We absolutely enjoy the fair!…read more Going to the fair is easy- buy your tickets online- it's free to park. We parked in the field on Edwards Mill- buses came every 5 minutes- very comfortable! Friendly drivers. We got dropped at the gate- then enjoyed ourselves- We didn't ride any rides - way too expensive (giant slide $7) unbelievable. The food was so pricey- one sausage $18 - lol - eat before you come (and bring snacks) Seeing all the shows and all the vendors- so much fun!

I had a blast at the NC State Fair this year. My favorite food came from Peachey's: the best donut…read moreand pretzel I've ever had! Food was pricy as always, but I've come to expect from the fair. The garden/flower area was beautiful and they had some volunteers stationed to take your picture. "The Art of Bonsai" demonstration courtesy of the Triangle Bonsai Society my favorite activity this year. It was awesome to learn (and see) how Bonsai trees are raised.

The wife and I always enjoy going to the herb fest. It is held in the festival park at Wake Forest…read moreevery year for a week towards the end of April / beginning of May timeframe. When you arrive at festival park there are carts / wagons towards the entrance. Grab one of these because you will want to load up once you see the variety. As you head down into the center of the park you will see a bunch of tables lined up with various herbs on them. They are organized and categorized very nicely to help find what you are looking for. There are typically several varieties of each herb grouped together. They also have several very knowledgable staff on hand to answer any questions you may have. At last year's herb festival I was actually a star! They shot a quick video of yours truly asking a question to the herb specialist for the evening news. In reality I asked him several questions and found out some very interesting things. Did you know that Rosemary does not grow well in a pot? Rosemary apparently grows best in the ground and prefers sandy well drained soil. We also learned why we have such a difficult time growing Cilantro. Ours always gets very scrawny and just grows seed pods (coriander). Apparently the difference is simply temperature. Even if grown in the shade under other plants the temperature in our region is not suitable for Cilantro. It will grow coriander if you like, but the cilantro leaves will only thrive in areas with consistent temperatures below 80 degrees. He did point us to Culantro which we had never heard of. The name sounds similar to Cilantro for good reason. It is basically Cilantro for warmer climates. It grows well even in hotter areas and tastes like Cilantro but the leaves are longer and skinnier with what looks like sharp edges. It is very comforting to be able to ask people the best way to take care of the herbs so you can ensure your new purchases thrive and do not wither away. If you prefer you can also browse the tents around the perimeter of the herbs containing a variety of merchandise and food from local businesses. Many offer any type of trinket you can imagine while a few local restaurants have food samples and coupons to entice you to come see them. Over towards the stage there is almost always some type of live entertainment ranging anywhere from a magician for the kids to local high school bands. The dates and times of each performance are posted on the website so you know what to expect or can plan your trip if one of them looks particularly interesting. There are also a few of the typical festival food fare such as hot dogs, funnel cakes, and lemonaid. Once you have loaded up on your herbs you head back to the entrance towards the couple of tents. Typically there is a small line here but it goes pretty quickly as there are multiple cashiers to assist you. Several individuals rome around and will count up your items and hand you a ticket detailing your purchases. You then step up to a cashier and hand them the ticket so they can ring you up. They will take cash, check, mastercard, and visa. We go every year and always enjoy a lazy day (starting with a coffee from Wake Forest Coffee Company of course). The only problem I foresee with next year is where to put our new items. We have completely filled our screened in porch this year with containers of plants so I suppose we will have to replace some items or get inventive!

I visit the Wake Forest Herb Fest every year. I've done so since we moved to WF as it is a great…read moreway to stock up on some homegrown/organic herbs for your kitchen or garden. Herbfest is free and is situated at the Festival Park on South White. It used to take place over the course of a week, but this year, it was over two consecutive weekends. Since we were out of town the first weekend, we went this past (lesson learned, there are not as many options on the last weekend). I went looking for my standards: lavender, cilantro, mint, lemon basil, and catnip. I found all of what I was looking for, except the cilantro. I was able to learn a bit from the staff who told me that I can start my own cilantro by using coriander seed and advised me as to how to go about doing so. I also purchased locally grown tomato plants and am going to start my own growing of tomatoes this year. Also available at Herbfest this year was the White Street Brewery Beer, however, they were only offering the Scottish Ale. Not as many options on the last weekend, I assume. Also, the first weekend, there is live music, and different exhibits from the local high schools. The Herbfest is definitely a great local event, and a way to support local gardeners, and a learning experience as well! A must every year!

This past weekend I took part in the curbside beer pick up. Great concept, particularly since the…read moreactual festival was cancelled. It was great opportunity to support our local NC breweries.You can pick up an assortment of beers. I ordered a 5 pack of sours for $18. The only issue were the lines were quite long. I was in line, probably 2 hours in my car to pick up the drinks. In the future, it would help to have multiple pick up spots. This was a fun alternative in the setting of social distancing.

There are things I love about Brewgaloo and things I hate, but overall, from a participants…read moreperspective, it's good enough to have brought me back three years in a row, so I guess that deserves a four star rating. Anyone you talk to that's been to Brewgaloo will agree that the event is utterly disorganized. They encourage patrons to buy tickets ahead of time BUT DON'T! The will call line is always 3-4 times longer then the usually nonexistent 'day of' line. Honestly, the confusion is ultimately in the purchasing and ID checking of the event. I'm not sure if the staff doesn't know what they're supposed to be doing or don't communicate, but it's just a cluster f. Don't purchase full pours. This is honestly in your best interest since the 3oz pours are never under, rather they're almost always over. Sometimes the beer tents even give you a full pint for funzies. Not sure how people are making money with this event; I've heard it's by how ever many empty kegs you have at the end, while others have told me it's through token collect. Either way, the breweries themselves don't seem to be regulating the process very well. In addition, I have run into more then one tent where they're giving away free samples! One of the reason's I love Brewgaloo is that I'm paying for the exact amount I want to drink. I'm not paying $50+ a ticket like most of the local beer fests. Rather, I'll buying however many $1 3oz pours or $5 pints I can drink. It's much more financially friendly for those of us that don't go crazy at festivals like this. Last year, like many of the reviews stated, vendors were running out of beer and it was getting messy the later it got. This year, it was drizzling rain during the whole event. And while I thought that would keep a lot of people at home, it kept about 1/4 of the regular crowd home. If you're going to this event and it's a nice day out, expect LONG lines for beer and food. It's just that kind of festival. Finally, if you don't like drunk people, this would be an event to avoid. Other then that, come on down to Fayetteville and enjoy music (some so loud you won't be able to hear anything else), beer from what must be every single brewery in North Carolina and even some liquor! The variety of food trucks but most of all, the gathering of groups of friends, looking to have a good time. See you next year!

My daughter and I made it to ArtWalk for the first time. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived…read moreabout 15 minutes before the official start time and scored prime parking. We were there to buy Christmas gifts from a specific artisan, and just walked around the corner from where we parked to buy the pottery I had been coveting on Etsy. The local artists set up shop on the front lawns and porches of homeowners; and the houses are so cute! Everyone was friendly and the art work and crafts were amazing. There are so many talented local artists. ArtWalk is a great venue to showcase and support them.

The first local Earth Day festival I attended a few years back was fun. I was working at Algonquin,…read moreand one of our authors -- Richard Louv -- was in town as a special speaker on getting our kids back in touch with nature at the Museum of Natural Science. I came out to support that but stuck around for the fun festival activities: earth-friendly clothes for sale; a strolling magician; a one-man junk band; and meeting THE Burt of Burt's Bees fame. In the last few years, the festival has grown even more supporting lots of live musical acts, a cute kid's parade where they march downtown with instruments and outfits constructed from recycled materials, even a large-scale bowling game with a giant PeeWee Herman-esque ball of trash knocking into empty water cooler 'pins'. But the coolest part of the festival -- and the reason I look forward to it every year -- is the Burt's Bees tent sale. This annual event is their way of purging old inventory. And It. Is. Fabulous. They have aisles by prices ($10, 8, 5, and 2 -- yes, two bucks!). And down each aisle are bins filled with goodies. The best scores are the gift packs, which you can stock up on at 50-75% off. But I also loaded up on cheap soaps, chapsticks and travel-sized baby oils for my guest bathroom. Great value and great products: not to be missed!

I am always a fan of any massive festival where I can take the kids. This year they coordinate the…read moreGrand Opening of the Nature Research Center with Earth Day. The outside activities were great and bountiful. The inside of the museum addition was designed well. On the inside of the museum I have mixed reviews, but do to the massive crowd I have to save final judgement about it later. Even some of the directors of the labs, and people that worked in the museum (red shirts) mentioned how they were just given the go ahead to move less than a week before the grand opening. I would say half of the interactive displays did not function properly, or were just turned off. The projectors were broken, so they had makeshift displays set up, that were broken as well. The labs didn't have their equipment set up, so we couldn't get a real feel for the labs. As I walked through the museum I wold see a panel that was laying on the floor exposing wires, bags of screws laying out, or trim just laying on the ground. I don't think they did a walk through to make sure the building was ready for thousands of people to come in. But, I will be back later just to see all of the exhibits after they get them fully functioning. For anybody that is wondering, since the rest of the building obviously was no where close to being finished, I was told that it was office space. Office space or not, it looked horrible for a state wide Grand Opening as the backdrop as the Governor was speaking.

I've been to Red Hat before but my first time attending for a concert. Parking (in the deck across…read morethe street) and getting in was near flawless! Fast and easy. Even with lines, they are efficient in screening people and scanning tickets. They keep people moving. And the staff is just pleasant!! From the entrance of the venue, to the food station, to exiting after the show everyone was just nice! Makes a big difference. Stopped by the drink and food station. Got fries, wine and water for two of us. That was $70+ dollars!!! I'm still very confused by that. It is expected that venue concessions will be a bit expensive but 2 waters and 2 cans of wine should not have totaled $58. The fries were nicely cooked though. The seating. We were pretty close and had really good seats as far as proximity to the stage. The issue is the seats are SUPER close together and small so it gets uncomfortable because you are all up on people, particularly those you don't know. Also, the rows aren't spacious either so it is a hassle if someone in the middle of the row is constantly getting up and leaving and coming back. The venue itself is nice. Amazing view of the city in the background and honestly there isn't really a bad seat in the house unless you end up behind the sound booths. The weather was perfect and not too hot but I would've hated it had it been hotter. There isn't an awning or any cover for shade. If you go in the heat of the summer (especially in NC) be prepared for it (hydrate, reduce alcohol, bring a fan, light dress) and be mindful of your seating selection although you won't be able to avoid the sun. I'd return to that venue, with some preparation adjustments on my end.

Came here for a show recently and had a good time…read more I had a lawn ticket and was too cheap to rent a chair or blanket or anything like that, so I stood up most of the time :) I was in maybe the worst possible location (far right near the back of the lawn) but I could see the stage reasonably well and the audio was solid. On the negative side, the drinks were insanely expensive at $19 for a big can of "craft beer" (or $18 for the standard domestic options). Hot dogs were priced relatively reasonably at $5 each, but they were pretty gross. I should probably take off another star for these offenses but I guess I kind of expected it :) Parking is pretty easy since there are a bunch of parking decks nearby, and I think you can also find street parking. I did end up paying $10 to park in the Cabarrus Deck, but whatever. Overall, I would come back here to see a show, but I would definitely try to eat (and drink) beforehand.

Let me start by saying that we have been to this event before…read more This year, we had VIP admission and were one of the first to be admitted at NOON. Our first 40 minutes here were great. Lines were minimal. The food and beer were flowing. At around 12:40 it became VERY CROWDED !!! There were lines almost everywhere. They obviously decided to UP THE HEAD COUNT for VIP admission. My favorite foods were from Tazhikis (pork slider) and from Cameron Bar And Grill (pulled pork slider). WHERE WAS THE CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON ???? Nowhere to be found !! There were NO types of desserts !! Even the kettle corn guy was missing (and I brought some $$ for him). We will be heading out around 2 because when they open the gates for general admission it's gonna be bad Where do I get my YELP Poncho ????

$120 for a couple and the event only lasts for three hours and there is no guarantee you will get…read moreany food.

Although the museum was small, at least admission was free. I noticed that all of the paintings on…read moredisplay were created by artists who are from North Carolina which adds a local touch to the typical art museum.

This is a very small but charming free contemporary art museum in Raleigh. We really enjoyed the…read morelocal artists from Western NC featured during our visit. The space is intimate, which makes for a personal and unique experience. We're looking forward to their reopening and can't wait to check out the new exhibits. Definitely worth stopping by if you're in the area -- a true hidden gem!