Absolutely loved this ballon fest! We only went on Saturday and tickets online were $25 but kids…read moreunder 6 were free! We got there at 7:30am so parking was super easy! Definitely get the parking pass ($15), totally worth it especially if you have a young kiddo like we did. Parking and the event is in a grassy field. We packed water, snacks, blankets and even clothes to change when it warmed up in the afternoon. We planned to stay for the morning balloons and the afternoon balloons so we were prepared. The balloons were so cool. And we were really close. They also did tethered balloon rides and balloon flights for purchase. There were plenty of food stands , drinks areas and vendors. There was also a kids area with shows, bounce houses and hay bails for chilling. They only had porta-potties but never had to wait in line. They also do a night glow and for $2 you could walk inside a balloon getting inflated. This was such a fun family-friendly event with great photo opps. There were a lot of people but never felt overly crowded. We will be making this a family tradition!

Phenomenal event, not too crowded, great for families and couples. Do not miss this annual event.read more

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.

I went this year and we had a fabulous time. Be aware that it has now been renamed to "Carolina…read moreClassic Fair". The food is everywhere and as exotic as you might expect from a fair (fried Oreo's, anyone?), but is high priced. Can you go to a fair and NOT get a funnel cake? They're $15, but it's once a year... They have a good selection of rides though the lines were long on Friday night and I would expect they would be even worse over the weekend. Parking is $10 at the Wake Forest Coliseum (a short walk), which is safer than parking in someone's yard (for the same price). It's $10 per person to enter, if you order online, and then you'll spend $20 every 4 rides (roughly). It can add up quickly, but so can the level of enjoyment.

Nice family time on a weekday afternoon. We decided to go on Thursday afternoon before the evening…read morecrowd and it was perfect. It was a breezy day and the sites gave me such a nostalgic feeling of old timey trips to the fair when I was young. I especially enjoyed watching children enjoy the rides and families just strolling happily and peacefully.

WHY DID I WAIT SO MANY YEARS TO COME HERE!!!!…read more Wow, I had TOO much fun this year at the Carolina Renaissance Festival with a group of friends. We went on a Saturday around 11am and there was light traffic getting in, but it moved quickly and flowed smoothly. The parking situation was very organized and quick. The lot is massive but they have staff every step of the way so it was seamless. We walked a little ways to the entrance but everyone is in costume so the people watching started immediately and that was so fun! Before you even enter the gates to the festival they have some cool vendors out front. There was even the Tardis from Doctor Who and I lost my mind with excitement!!! I couldn't believe it!!! That encounter really set the pace for the rest of the day because I was on cloud 9 before we even entered the park!!!! Once we entered it was really like stepping back in time. The festival grounds were clean and the buildings looked in great shape. All the staff I encountered were kind and helpful. There's so much to see and eat. I thoroughly enjoyed a turkey leg, loaded baked potato, roasted pecans and pumpkin ale! Honestly, this was such a great time!!!! I cannot wait to go back next year. We left about 2:30 pm because we really had so much fun in such a short time. This worked out too because we completely avoided the traffic leaving. It was really a perfect trip! Soooooooooo much fun!!!!

This was my first ever time making it to the Ren Fest and I was very pleased with the experience!…read more Be warned, it's extremely busy and they will sell out so buy your tickets in advance. The car line to get in and out was quite long, but overall it's a smooth experience. Free parking, but you will end up walking about a mile to the entrance so comfortable shoes are a MUST. The main thing I wanted to experience was a turkey leg, and they did not disappoint! The price is definitely steep at $16 each, but they are huge and delicious. Cash only but ATMS are all around. Expect to wait in line for anything and everything and arrive early to any shows you want to see because seats fill up fast. I enjoyed the Witch Trial comedy show where they actually chose one of my friends as a volunteer and it was hilarious! The Joust was fun and had some unexpected twists, but the bleacher seats are sooooo uncomfortable. The Falconry show was my favorite. We got to interact with the Raven and give him tips. The birds fly super close to you and might even touch your head when going over. I'd recommend anyone visiting at least once! It's a worthwhile experience. Expect to spend a chunk of change, and you should definitely dress up! Of course, you won't stand out if you don't, so don't worry about that. Anyone will fit in here and feel welcomed by the environment.

What a wonderful festival hosted here in Greensboro. For 2025, I enjoyed it as a listener and…read morevolunteer. It is certainly worth going to all weekend if able. It's a free festival featuring a very walkable downtown Greensboro. During the event, the whole place felt like a massive city. All sorts of food can be found, and the festival tents sell drinks as well. However, more options can be found at all the participating establishments and local breweries. The music of course was amazing. With 6 major stages, and a few other smaller spots, a listener is bound to find what they like. Music was a 5/5 and the vibes too!

The NC Folk fest is always so much fun! This free event is every fall in Greensboro, NC. This year…read morewe found the BEST kettle corn. The butter kettle corn and caramel kettle corn were sooo good! The kettle corn vendor is St. Popperville Kettle Corn. 10/10 recommend.

This little Yelp profile deserves an upgraded, & a recent review. This is one of the best beer…read morefestivals that Charlotte has to offer. The weather this year was perfect. Not terribly hot, but blue skies and plenty of beer. No, I don't think that beer is usually included in a weather forecast - but maybe it should be! Blue skies and 100% chance of local beer and swag. This festival seems to be very well organized and attended. You're able to camp, if that's your preference, all weekend! I did not, as I am very spoiled and like camping at home, in my house, with the A/C on - but I know that some people like it. TONS of local breweries come out for this festival and offer unlimited samples on Saturday, and you can vote for your favorite brewery! Food trucks were just up the hill, I don't know if this is the norm as this was my first time attending. A little out of the way, but not a pain. There are booths with local crafts and goodies too, if that's more your pace. Bring lots of sunscreen, as the festival takes place in an open field on Rural Hill grounds, and there's some (but not much shade). Or you can hide from the sun under one of the beer tents. Rural Hill is gorgeous, I'm glad this festival went so well this year as I know that they've been struggling with keeping events on track in the last year. This is definitely something to put on your calendar - local beers, friendly beer reps, food trucks, live music, local crafts and beautiful scenery! Win win win win win win.

Myself, some friends and several other thousands of people stopped by the 2nd annual North Carolina…read moreBrewers and Music Festival and it was a very well attended event for certain. The location of Rural Hill was a great selection for them because of all the open space it provided for people to move around. It's remote location and many acres let people pretty much have the run of the property and you didn't get that somewhat kettle'd in feeling that the Octoberfest can bring on. The food vendors they had were pretty limited with there only being a hot dog stand, hamburger stand and I believe a BBQ stand but amazingly enough they didn't seem to run out of food (while we were there) so if you wanted to grab a bite to eat there was at least food to be had. There was also the music/bands on the main stage but I'd say about 80% of the attendees were only there for the beer tasting. They seemed to do a very good job of representing a lot of North Carolina Brewers and there were probably about 12-14 tents up handing out the samples of sweet hoppy deliciousness. I gotta get on to the reason I only gave this event 3 stars though and that is because of the poor event planning that seemed to go into this with regards to being able to accommodate the large crowd they had. My friends had prepaid tickets and I decided I would just eat the additional 5$ charge and get my ticket at the gate for the beer tasting. We probably showed up at around 130 and the line for tickets was at least 150 people deep. They seemed to do a pretty good job of moving the line along but mid way through a woman came out and announced that they were no longer selling tickets for the beer sampling because they were afraid the beer vendors would run out of beer. Right then and there many people just peeled out of the line and went on their merry way to other probably anywhere else the could get a cold draft. With my friends already inside I was pretty much committed to the event or else I would have up and left myself but I figured what the hell. I'll just pay the 20$ and claim designated driver rights so my friends can have a good time. Once inside it was amazing to see the lines at the beer tents. They were probably at least 100 people in each line and moving rather slowly. I tagged along with my friends as they hit each of the tents in succession. The vendors would give you a small plastic cup and for your sample you'd have probably 4 ounces. Nothing unreasonable there or anything you wouldn't expect for a beer sampling but after you had hit one vendor you would have to immediately go to the next line and begin your wait all over again. From what I could tell they probably needed at least double the number of beer tents to support the number of people they had in attendance. We ended up leaving after the last of the free tastings came and went and by that time most of the beer vendors had packed up and left because they ran out of product to hand out. Oh yeah, and the first keg was kicked probably around 3pm and that just added to the other lines becoming longer. Overall, it is a great idea for a event (weather permitting as always) for people who like to get out for a beer tasting. I'm sure the promoters will rave about it being a roaring success but when you have people being turned away at the gate or having to spend 30$-35$ just to stand in line all day it comes off as kind of "ehh". Until they get a better handle on how many people will be in attendance and scale the event to suit everyone I'd say it's a flip of the coin on whether or not you should check it out. Lastly, mad props to the Lonerider folks. They seemed to have a endless supply of beer and their staff was keeping the cups topped off and line moving as fast as they possibly could.

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.

I went for two days. I parked on the street which was challenging with the meters. The final day…read morehad free parking which was great. It wasn't extremely busy when I went, on purpose. I loved exploring and trying to various foods. You can buy coins in person or on line. The coins are what you have to use. I do wish the drinks were not samples as it is usually hot. I understand food samples but drinks so be regular size and allow people to purchase them. Loved the food that I tried. I will be back again. I appreciate getting out and exploring my area and learning more about local businesses.

I honestly did not love the crowds and the long lines on a 90 degree day . However, the items I did…read moremanage to Taste were good, I regretted that I did not go around 11 am before it got hot. The walking and lack of seating was truly exhausting.