A Nightmare for anyone disabled, handicapped, or disabled Vet, and just disappointing. Too crowded…read morefor the area, zero diversity planning, and cuckoo speakers who talk to demons and the dead??? WTH West Virginia? Do not attend this festival if you are disabled, or handicapped, or a disabeled vet. They have literally zero disability planning committee. I had wanted to go Mothman for years. I finally made it out in my scooter. The crowds will part for you on the main road--but there are just TOO many people, like 20,000 people crammed into one tiny street. In addition they have tents, vehicles, ropes, cords, overhangs, blocking every concrete ramp up onto any curb. My husband had to lift my scooter himself, with bad lungs, up anywhere I needed to get to--that's a heavy motorized disability device! In addition, if you have lupus, kidney or other issues there are no bathrooms. No restaurant, no museum, no place allows you to go if you are disabled, or handicapped. Good luck finding the one port o pot whose door doesn't close and people keep walking in on you. I wanted to hear speakers because I enjoy Cryptozoology. The Methodist Church that had the speakers, all their ramps were blocked by cars. The people running the lot had cars park in front of handicap ramps. I'm pretty sure that's illegal, but all they did was shrug their shoulders. My husband had to lift my mobile device up over curbs again, and when we went on this God-awful speaker was talking about how she likes to contact demons to talk to "Indrid Cole." I mean...WTH? This was in a Methodist Church too--people talking about contacting Demons regarding Indrid Cold, which has NOTHING to do with Mothman except in the fictionalized movie account. I understand there is a paranormal side to this, but there are those of us who like Cryptozoology and science , and I guess didn't realize this whole festival isn't about the truth but just about the crap that the Hollyweird Movie pushed together and put upon us as the truth, when it was anything but the truth. Indrid Cold has NOTHING to do with the Mothman except in the fictionalized movie. I spent a lot of money and time to plan for something that wasn't well thought out at all, and wasn't even that good to attend, and I had hoped to attend for many years now. # never again.

2 years ago my wife and I were trying to find someplace to go on our anniversary. Upon looking…read moreonline she called for me to come see what she found. The Morhman Festival. Our son was infatuated with the Mothman at that time. So, no brainier, we take our son to Point Pleasant, WV. The festival was pretty cool, LOTS of vendors selling cool Mothman/paranormal/cryptozoology stuff. They had a costume ball one night, too late for us with our son, so unfortunately we missed it. Let's not forget to mention the bands playing down on the riverfront! The only thing missing were some carnival rides. It was a pretty time.

Attended my first Starwood Festival in July. Great workshops. Fun times. It was nice to get back to…read moreWisteria after such a long time away.

From the owner: The Starwood festival occurs every second (full) week of July, and is held in the beautiful nature…read morepreserve that is Wisteria Campground and Event Site in Pomeroy, Ohio (near Athens). Starwood is a clothing optional event. The Midwest's oldest event of its kind, Starwood offers: A week long line-up of classes, workshops, and ceremonies offered by prominent teachers in their diverse fields. A melting pot of live performances by world renowned and local artists, drum and dance circles, music jams, and spontaneous free range creative exploration. The infamous Saturday night Bonfire, and so much more... Onsite amenities include: food vendors, swimming, hiking, hot showers, the kid village and co-op child care, family friendly camping in a beautiful private site, and a camp wide transport system.

Every time I've come to Portsmouth, the streets have been dead. Except for River Days…read more The view of the Ohio River from Portsmouth is gorgeous enough as it is. But, add food, music, and rides and you've got a great weekend on hand. After settling on a black cherry flavoured sno-cone, the boy and I walked the path along the river whilst listening to the free music playing at the riverfront amphitheater. If you have kids, there are plenty of free kids activities to keep them busy and happy. We missed the parade, and there is also fireworks to close out the festival but we just made a quick day-trip down to the area to check it out. Great festival with a great view along the riverfront that I hope to make a yearly outing!

River Days! The last 3 trips have been great! Great entertainment, good food, good people, and…read moregreat for the kids or grandkids. My biker friends and I make the trip and enjoy a great time. Beautiful scenery and you can't beat the Free entertainment. Plan for the whole weekend or just a day trip. It is worth the travel time.

FINALLY! I've known about the Pawpaw Fest for several years, and always managed to miss the…read moreweekend. This year, I made sure to mark it on my calendar and check it out. NOTE: single-day tickets are a bit on the higher side - $20, but a healthy portion of the proceeds goods toward the preservation of pawpaws in Ohio which is always a win-win situation. Tee shirt feen, right here! You bet I picked up a shirt (or two)! Love the cool design logo for this year's festival. Integrated Acres is a huge pawpaw farm in Athens, so I'm glad I went this year, got to taste the fruit - a cross between mango and banana. Got a big 'ol pouch of frozen pawpaw pulp to enjoy through the cold winter months - it's good to dream of tropical climates, folks! Oh, and Snoweville Creamery was at the fest selling their vanilla ice cream with pawpaw pulp on top, and let me tell you, mmmm mmm mmmmmmm!!

Just a small hop and skip from Athens sits Lake Snowden. A small lake, but notoriously known for…read moreone major event that pops up every September, Paw-paw fest! I've been going for years... mostly to stock up on paw-paw fruits. What's a paw-paw? It's Ohio's native fruit. It's actually one of the few fruits that grow in our part of North America. The fruits have particular growing environments that they need to thrive.... particularly, wet, ravine areas with shade, but still some sun. Perfect conditions for those who live in Hocking county & south.... in the north? Not so much, although some have been spotted in Clintonville area. The fruits range per the region they are cultivated, but Ohio's is typically a green avocado shaped fruit, which tastes like a mix between a very rip banana meets mango. They are related to the papaya family.... I believe. So, the festival itself is like something straight from a Mother Earth News magazine. Lots of workshops & presentations on permaculture, horticulture & pawpaws. Pretty informative stuff, if you're looking to learn. Across the grounds is a stage with locals stringing up some music. On one side of the festival you have crafters/artisans selling prints of their pawpaw masterpieces, ceramics, jewelry, glass, lawn ornaments, etc. On another side you have food vendors dishing up just regular food truck fare, and if you're lucky, some of them have paw-paw items to purchase. in between, you have vendors selling Ohio native plants, including paw-paw tree saplings and much more. Note**There are shuttles that run here, as once parking fills up in the main area, you're forced to shuttle. If you drive just a few hundred yards up the road, across from a gas station will be a large lot to park, and shuttle buses stop frequently. Going here is just easy going. Everyone's pretty laid back in true Athens county fashion. It's really easy to just sit back and get absorbed into all of it, and not to mention, Paw-paws are a delicious treat that Ohio gets to experience for a minuscule period of time. Worth a stop for all you hippie-earth-ohio-loving people.

The festival is a yearly tradition for the town. The weather was wonderful. We saw lots of booths…read moreselling items. We enjoyed looking at all the Longaberger baskets. The basket headquarters is in Dresden. There were programs and activities for each day of the festival. We found free street parking. It was fun talking to the vendors.

First Impression (***): "Uh oh!!!" We were passing through to get to Chillicothe. It was the first…read moretime we were in this part of the state. We saw the masses of people slowly increase when we realized we were driving through the heart of a festival! Actual Impression (*****): The idea of letting traffic pass through made sense... and is really cool! We would have stopped if parking sections were clearer! We saw a spray painted $4.00 parking sign and didn't trust it. The food looked great - I wish I could have had bourbon chicken delivered to my car window! The animal artist had a really cool alligator (or crocodile?) Lasting Impression (****): I would return if I happen to be that far away from home. Looked fun!

Best Bob Evans ever. Like right out of the past. Clean, calm, yummy. The restaurant Is bizarrely…read moreworth the stop. It's the best Bob Evans!

I typically don't do chain restaurant reviews, but since we stopped by the OG Bob Evans Farms, I…read morefigured it was worth it... We've driven by Rio Grande, OH enroute to visit the ole ball and chain's family in Martinsville, VA probably 20+ times and never stopped at the OG Bob Evans... We finally decided to stop and it was okay. The farm is cool, but definitely not as big as anticipated... It has the original homestead (on it), a bunch of land, a standard Bob Evan's restaurant, and that's it. We were thinking it was going to be a bit more of a historical homestead and much bigger. The restaurant itself was good though... Basically your regular Bob Evans - Good food and good service with the usual country feel. Idk that we'll make a stop back, but it was cool to finally get to the OG Bob Evans Farms.

I've been attending the Ohio River Sternwheel Festival in Marietta, OH since 2005, and rarely ever…read moremiss it. It is a fantastic festival held annually the second week of September (the weekend after Labor Day), along the Ohio River. From my understanding, this festival has been going on since 1976. It's a weekend festival of fun! So many vendors selling food, live music on the levee, a Sternwheel pageant, races, the most amazing Fireworks show you can imagine, children's activities, a car show, and of course Sternwheelers from all over the country. My advice would be to book a hotel well in advance, because they fill up fast. This is not your average small town festival, this festival brings in the crowds of roughly 100,000 people to the area. Once you attend, you'll realize why people come back again and again to this annual event!

This one day festival is set in the charming town of Mayslick, Kentucky, in between Maysville and…read moreParis, on Hwy 68 South. The festival celebrates all things Asparagus, since the climate and soil in this region of Kentucky is perfect for growing the vegetable beginning at 9:30 am and going until 10:00 in the evening. The town of Mayslick is lovely--a very old town, founded in 1788, but now, a sleepy little southern town, full of good people, a few antique shops, and home to the first consolidated negro school in Kentucky, begun in 1921 and closing in the early 1960's with integration, which has been lovingly restored over the years by the town and many of the alumni. The festival centers on the main street, which is closed to any car traffic. There are several vendors, one of my favorite being Homestead Greenhouses, an Amish greenhouse that offers heirloom varieties of tomatoes, fresh strawberries, Amish fried pies (cherry is the bomb!) and perennial selections that are a fraction of the cost you would spend at a local greenhouse. There is a very large Amish and Mennonite settlement that lies in the outskirts of Mayslick. Another favorite is Sunflower Sundries, from Mt. Olivet, from whom I've been buying soaps and whole grain mustards and elderberry jams from for YEARS. Jennifer Gleason, the proprietess of Sunflower Sundries is on the festival board and really loves to make the experience unique each and every year. Each year, there seems to be different vendors, so if you see something you want, get it or get a business card because they likely won't be back the next season! I was introduced to Cincinnati's Grateful Grahams at this festival, a totally delicious vegan graham crackers made in small batches by a gal here in Cincy, that I now have delivered in my Green Bean Delivery box each week, and I've gotten beautiful handmade pottery, hand made upcycled children's clothing from a woman in Frankfort, even tupperware. You just never know, so do bring some cash! The food vendors are fantastic--local pork and beef farms, and of course, ASPARAGUS!!! A variety of enticing offerings from grilled or fried asparagus and the "tasting room" sponsored by the festival has all things asparagus on the menu, including ice cream, soup, quiches, etc. Whatever your little veggie loving heart desires, all served up by some of the most welcoming folks I've ever met. Don't forget to hit Flat Fork Pork for their pulled pork sandwich, one of the best pork bbq's I've had in sometime. There is an annual art show, housed in a gorgeous old church in the center of town (you can't miss it!) has entries from local artists that depict Asparagus in all mediums, some works are for purchase, others not, and there is a voting booth where you can submit your choice for the festival favorite. Two bandstands and a variety of musicians performing--sometimes it's gospel, sometimes it's covers of country and rock tunes, but I've been lucky enough each year to stick around for Karly Dawn Higgins & Sarah Wood, two instructors from the Cowan Creek Mountain School of Music who are ultra talented gals playing original mountain tunes and they really make the festival even more special for me. You can take a tractor ride to the Burwall Farm where you can pick your own asparagus, meet the new baby chicks and experience an informative Q & A with the farm's owner, talk with the extension service about local asparagus, sample recipes and give your thumbs up or "nay". Remember, it's only held one day, on the 3rd Saturday of May, so make your plans for 2013!