The Charlotte Fair at ZMAX (on Bruton Smith Blvd) across the street from the Speedway was fantastic…read morethis year! I decided to get another notch on my champion's belt for auntie-of-the-year. After picking up my nephew's friends, we all headed to the fair. We went on a Saturday afternoon around 3pm. Parking wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. After I unloaded my car filled with 13-year-olds, we walked a very short distance to the front gate. I ordered everyone's ticket in advance online, so after their wristbands were put on, we breezed right in. The rides were super fun and appeared to be similar to Carowinds rides...meaning they were more sturdy than the average small-fair ride. There were lots of games, prizes, eating options, and a performance area. This fair left nothing on the table. It was worth the price. We will surely return next year!

Small but fun! Cute place to bring the kids! Everyone was friendly. Parking is $10 and adult…read moretickets was $12.

Much larger than I expected…read more Tons of food options from Thailand to Jamaican. The music on the stages was great as well as the dancers from all over the world. Only thing that I was disappointed in was the typical carnival food. Took away from all the international options. Lots of people and energy! Great afternoon!

As we walked around all I wanted to know was where are the restaurants of these cultures? I would…read morelove to have Nigerian fish stew. Lumpia is a favorite. Where are the empanadas?! It was wonderful to see the cultures represented, but how sad it is that they are only experienced over two days.

How I managed to live in North Carolina this long and not know we had a Cheerwine Festival is mind…read moreboggling to me. This was my first year attending the event. It was advertised that you could take a train to Salisbury, NC and then the festival was in walking distance. If you drove, you'd have to look for parking in the area and walk to the event. My friend and I arrived around noon. This. Was a good time, but in the fire I'd ago In my opinion they spaced out the different vendors well so it wasn't too crowded. You were able to move through the areas easily. At times, you would have to wait for people to move, but this is expected with any festival. I liked that their website listed the vendor participating and if the vendor created a Cheerwine themed item/dish. I believe it would've ben helpful it their website also included a map of where each vendor was so you could head to the vendor you wanted immediately. There was a main location at the festival that sold Cheerwine merchandise such as: beach towels, stickers, hats, t-shirts, and displays. They had a cash and card line. Some vendors took cash, but not all so it is good to have both on you. There were live performances occurring in their center city park. I was not prepared well for the event as I literally decided to go day of. In the future I'll make sure to pack a lawn towel or small chair to sit in the park and come earlier in the day when the event first starts so it's not as hot outside.

Bottom line: The Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury is a busy and popular street festival to celebrate…read morethe regional soft drink favorite. Saw lots of Cheerwine merch/logos everywhere but not Cheerwine itself. This festival is extremely crowded and there are long lines for absolutely everything, do know that going into this one. Bring cash, you'll need it. The Deets: My friends and I made plans to hit the The Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury, NC this year. Cheerwine is a local/regional soft drink favorite, a black cherry flavored soda. Cheerwine has been made since 1917 and has been produced by the same family in North Carolina for all those years (big accomplishment in the food/beverage industry). I've been a Cheerwine fan since childhood so I was up for going to a festival bearing its name. We went down and back on Amtrak as there is a train station near to the downtown area the festival is held. I recommend going by train if possible as finding parking is not that easy for this event. Salisbury is not a huge town so you would expect that to be so. If you are not a fan of big crowds and long lines, then this festival is not for you. This festival is very "people-y" and there are long lines for EVERYTHING...food, beer/beverages, merchandise, craft/art/novelty items, cash machines (bring cash, most things here are not cheap)...everything. Of course the sound stage had a crowd around it as well. We even ducked into a local bottle shop to find some peace (see my prior review for this business) which we indeed found. My pics I took are from a pocket of peace I found outside of the crowded area. Of note, I did see that there were plenty of port-a-potties everywhere, even down alleys between buildings. While I saw Cheerwine logos and merchandise a-plenty at the festival, I really can't recall seeing any actual Cheerwine itself. Sad face. Lots of beer opportunities...not Cheerwine though. If you love those crowded street festivals, this event is your golden ticket. I found it was great to visit and experience but I'm not sure I would go out of my way to come back again.

What a great event! I will go back when it comes back next t year and spend more time there. It was…read morea weekend event and only went on Sunday. Loved the dancing from different countries and enjoyed a samosa with mango lassi.

It was a beautiful event! The food options omg that was a hard one. I wish I had the stomach for…read moreeverything. The performances were really beautiful. I loved the Irish performance personally. Now for the food, I had the cubano and a donut cone ice cream ( think its a hungarian dessert) both were sooooooooo gooooooodd. Very fun and lively ^-^.

This festival (if you want to refer to it as such) is located along the waterfront in Little River…read more They offer shuttle services and rides by certain parking lots by golf cart. We were able to find welcoming parking on someone's property who was offering $10 spaces. There were quite a few places like this closer to the entrance and very nice home owners who were using this opportunity for visitors which seems to be a "win/win". $10 per person to get in the venue. We walked the entire area within less than an hour. We didn't purchase anything, but did see some interesting things. Of course there are blue crabs there (?), not like we expected and not at every booth --- but unfortunately- just a few carnival type vendors/food with some seafood dishes that may or may not have crab options. Had expected it to be more about those delicious BLUE CRABS with ALL the advertising & marketing. It is a small town, so I'll give them that. However, it's literally just like a farmers market with same type of stuff. Would not be a place I would return, but it was nice to have the opportunity to share this feedback and to see what it was all about. 44th Annual World Famous Blue Crab Festival. May- (check dates) 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Hosted in Historic Little River Waterfront 4468 Mineola Avenue Little River, SC. * Shrimp Fest (Seafood Festival) Os Held in October (check dates) same timeframe from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Little River Shrimp Festival is much larger than I anticipated. There is "pay to park" lots up…read moreand down the street's leading up to the festival many of which are on people's yards. It came st us about $10.00 for the day and some of the lots will shuttle you the several blocks down the road on golf carts. We found out later, there is also a bus shuttle available. The festival itself gets incredibly crowded but it really wasn't an issue. There are vendors everywhere selling everything from craft items to gutter systems. Actually, the one item I did buy was from a Tastefully Simple rep who had a booth set up. Oh, and there was a Puppy Kissing booth set up by the local shelter. As for the shrimp, we ended up in a bar/restaurant called Daddio's and got some decent shrimp but nothing special. It wasn't until we walked to the far side of the festival did we see food trailers with all sorts of delicious looking seafood. This festival is definitely worth a visit once a year.

Yearly event in downtown Columbia at the Greek Orthodox Church. They have music, food, and…read morevendors. I try to go every year. It is free and a lot of fun for all ages. I have elementary school children that really hard a good time. The live music and the dancing were the biggest hits for them. I loved the food. I cannot wait until next year

This festival is held yearly and typically, every year I go…read more This year was a great one like all the rest. I made a purchase for gyro's and two chicken plates. I bought the plates for my kiddos! Sorry, no pics. This year, the crowds were nice. As you might know, the past two years, it wasn't as large. It was nice to attend and I am definitely looking forward to going next year

Four stars is per boyfriend since he's the nicer one between the two of us…read more We walked into the Dogwood Festival when it was just starting around noon, as we had just finished brunch at Circa and obtained great parking in front of the restaurant. - A ton of tents not set up yet at noon + A decent collection at the car show, featuring lots of fixed up older cars. + Portajohns were clean and had no lines! + Carnival area was decent and featured the typical fair games/rides, but there weren't any prizes that we wanted enough to play for. + Food area had your typical fair food. We got a pina colada in a coconut ($12). It was delicious! + Performers near the turnaround. We walked by as some bellydancers were doing their bit. Overall, it was just a decent fair for me. Boyfriend said for Fayetteville he was very impressed, so there's that.

So many people, so many shops, it's an extroverts dream. The organization of each area makes this…read moreevent fun for all ages!