Hands down, the BEST beer festival in the Charlotte / Rock Hill area. This is THE yearly festival…read moreto attend. If you are going to attend one beer fest with Cider and live music, Beertopia is it. End of story , drop the mic. Attend every year.

Beertopia is the unofficial kick-off event for beer week and is amongst several events being held…read morethroughout the week. This was my first official Beerfest and I cannot tell you how excited I was to attend. We even purchased our tickets in January to ensure we were not sidelined. We got to Baxter Village early and got pretty good parking. Our first stop was Six Pence where we headed for a bite to eat. After filling our tummies with some Irish fare we strolled over to Grapevine around 1pm. There was a line already snaking the building but after the VIPs entered, we were among the first dozen in line. Two o'clock came. Armed with my husband as the photo/camera man and my red notebook, we eagerly entered. I was like a kid in a candy shop. It was pleasantly overwhelming. We hit the rear of the event first thinking most partakers would try brew vendors at the front first. Considering that 1,300 tickets were sold, it didnt seem all that crowded. In fact, the long lines that some spoke of from previous years were really maybe five deep: MAX. I hit over two dozen breweries, talked beer and even took a slight break in just under 2 hours. People are friendly to the extent of wanting to be in our pics and those manning the taps were knowledgeable and willing to engage in beer convo! With my redbook, pencil, and eagerness to know MORE.... there was a moment at Bell's Brewery while I was asking pertinent questions that my husband backed up to take a pic. It must have looked important because some of their employees pushed the crowd just a little farther to allow him to take the perfect shot. Maybe, they thought I was a reporter; I'm not, but I do review beers with a passion. Overall, great time. Definitely a must if one is a lover of quality beer. No bud light, heineken, or Corona fans please. Next beerfest: Wear a necklace of pretzels, recon the event, and select a dozen brews to try and rate. Otherwise, one will go crazy. Craft beer should be enjoyed not chugged.

This festival is run solely by the church volunteers and has provided the church with a major fund…read moreraiser for the past 20 years which in turn has aided the building of much of the facilities located on the property. This festival has something for everyone from children with their outdoor games and bouncy rides to talent contest, canolli run, silent and live auctions and Fantastic Italian homecook foods. My favorite is the eggplant parm but we also serve delicious lasagna and baked ziti. The food is consistent because everyone follows the same recipes. There is always plenty of room inside to sit and eat and enjoy your meal, listen to music and browse the auction. Outside you will find vendors, enjoy music with a live band and spend time with your family over delicious ice cream, ices, pizza and subs. This year instead of going to a restaurant come to the festival on May 19-21 and relax.

Great time at our first Oyster roast at the Windy Hill Orchard & Cidery! Oysters were steamed by…read moreSaltwater Markets and they did a great job of bringing fresh hot oysters out every half hour to all of the tables. Each standing table also had an empty tray to discard shells. Ample supplies were on hand - shuckers, gloves, paper towels, hot sauces, cocktail sauce, and saltines. Beverages were available for purchase - a selection of ciders and wine, soft drinks and bottled water. Many of their regular menu options are not served in the winter, but we find that to be a good reason to go back during peak season. All service was self service - walk up to the bar or walk over to find any oyster shucking supplies you may need. Souvenir glasses were also available. The staff who checked us in on arrival were kind enough to suggest we take those after our feast to avoid having to keep track of a pint glass while focused on our oyster shucking. A couple of fire pit spots were available and there were picnic tables under a covered shelter set up in the event that inclement weather moved in. It is truly a Windy hill - it's always windy when we are here and this event was no different. Live music was on hand - a solo artist with guitar whose name I didn't catch, but he was very talented and did a great job. He played mostly cover music from under the covered shelter area. Parking does involve a walk if you're not one of the very first to arrive. That walk is down a gravel path a little ways up the hill and not a great fit for wheel chairs or those who with mobility challenges. It would not be hard to drop someone off though near the front, then go park down the street and around the corner.

This was my first visit to Windy Hill. The place is really great. They have bagged apples, cider,…read morebottled hard cider, apple pies, freshly made apple cider donuts (plain or cinnamon sugar), and a hard cider bar. The orchard wasn't open for picking, but it was a beautiful day, so there were lots of picnic tables to sit and relax. After we shopped, we sat and enjoyed a donut and the outside. We arrived right as they opened on a Sunday, but it got very busy with families, small groups, dogs, and children after we arrived. This is a very family friendly spot, lots of parking, and a good amount of apple treats to enjoy. We had a nice time, and since it is only 1 hour from Charlotte area, will definitely go back again.

Ambiance Service and Food, outstanding service and excellent…read morequality of food. Everyone should be sure to check them out for all of their products

We were in the Fort Mill area and stopped . It is a small market offering local fruits ,…read morevegetables, baked goods and jams and jellies. They also have ice cream and a coffee food truck. The lady in market was so sweet and we enjoyed talking with her. Definately worth stopping in if in the area.

This festival just continues to grow each year! I genuinely love checking out Festival in the Park…read moreevery 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.

I enjoy FITP every year. The variety of vendors lets me purchase items I can't find in my weekly…read morejourneys. 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.

Oh what memories! Back in the 1980's and early 1990's, this festival was called Stumptown Festival…read more Just before I was born (in the 1970's), my parents, older sister and brother lived mere blocks from here and would walk to the parade then the festival and walk through the booths. Eventually, they moved a few miles away, then my younger sister, and all 6 of us would come to the parade, then walk through the area with booths carefully avoiding the ride area as my parents could not afford to let us ride any of them, or buy the food. Fast forward to my teenage years in late 1980's, early 1990's, where we would come with friends, ride the rides, go through the booth area, buy all we wanted. My last actual time I was able to walk through the entire festival was back in 2003, when I came down to help my mother after a surgery. My last trip to Charlotte (Labor Day weekend 2018), I dragged my parents here on the Sunday. We were early-ish. We walked through some of it, but were unable to enjoy the full affect as they were still opening. This is a small town festival that is fairly inexpensive to do. Homemade items for sale. Some of the booths with items for sale are in the elementary school, which has been updated since the last time I was here. There are stages with live music, and other entertainment. A great time to be had by all. I did not get many pictures of my own as I was busy chatting with my parents, but check out the links below. Parking can be difficult at best. Crowds can be thick in places. For more information: https://www.matthewsalive.org/ https://www.facebook.com/MatthewsAlive

It was 7PM. I'd just gotten my car back (I have it on Turo, which is basically Airbnb, but with…read morecars). Having been in the house all day, I hadn't been able to keep my streak going on Pokémon Go! This being an inscrutable state of affairs, I decided that, instead of driving home, I'd head to one of my main Pokémoning sites: downtown Matthews. I arrived, parking as I do most often in the library/town hall parking lot (small town = multi-use public buildings. The court house in chapel hill is also the post office for example). I takedown all of the gyms in the area, set my guys in them, and then go Pokémon walking. To my pleasant surprise, the legendary gym I was walking to happened to fall smack-dab in the middle of a whole festival! I'm never one to turn down the opportunity at giant smoked turkey legs and deep fried Oreos - both of which are available at multiple vendors along the main walk - so I decide to stop Pokémoning for the moment and take in the event. Live music is a wonderful thing, and they have an entire soundstage set up just for it. The genre of choice seems to be bad country, which ain't my bag, baby, so I keep it moving. I recommend going at night. There are few things in life as immediately disarming as neon lights against an ebony sky, especially when those lights signal funnel cake and rides. Oh yeah, there are carnival rides in full effect. All the good hurlers, too. The ones that make your kids sick. The ones from which memories are built. Anywho, so there I am, hunting for the best giant smoked turkey leg, when I catch the Devine odor of cured pork fat. I know this can only mean one thing: bacon. There's a vendor that wraps everything in bacon. EVERYTHING. IN. BACON. I had bacon wrapped BBQ. That's right, I was in pigception. And it was glorious. I also had a pretty decent crabcake sammich (bun as set dressing only, I swear) and I cheated a bit, and got a refreshing frozen blueberry lemonade. I didn't stay long, but what I saw left a good taste in my mouth (literally and figuratively). Then I went back to catching all the Pokémon, so, you know, I was productive.

This is the place my husband asks to go for his birthday every year. Something has changed…read morethough... better quality ingredients ? Better Chef ? because the night we came on a Thursday the place was packed and the food was fantastic ! I love their wheat beer. The beef stew we started off with was phenomenal ! Very rich with deep flavor. Highly recommend. Our waiter was very good and checked on us often. The veal schnitzel was excellent ! The spaetzle was excellent too ! Our meal was absolutely delicious !

Great food, wide choice of German food, beer & wines, pure real German gasthaus design, as Germans…read morewould say "echt". Owners freely roam the central room often, the serving staff are friendly,warm, and everywhere. Excellent time had by all. Our visits have been so good I had to join their beer club. Additionally, this is the first time in my 84 years seeking real German taste in a German styled American restaurant that I found it. This is the real deal!