grating so your car can grip going up an incline. But if it's wet, cars are guaranteed to get stuck in mud. If they bulldozed the road to make it level, it would get more stars, but as is, avoid this and save your car's undercarriage.

If you pay for this "show" make sure to have AAA waiting on the other side or put $200 on the side…read morefor an alignment. This is such a disaster. The number of lights they claim is bogus. The count must include the red and white perimeter lights that lead you through the property. They might have more port o potty's at the start of the lights than actual light within. Joke. The people working here are rude and they have tons less lights this year 2021 vs 2020 which is ridiculous. Don't buy the STALE fudge at the store when you are done. Buyer beware.

Just like the Pops on the Esplanade, except smaller…read more It's right on the river. There's a beach and an ice cream shop across the street. There are plenty of food vendors and there's a live orchestra on the open-air stage. Just like the pops, they play the 1812 overture and it's synchronized to the fireworks.

I was there this year for their annual 4th of July fireworks show on the boulevard. it wasn't a…read morebad show. There were numerous stands serving fan favorites like fried dough, fries, burgers and drinks.. (typical carnival style foods). The music performance that day kind of sucked but I guess it just wasn't to my taste since everyone else seemed to like it. It was muggy and overcrowded where we were sitting and there was an approaching thunderstorm. That made the fireworks all the more enjoyable since there was flashes of light behind distant clouds as the fireworks themselves were going off. The fire works themselves weren't too shabby at all! I loved the end where they went crazy and just unloaded everything.. a good minute or two. My nieces loved the smiley faced fireworks. The reason it got four and not five stars was because it was way too overcrowded.

This festival is sponsored by the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust organization on the banks of…read morethe Concord River in Lowell, in June each year. It has lots of live music, a trolley ride, educational talks about the preservation of the river, recycled art activities and paddling down the river.

The worst Christmas parade ever. All the vehicles weren't decorated in any way shape or form. The…read morevehicles all had a business advertising on them. It's one big rolling advertisement. It's not a parade. Then to top it all off Santa drives by at the end on a frigging golf cart. The golf cart wasn't decorated. But it sure had advertisements all over it. The most ridiculous welfare parade you'll ever see. If you want a good laugh at this rolling advertisement go for it. But I suggest you go enjoy a parade in another city. This cities Christmas parade is a complete joke and a complete waste of time. You'd think with all the money for their big rolling advertisement, including a Corvette and humvee which of course were not decorated. But at least put Santa in the humvee or Corvette instead of a stupid golf cart. I just can't get over what a complete fake parade this was. I will never bring my child here again. I don't want my child to think this is a real parade and will taking them to a real parade out of the welfare zone. Despicable to call this joke a parade. I feel terribly awful that the people from Lowell are forced to watch such garbage and how dare them call it a parade. It's the biggest money grab scam of the year. That's about it. Have a nice day!

Fun, fun, fun! Hot chocolate competition all over downtown, friendly shop owners chilling in front…read moreof their stores/restaurants, and the DPW truck decked out in lights. This is a nice long, full parade with lots of music and all the dancing Girl Scouts in homemade snowmen and snowflake costumes your heart could possibly desire. We take our kids to this every year. Parking is free, the atmosphere is festive, and Santa and Mrs Claus close out the whole thing before you walk down to follow the parade and see city hall and the giant smokestack Christmas tree get all lit up for the season. Easy family fun.