The light show is absolutely worth it!! What a way to get into the Christmas spirit. It is $30…read moreper car and beautiful. 5 Santa's village is underwhelming. It has lots of things for kids and lots of snacks, but it could have so much more. 2 I would have loved to ride the mechanical reindeer, but it was just for kids.

Located in the Virginia Farm Bureau building off Dawn Blvd, this seasonal event space puts a…read morecheery-cherry atop your Illuminate Light Show extravaganza experience. There's refreshments, COFFEE, holiday crafts, etc for purchase. And for children, the Village features four core rides/attractions: inflatables park, bungee trampoline, Christmas train ride, and bucking mechanical reindeer. .... Oh yeah, and this is also the place to get a family photograph with Kris Kringle himself, provided that's what you're into. Yes: kid friendly

We drove an hour one way to visit with my stepdaughter while she was on Spring break. Before…read moreleaving, I checked every website to ensure that they would be open (Facebook, Google, etc). We made the trip for nothing. No sign on the door, no one in sight in the middle of a Thursday afternoon in April. Just make sure if you plan on visiting, that they are there to do their jobs, because apparently they just don't show up sometimes. With gas over $4/gal, you would think they would be considerate of keeping their hours up to date.

The museum focused on more than James Madison. Some…read moreinteresting information, such as Zachary Taylor was James Madison's second cousin and was president for one year, one month and a few days. It is totally self funded, but to be honest if you are interested in James Madison just go to Mountpelier and see his Home.

I had a good experience at the VA State Fair. A fun time for individuals and families. The games…read moreand activities are entertaining. I wouldn't consider it in the category as one of the best fairs I've visited, however, being this is the annual event of its kind for Virginians, there's no better experience in Virginia. Parking is free, however, a frustrating experience if you do not arrive early as virtually everyone drives to this fair. If you don't arrive early, it is a literal hike to the fair grounds from the satelite parking, so prepare to walk. If you have the ability, purchase the parking that gets you closer access to the grounds. It is worth it especially at the end of a long day. The food here leaves more to be desired. Think your typical DMV carnival food. The availability of exciting, novelty foods is limited which is disappointing for a state fair. They do have your classic fair foods like hot dogs, funnel cakes, corn dogs, fries, chicken fingers, etc.. I give them credit for attempting to create jaw-dropping food items, however, some of them seemed to lack the creativity, flavor, and quality that you sometimes see at some of the country's premiere state fairs. For example, the bacon-topped chicken sandwich and bacon-topped jalapeños mac & cheese was a good effort, but bland and low quality. The drinks at the various stations are perhaps the best value as you can get refills on the larger and more expensive drinks. I recommend arriving early to get good parking, first dibs at food and rides, and a better uninhibited walking experience. The grounds can get oppressively crowded after midday on weekends and locals don't help this as they are able to take advantage of late entry. When I visited, I exited the grounds after 3pm and people were still arriving in droves.

First time at the Virginia State Fair, went opening weekend and I think there are some pros and…read morecons of the whole experience! Pros: The admission fee felt extremely fair especially when purchasing in advance online. I found there to be so much to do for free with admission including an Agricultural themed mini-golf, animal exhibits and plenty of organizations tabling to make the whole experience feel very educational. Parking being free was a highlight and the walk did not feel terrible! It was paved most of the way and the fair layout felt very intuitive. The entertainment was another highlight! The Triple Crown Circus was about 50 minutes of pure delight! Those performers really care about their craft and I had an amazing time watching them. The other entertainer that was phenomenal was Rosaires Pig Racing! That was the most entertaining 30 minutes of interactive fun I've ever had. I have seen them at fairs in other states and they still are extremely fun to participate in and watch. Cons: The food was extremely pricy with small portions and not very fresh or good. We ended up trying a chicken tenders basket which was $16 for two tenders and fries, A chicken & waffles slider with waffle fries for $12 and a $3 debit card fee. The waffles were very similar to eggo in shape, size and thickness, while the chicken was chewy and lukewarm. Typically the fair is a place where food gets weird and weird tastes amazing. Here there were not many options of unique food offerings beyond the typical turkey legs and funnel cakes. The lines were a bit long without much direction so people were kind of standing in areas without any guidelines making it hard to maneuver around the space, just something to consider if you have mobility concerns. The last con was the lack of free water or hydration. It was around 85 degrees with extreme sun. Typically when I have attended festivals, concerts or even fairs, there are usually water fountains or hydration stations to refill water bottles, however there were none here. With such a hot day 5 dollars on the low end for a bottle of water felt almost like gouging, especially with no other options for hydration. Overall, I think this was a fun experience for the entertainment. We did not try the rides so can't speak to those but I think coming for the entertainment is worth it, I just wouldn't reccomend it for an avid fair foodie.

5/17/26 Out of all the places I saw at the Farmers Market…read more at The Mosaic District this past Sunday morning, Hog Heaven Farm's Breakfast Booth caught my attention. Maybe it was the smells of the food. Maybe it was the grass feed animals. Maybe it was the food of a new business I've never tried. Maybe it was the fact I was hungry and I hadn't had breakfast yet. Maybe it's all of these things all rolled up in one. Whatever it is, I wanted it. Everything I saw looked good, but I knew I would not be eating eggs. (A childhood trauma of having to eat them as a kid...disgusting) I ordered a Double Patty Hog Heaven Sandwich with their grass feed bacon. The cheese that goes on the Hog Heaven Sandwich is a gress fed Irish Cheddar Cheese. Something I have never had before. I have to say, the taste took a bit of time getting used to it, but it was worth its weight in gold. All together, I should have bought two of these bad boys and forgot about the food at the next shop we went to. Now from what I have seen on Hog Heaven Farm's website, there isn't an actual restaurant you can go to and try the food. Maybe they could open up a shop at the former Myron Mixon BBQ located at 2670a Avenir Pl, Vienna, VA 22180. I think Hog Heaven Farm's would make killing on good quality food there. The ambience at this business was uplifting. The quality of the food speaks for itself on how they raise their farm animals. The price for eating Hog Heaven Farm's Breakfast Food is a bit pricy, but like I said, it's worth its weight in gold. I will certainly be coming back to The Farmer's Market next weekend for two more of these delicious breakfast sandwiches. I will say this, if Hog Heaven Farm's did have drinks at this business, they must have run out and removed their sign. Nevertheless, I did find another place for drinks. I think it would help if this location had their own drinks. I think it would help boost sales. Just a thought.

I love the breakfast sandwich and have now made getting it part of my routine at the Old Town…read moreFarmers Market. I usually substitute bacon for sausage, so sometimes I have to wait while they cook up some bacon, but I usually don't have to wait more than 10 minutes for the sandwich to be ready. I love the homemade english muffins, as well as the tomato aioli they put on the sandwiches. I have even taken the breakfast sandwich home and reheated it later for lunch and it was equally as delicious reheated. Overall, a delicious breakfast sandwich that I look forward to getting every Saturday morning!

I had the pleasure of spending a night at Brodie Farm in late July while visiting battlefield sites…read morein the area. The inn was incredibly peaceful and inviting, with large rooms. Jimmie and Susan were wonderful hosts and made me feel right at home. Breakfast was a delight. I highly recommend Brodie Farm when you are visiting the Fredericksburg are and are looking for more than just the nornal hotel experience!

This is a perfect place to stay when visiting the area, especially if you are visiting the…read moreChancellorsville, Spotsylvania or Wilderness battlefields. This is a farmhouse converted to a B&B. It has extremely roomy accommodations very comfortably furnished. The owners are very personable and have anticipated your needs. Breakfast is outstanding. The setting is a working farm, with the property having seen activity during both the Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania Civil War battles. For those not familiar with the area, by staying here you avoid having to stay in a Fredericksburg hotel and fighting heavy traffic on Route 3 just to get out to the battlefields. If that's where you're going, why not stay practically on the battlefields?

If your coming to The battlefield, I'd recommend this stop first and spend the 45min and walk the…read morepreserved land. See this part of the field as they did in '63. Then take the drive west to the battlefields of the next two days. Gives a better idea of space and time than you can get from a book. Also it shows how important it's was to save this land. Just look at the traffic and the mass of modern buildings just over the crest of the hills to the east.

For history bluffs, this is a good lead up to the full Battle of Chancellorsville site just a few…read moremiles down the road.

I was literally detoured to pass by this gallery and the open sign by the road made me zip into the…read moreparking lot. The owner is a ceramic artist & she also has other artists featured in her gallery. She took time to walk the gallery with me and tell me about the different artists and her art. I loved her horse sculptures! I found a little treasures to add to my home collection and really just treasures the conversation. I hope she finds another clay body she loves since her supplier was lost to hurricane Helene.