This Festival goes under few different names: The church website calls it "Greek and East…read moreFestival", the host (Harris Pavilion) calls it "Annual Manassas International Food Festival," and earlier versions on the Facebook called it "Old World" festival. These are all good names for this Nativity of Our Lord Carpatho-Russian Orthodox church fundraiser. In a conversation with one member I learned that this is one of those orthodox churches that do not have the National denomination (Bulgarian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc...) as it caters not just to the first generation of immigrants but more to all generations and all people with the Orthodox fate, with no consideration of the national borders. I learned that they have one mass in English and Our Father prayer is recited in 7 world languages. The menu of the festival reflects the church diversity but caused a dilemma of many comers as far as what to eat because it is a long way from Ethiopia to Russia on the food road. People took longer time to figure out if they would rather have Ethiopian, Greek, Slavic, Romanian, Mexican or American food but once in line you move quickly with the food vendors winking and lifting their trays to entice you to get their food. Pierogi were very good, baked well; hard outside and soft inside so combination of dough, potato and cheese was properly melting in the mouth. While I was eating delicious plums with crème, my tongue quickly detected a harder object within the plum. I wondered why plums were not pitted like the most things in US are and to my pleasant surprise the object in question was a walnut half. Once I knew what I am eating - it all came together very nicely. Letdown was that the deserts did not offered any layered moist cake or crepes - which always make me anticipate any Slavic or Western Europe festival. Another letdown was that I could not have a Greek or Russian beer. There was just one Greek wine type but on a hot day a beer goes better with the lunch. The venue was perfect and enthusiasm of the host was energizing. I was happy to support in some way their church. The visit can be combined with a walk in the old town Manassas.

I was invited by a friend to join her for this festival yesterday. I was initially apprehensive…read moreespecially after reading some less than glowing reviews on Facebook but heck, I'm new to the country so I'm going to give almost everything a try (as long as it's within reasonable limits). The drive from Loudon to the festival site was beautiful. I went with low expectations and wanted to check out the food vendors however, the craft exhibitors were pretty interesting too. There were about 18 food trucks and stalls offering a wide variety of festival food. There was BBQ meats, kettle corn, ice cream, Mexican food, Asian food, waffles, espresso-based drinks, pepperoni rolls, butterfly potato, hotdogs, burgers and even an Oktoberfest-themed vendor. I had the Purple Piggy Pulled Pork Sandwich with Purple Mango Slaw, Smoked Mac & Cheese, and Baked Beans (made from scratch and not from a can) from Rolling Smoke Bar-B-Que's food truck. Cooked with wood fire, the tender pulled pork had a lovely smoky flavour. Don't miss the sides at US$4 each for a small portion. Though I've never been a fan of baked beans (scarred for life by canned beans), these were excellently smoky, sweet with maple syrup and was in all, a game changer. There are tons of food samples from dips to chips to slushies to coffee and wine (bring your ID) so you can get an idea of what you're buying. I didn't think I'd wind up buying anything but soon found myself buying quite a few soup kits, herbs, Chai tea, 3 bottles of wine and a handcrafted hardwood coin bank with an antique post office box door. The fair's on this weekend from 10 am to 5 pm. PS: Most of the vendors accept credit cards but bring cash as some only accept cash.

The Mountain Heritage Festival is an outdoor fall craft festival that takes place during three days…read moreeach September near Harper's Ferry. Besides crafts, there are fine arts vendors, music, wine, and food. Craft festivals are NOT my thing but I was invited on an outing and decided to try something new and I was not disappointed. Overview and Vendor Examples: There were close to 200 vendors onsite situated under large tents. Vendors sold items such as art glass, baskets, candles, bath and body products, clothing and accessories, dolls, dried flowers, furniture, jewelry, kitchen accessories, leather, metal, musical instruments, knives, photography, pottery, toys, etc. Some of my favorite non-food vendors were Forest Flower Jewelry which sold beautiful hand pressed flower necklaces, bracelets, etc. I also liked smelling all of the candle scents from the Pennsylvania Soy Candle Company. They went all out and transported a store full of candles to the festival. They had a large variety of scents such as Maple Bacon, Reindeer Poo, Nutty Taffy Apple, etc. There were lots of homemade soaps and lotions to choose from at various vendors as well. I did not intend to purchase anything but I bought a small bud vase, a pearl necklace, and three wine frappes. Food and Drink Samples/Vendors: At the end of the row of tents (or at the beginning if you wanted to start in a different direction), there are some great food and drink samples. I will mention a few favorites. A coffee vendor called Snookie Snookerwitz had vats of coffee and hot chocolate samples with flavors such as cinnamon hot cocoa (delish!), mint cocoa, hazelnut mocha, snickerdoodle latte, etc. Their station was really clean and inviting and the cocoa was great, albeit sugar laden. Meadowcroft Farm displayed a large array of relishes, pickles, salsas, pepper jellies, and jams. Their onion relish was really great. They had interesting items such as cinnamon pickles and cherry pecan jalapeño pepper jelly. One of the most popular vendors was Nectar of the Vine which served samples of mango and pomegranate wine slushies, or frappes as they like to call 'em. The pomegranate slushy was fantastic! I purchased several bags of the mix in various flavors (watermelon, pomegranate, and sangria). The bags were flying off the tables! The other food vendors provided samples of roasted nuts, dips and spreads, jams, syrups and a variety of sauces. You can look up any of these vendors via their website. Good to Know: You can consume wine samples on the grounds, but actual consumption of alcohol is prohibited on the grounds. Parking is attendant-guided, grass parking. Admission cost is $6- $7. The festival is opened daily from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. I visited on a Friday and it was perfect. It was likely much more crowded on the weekend. I had plenty of space to move about and was not overwhelmed by the crowds except at one clothing station. The vendors were low pressure and did not push their items. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Many of the items are expensive. Plan a budget ahead of time. Even expensive items tend to look less expensive the longer you are browsing. Pack a lunch if you are trying to eat healthy. Food vendors are onsite but they serve items such as ice cream, fries, deep fried vegetables, and burgers. Bring a backpack. Do not try to carry a heavy purse all day. Wear comfortable shoes Bring sunscreen Restrooms are Porta-A-Potties only

They serve reindeer hot dogs!!! With lefsa. The bazaar is lovely too which I try to attend every…read moreyear which buy too much but all for a good cause. My enjoyment.

I attended the annual Norwegian Holiday Festival & Bazaar for the first time in 2017. This festival…read morehas been going on for 47 years--impressive. Here's what I saw in the various exhibition rooms: wool sweaters with snowflakes all over them; troll dolls; goat cheese; socks with reindeers; smoked salmon; coffee cups with "uff da" sayings; kransekake and krumkake; table linens; pewter creations; and lots and lots of artisan-crafted Christmas decorations (Norwegians like Christmas big time!). Hot food available: waffles, sandwiches, soup, coffee. Not to mention all sorts of Norwegian traditional cookies and baked goodies. Also, live music, lefse demonstrations, raffle and other activities. I had a fab time. Admission and parking are both free. "Bra gjort", Sons of Norway.

Brought the family back here for the festival of lights. First I would recommend buying the…read moretickets online as they are cheaper online than at the gate. It was a little bit of a hike as we were coming from Bethesda but we had heard a lot about it so we decided to check it out. After getting off the highway there was a lot of time on 2 lane roads that made the trip feel longer. The tickets are for specific times so we picked a time that supposedly had the most ticket availability and therefore less crowded but that ended up not being the case (not that we went 4 days before Christmas). I felt like it was bumper to bumper traffic all the way through. The light displays were pretty good but felt like there were spots where there were noticeable gaps. We prefer these drive through light shows that allow you to stay warm in the car. Now what Bull Run has that some of these others don't have is the carnival at the end. There are rides, all types of carnival food, petting zoo and camel rides. Stopped at the carnival to pick up some funnel cake for the family to munch on during the ride back home. Overall it was a good experience.

Awesome experience, loved the lights, carnival and petting zoo…read more Even open area with fire pit was awesome for s'more's and to get warmed up during cold evening. Love it.

Horrible As a guest of someone it was Horrible…read more Didn't even get my mani pedicure The wait was long even with an appointment And they don't listen to you regarding what uou want No thank you

My wife and I have Scots in our background and we try to make a festival somewhere every couple of…read moreyears. It's been 5+ years since we had been to the Virginia Scottish Games and a friend from Clan Grant wanted to go. http://www.vascottishgames.org/ The basic set up is always the same. A bunch of vendors, beer, some food, highland games including a caber toss, stone toss, hammer throws, and the sheaf toss. Pipes and drums: check A good entertainment tent too. Usually you can find the Glengarry Bhoys playing. They are a great Celtic band. Lots of fun. Worth your time and coin.

Such a good time. Hubby and I went for a "date day" got to try so many different flavors and…read morevendors were so nice! Lots of people, but it didn't feel super crowded. Soo much coffee! And took home some good tea and, chili paste and BBQ sauce .

Very well planned and set up was better than last year-seemed more spacious. 10 rows of chocolate…read moreor coffee, salsa, jewelry, etc. We spent 3hours there today and bought bars, jewelry and dips. Definitely had a caffeine high after 2 rows of chocolates and coffee samples.

This is a GREAT venue. The pavilion is large but not too large. The acoustics are great. They…read morealways have top notch musicians and for a very reasonable price. The location is in a beautiful setting, on the grounds of Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, VA..in the Shenandoah valley. There's no big huge crowds, traffic jams...it's a small venue with a lot of class. You get a close up intimate performance by some excellent, outstanding musicians. In fact, this evening when we arrived to see Bruce Hornsby and his band perform, we were walking towards the pavilion and we practically bumped right into Bruce Hornsby while he was walking towards the stage to perform!

Good social media marketing, poor experience. My toddler did…read moreenjoy the 2 minute light walk through. There was misinformation on the website about the ages required to pay and their platform that they used fever refused to refund my money because they said it was up to the vendor. The manager on site acted like they would do it and showed me a QR code . The vendor said it was up to fever. It was just a back-and-forth of neither of them wanting to refund my money.

Great holiday Chinese light show! Inside there is dumplings…read moreand hot chocolate! enjoyable walk on a cold evening Wish there were Elotes