If you are fortunate to be in West Virginia and in Pocahontas county the last Saturday of…read moreSeptember, the town of Marlinton should be your destination. This festival has been going on for awhile but when Andrew Zimmern from the show "Bizarre Foods" featured the festival on his show, it got a boost in attendance. My better half and I decided to drive 4 1/2 hours and explore what the 2019 WV Roadkill Cookoff and Fall Festival was all about. Husband is a hunter/ fisherman and adventurous eater. He has no hesitation when it comes to something "different." While there was no possum, groundhog or squirrel on the menus, there was bear, deer, boar offered. We arrived early Saturday morning and learned there are a number of events. A biscuit bake off was going on at the Opera House and a race called the possum run, music at the gazebo and the cookoff. The main street through town was blocked off and lined with a number of booths with crafts and food for sale. Husband was itching to see where the cookoff was and we were guided to the edge of town where the competitors were distributing their special dishes. We purchased wrist bands for $5 each and that would entitle us to taste test. We were also given tickets to vote for our favorite dish. We were surprised to see that there were only 8-9 competitors. We had expected more participants, but after seeing all the work put in to their food, presentation and booth decoration, i admire those who entered and competed. Small portions were handed out, but we had a lot of fun going from booth to booth. My favorite was the bear goulash and corn muffin. Husband liked the wild boar and venison. It's a small town festival with lots of locals who were very friendly. The music was my favorite thing of all. I would go back again next year just to sit by the gazebo and listen to old time and bluegrass music. PS - at the end of the day, we made our way back to our car only to discover we had a flat tire. As my guy started to fix it, several locals came over to help and see if we needed anything. They offered a portable air compressor to put air in the tire to see where the leak was. Then they stayed with us until we got back on the road to our motel. This wouldn't happen in my hometown. I came away from the weekend loving this part of West Virginia. The mountains and the people are amazing.

Knowing my penchant for eating weird stuff, the hubby suggested we go to the roadkill festival…read more Always down for an adventure, and wanting to check squirrel off my "to try" list, I was in. Here's how it works (theoretically, at least). For a very small admission fee ($3) you get to sample all of the roadkill offerings, and vote for your favorite by casting your "golden ticket" ticket into your chosen chef's ballot box. Sounds simple, eh? As with many things in life, it got unnecessarily complicated. Although the festival is by no means new (it's been going on for 25 years), my guess is that the festival was suffering from some growing pains after getting some national exposure on the Travel Channel. With the exception of the guy who made boar chili, we waited for 30-45 minutes to sample EACH item. Sometimes, we had to wait for the food to be cooked; othertimes, the distribution was simply inefficient and painfully slow in relation to the large crowd. I never got to try one participant's food AT ALL, because the participant simply ran out of food. What the hell? Inevitably, I gave my ticket to the boar dude, mostly because he was the only one who didn't aggravate me. In addition to the roadkill samplings, they had a section with various vendors selling crafts and food, including local wineries, boy scouts, FFA, etc. By the time we were done spending several hours waiting in lines, much of the non-sample sized food (smoked pork, lamb, etc.) was completely sold out. Again, I believe that more people showed up than they anticipated. Would I go back? Maybe in a couple of years, after they get come of their bugs worked out.

This was the first time this event has been held and I will say they did a pretty good job. They…read morehad an information stand and maps available for visitors. Considering this was also our first time to Rocky Mount the map was very helpful. The reason for only giving a 3 star rating was because of the lack of actual moonshine. Though I have never been to a moonshine festival before I had hoped that there would be actual moonshine to purchase to take home and moonshine distillers to talk with. This was not the case. The only place that had moonshine available at the festival during the day was at the Bootleggers Cafe. You could purchase a flight of 4 moonshine cocktails for $8. There was a night time ticketed event called Shine and Dine that we did not attend where according to the website you could "Enjoy an enchanted evening with a moonshine and local foods tasting under the stars. Sample fantastic "shines" in several flavors from local and state distilleries along with a selection of foods and delicious desserts prepared by local chefs". I just wish this option was also available during the day. The good: 1) Pretty well organized 2) The event is free (free entertainment and displays) 3) They provided shuttle service & ample parking lots around town 4) They had a kids zone (not sure whats in there since we don't have kids) So what could make this a 5 star event you ask? Here are a few ideas: 1) Blocking the street off to traffic 2) Having a distillers/tasting area during the daytime 3) Getting more vendor booths...specifically Virginia artists/crafts men - especially the Franklin County Moonshine distillers (not sure what the ABC laws are regarding this) Though this event was not quite what I had imagined, it was not all that far off. It just needs times for the word to spread and for it to grow into the larger, bolder event it was meant to be.

This is our second time coming to this Arts & Crafts Festival... what a nice drive from Richmond…read more I love Crozet, it's a cool area. They have this festival twice a year, spring and fall. Last fall we had a blast here. This year, in May, was a different story... but I'll get to that later. This festival is smaller that most I've been to but I like it because you can see everything in a short time. Plenty of parking. It's not expensive to get in, $7. There are door prizes given away every 1/2 hour (last year I won a quilt!) It's designed well, food trucks in the back, lots of picnics tables and seating under a large tent, and an even bigger tents housing all the artisans booths. Nice for those hot days like today. The band was good! Three guys and a gal playing accordion. We dug it! Cool songs. Now for the not so great... you know, you don't want to compare, but sometimes it's appropriate. So last year we spent a pretty penny and left with a load of cool crafts... handmade soaps, food stuffs, plants, jewelry (earrings $10), greeting cards, art work, etc. This year we left with nothing! Why? The prices were exorbitant. We noticed that this year all the booths we bought from last year were gone. In their place were expensive booths. Now I understand that creativity has its price, but these are local folks selling their crafts and art, it's not a museum. I won't belabor the point or delineate the number of times we were in sticker shock, suffice it to say we were disappointed. We all agreed to come back one more in the fall and see if the difference is a seasonal thing. If not, I highly doubt we will be venturing to the Crozet Festival again. I'll keep you posted and revise my review then. Empty handed and dismayed, we headed off to a nearby winery to drown our sorrows!! (Wink, wink)

From the owner: Juried Art and Craft Festival featuring over 100 professional handcrafters in a variety of media…read moreincluding fine art, jewelry, furniture, personal care items, and more! Great food, Virginia wine and draft beer, live music, craft demonstrations, and special children's activities make this bi-annual Festival a family-friendly weekend destination. The Festival, held in May and October each year, benefits Claudius Crozet Park - a registered non-profit owned and operated by the community of Crozet. The Park is located a scenic 20 minutes west of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

There was "a lot to do," but for me, the "staples" of a fall festival were missing... no corn pit,…read moreno barrel train for the kids, no hay ride, and no big stacks of hay bails to climb on. Nothing to bounce on. Pony rides are $10 each which seems a bit much. I like that there were big slides, there was a cute obstacle course and mini maze, and some other random things like tug of war and tetherball. For the age ranges of my kids (2-8), it felt meh compared to some other places I've been more in the Hampton roads area. We don't do the large corn mazes l due too the kids ages, they just get bored, so my suggestion would be to have a separate cost for corn maze. For reference, wood ridge farm brewery has a sand-filled playground, corn maze and a petting zoo for a bit cheaper... they do have a train, hay ride, and bounce house, but it all costs extra. I guess you can't have it all.

This was such a fun place to visit with kids! We visited in mid-October and it checked all the fall…read morefestival boxes. It's a vibe for sure and well worth the price of admission. They had it all, from apple cider (cold and hot!), apple cider donuts, ice cream, and fresh squeezed lemonade to a pumpkin patch and oodles of kids activities (slides, hill rolling, corn pits, apple sling shot, corn cannons, an epic corn maze, farm animals, pony rides and more). Need a pumpkin? Pick one in their patch! If you're looking for an idyllic fall festival, look no further but be warned that your kids won't want to leave! It is also dog friendly and we never had a long wait for a bathroom or any of the activities. At night they have movies and fire pits with s'mores kits.

To Whom It May Concern,…read more I wanted to share my recent experience at the fair in hopes that it can help improve future processes. As part of employee appreciation, I was given two tickets to redeem at the ticket counter by 6:00 PM. I arrived at approximately 5:45 PM, well within the designated time, but due to inclement weather and lightning in the area, we were not allowed inside. During this time, announcements were being made encouraging people to seek shelter in the building for safety reasons. We followed these instructions, but shortly afterward, police directed everyone to exit the building again. The situation was very confusing and disorganized, with no clear guidance on how or where to safely wait. Once things cleared up, we finally made it to the ticket counter around 7:30 PM to redeem our tickets. I explained our situation to the staff member, including that we had arrived on time but were prevented from entering. Despite this, she would not honor our tickets. This was especially disheartening since we had only brought enough money for food and drinks, and we were forced to use that to purchase admission instead. It was disappointing, especially for the kids, and unfortunately, it left a negative impression on what was meant to be a fun and appreciative experience. Personally, if I were in her position, I would have shown compassion and made sure the children received their wristbands, given the unusual circumstances. Because of this experience, I have decided not to return to the fair. I hope in the future more understanding and flexibility can be shown during weather-related situations, especially when families are doing their best to comply with safety protocols

Would be better if they didn't have $10 extra per person for a single ride on top of paying $40 a…read moreperson for a full entry band . Having a fee of $40 is more than enough to cover all rides the Spaceport is an extra $10 a person per ride and that is ridiculous

Everyone involved with this "festival" should be flogged on Main Street. There were only two fried…read morechicken vendors. One was good, but not great and the other was truly awful. We waited in line 40 minutes. They promoted a contest for fried chicken and pies, but there was no evidence of such a contest and since they only had two vendors, who would get third prize? Ridiculous. I also so absolutely no evidence of the promised pie contest, and no vendors selling pies. To add they only had two porta potties for over 1000 people. Never again.

Great concept, but where's the chicken? People waited in line at one of the two (there was a third,…read morebut I couldn't find it) chicken vendors for hours; folks left without getting thier food. I don't need any more soap, jelly, candles or tie dyes, I came for chicken and pie. Dissapointed, waste of a precious Saturday.

5.10.25. This was the first Renaissance Faire that my husband and I ever attended and, to be…read morehonest, we weren't sure what to expect. Given that it was only about twenty minutes from home, we decided to give it a try. We reviewed their website, and purchased our tickets on line -- $18 for me (adult) and $12 for my husband (Senior, 65+). We arrived around 10:15 am to a long line of cars at the entrance, but didn't have any problems with parking. At the entrance, there was an ID check for participants who wanted to purchase beer, wine, or mead inside (wristband given), and a second faster line for the actual entrance. We were given a schedule that highlighted the day's shows and activities. (This was also posted online though only the 2024 list of restaurants was posted). As the day evolved, we walked around the tented grounds a number of times, watched a number of performers, browsed some of the tented shops, watched a cooking demonstration, got a beer and a mead at one of the concessioners, and grabbed a quick lunch. (Note that most are cash only; there's an ATM on site). There was also a unique assortment of pay-for activities, such as skill games (archery, axe throwing, knife throwing), hair braiding, and fortune tellers. What we enjoyed most, however, was admiring the many costumed performers and attendees. Many of the costumes were quite elaborate though many were probably not authentic to Tudor England. We stayed for about three hours, leaving when it started to get quite warm. Overall, we enjoyed the faire, but probably not enough to go on an annual basis. The main issue was that it got crowded, and it was difficult for me (a shorter person) to see some of the demonstrations that I was more interested in -- such as the sword fighting or the queen's joust. Also, the lines were quite long for food and drinks, and insufficient tables to enjoy them. And, despite having the schedule, we never seemed to be in the right place and time, but that's on us! Lake Anna Winery is a beautiful site, and the Faire was spread out well. There were at least two First Aid stations, and sufficient port-a-potties at multiple locations on the grounds.

I've been to the PA, MD, and NY Renaissance Faires and decided I needed to give this one a try…read more Spoiler alert: I shouldn't have, as it's a very distant fourth. Day started with an absolute jerk parking cars in a lot so hilly I was not sure I was going to get my car out if it rained. That set the tone for the day. Basically, the people who were willingly volunteering their time (i.e. the Queen and her court) were amazing. Some of the best costumes I've ever seen and a real effort at historical accuracy while still being entertaining. Anyone who was actually being paid for their time less so and parking lot jerk was not my only negative interaction. Food was mediocre at best and in the case of the warm chocolate covered cheesecake (gross) possibly not safe. Venue was PACKED, lacking in any sort of charm as almost all "structures" were tents and the joust area was a sad little paddock, and vendors were aggressive. After buying two tiny bags of tea for $30 I can only assume that was to recoup their costs...but for what I'm not sure. Apparently in previous years they allowed other local vendors of mead but stopped that this year because of concerns of overserving. Um what? This is the only Renn Faire I've ever been to where people were single fisting out of actual whole wine bottles as they walked around. Apparently it's fine as long as the bottles are from the host winery? Right. I bought tickets for Saturday and Sunday and didn't even bother to go back Sunday. It's a real shame as the volunteers clearly put in a lot of effort to make this a good experience and it's ruined by the poor quality of the venue and its workers.

Awesome festival for adults and families! A great way to spend a weekend when it's held, for a fun…read moretime. There are band lineups all weekend, and vendors with food and beer. Plently of activies for kids as well, such as their inflatable jumping pad. Misty Mountain is also an excellent place to camp, with cabins, camper spots, and plots for tents. The entrance fee is donations for a food pantry. The best part is all the friendly people! Highly recommend if you are in the area when it's held!