We had the nest time at the NC Mtn Stste Fair. Very nice clean grounds, reasonably priced for the…read morewhole family, excellent rides, food vendors, circus and entertainment as well as exhibits!

The food at the fair was great, but the ride experience was incredibly frustrating. It is…read moreridiculous that they actively advertise to children and encourage parents to bring their families, yet there was essentially nothing for the kids to do. My one-year-old son was too short for almost every ride, and my five-year-old niece was barred from the kiddie rides simply because she was half an inch too tall. We felt like we couldn't participate in anything.

The weather was not kind to the festival Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. Winds and rain…read moreyesterday grounded balloons, and wind this morning kept balloons from flying high. Risk was too great to go up. But last night the balloonists fired up their rigs in a ring & it was a sight to see! They could control the rigs on the ground even though they couldn't control the weather. This morning volunteers dried tables and chairs that were soaked by Saturday night rains. Vendors and food trucks prepared for the public opening at noon. The portable bathrooms were cleaned and stocked for use today. The sun is shining, and if Mother Nature cooperates, balloons should rise at dusk. We could not stay for the entertainment, but at least four acts were scheduled Sunday afternoon. A static antique tractor display was by the food trucks. If you want to eat good food and are looking for something fun for the whole family to do on a Sunday afternoon, this is the place to be!

We went last year and it was amazing! So many different kinds and shapes of the balloons! They have…read moretethered rides or unteatherd rides with the latter being more expensive than the tethered one was $20 last year! I have walking problems and they have golf carts for older people and they came right to our truck and when we got ready to leave they brought us back to our vehicle! There was a wide array of different food trucks and vendors selling crafts and wares! We loved it and are planning on going back this year! The "Glow" is a beautiful sight to see at dusk!

This was not at all organized…read more The lady who owned the property "Pioneer Point" had said she had 80 acres and the event could have been held there, but a contract was already signed prior. Parking was $10 and about 1.5 miles from the venue. There were 2 different areas you could park. They had NO bathrooms at the parking area and only 2-15 passenger vans, later they added a regular van. Mind you, they had over 10k people interested in this event since it was well advertised on social media. We waited in line for 1h 15min to get on the shuttle. Once you get to the venue, if you didn't buy your ticket online prior to the night before, you had to wait in another line for approximately an hour to get a ticket and go in. For the people who had a ticket, we still had to wait about 30 minutes juts to get in the venue. I had commented prior to the event asking if they would have turkey legs. I was told yes. So I was not happy that there was no turkey legs, let alone very few food trucks, maybe 3 or 4 and one being wetzels pretzels. Usually at Ren-Faires they have food that tailors to the event, not random crap like pretzels. There was 2 lemonade stands, and not much else. There was around 60 or so vendors, but I noticed a lot of them tripled or quadrupled prices, such as gems, rocks etc than you can buy anywhere else. They should have put porti-potties on both ends, but instead they put them in the middle , where you have to take tiny steps because it was extremely muddy. If you know red dirt... you know that you sink when it's wet. So everyone had caked on red dirt on their shoes or boots, slipping around, hoping you don't fall. This event is not handicap friendly at all. They have no handicap parking or seating for handicap when waiting for the shuttle..... one lady in a wheelchair kept getting stuck pretty deep in the mud so couldn't even move or see the event. Whoever puts on this event needs to be mindful of pricing ($30 for this event was ridiculous for what we got), parking (needs bathrooms and BUSES not a couple vans), more than one entrance to get in, MORE food and drink choices, had no security, people could walk through the bushes to get in, and a bigger/flatter location so people aren't getting stuck in the mud and having to climb up and down hills. I would not recommend this Ren-Fair, I have been to numerous different ones around the country and this one was by far the least prepared for this type of event.

Amazing faire it improves every year. There is something for everyone there from the shopping to…read morethe shows on 3 stages!

We were on our way from Columbus, OH to Asheville, NC when we stopped in Johnson City, TN for the…read morenight. My wife saw some information on the historic Town of Jonesborough, TN and we made a last-minute, spur of the moment decsion to take a quick detour to Jonesborough and "just drive through to see it". We ended up stopped at the visitor's center and then spent about 2 hours doing a walking tour of the town. The Town of Jonesborough dates to 1779 and it is the oldest town in the State of Tennesse. The town is a well-deserved but still functioning piece of history. Walking down the main street and reading the history of the town was very interesting and informative. This is one of the best "spur of the moment" side trips we've ever made.

This was my second year at Thirsty Orange ... such a great time. Last year was wicked cold but…read morestill great people and beer. This year the weather was wonderful and it just made everything that much better. Festival featured a great selection of regional commercial brewers and a host of local homebrewers as well. A few of these I'm happy to say I'll look back and remember "i had their beer when they were just starting". Really good stuff all around and loads of great people.

Love going to this craft beer event every year! Always super fun and tasty beer! Check for tickets…read morein December to get the best prices. Taste some beer and raise money for a good cause! Don't forget to vote for your fav!

Art in the Park was an adorable event. We found free parking nearby and walked through the booths…read more I didn't buy anything, but there were a wide variety of pieces for sale. I especially liked the waterfowl decoys and carved wood pieces.

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

A true apple festival people! Well worth the drive here. Apple cider fried donuts, several several…read morecraft vendors, 3 music stages, and food vendors galore. We were pleasantly surprised by the vendor options and very impressed by this organized and fun festival.

Since moving to North Carolina we have gone to a number of fairs and festivals. I think the people…read moreof Taylorsville know how to do it because a Apple festival should be surrounding Apples....and it did. If you have the chance to go to this in the coming years, take the time and go. There is a lot of great food and craft items there for sure.

Me and my wife recently visited the storytelling Center in downtown Jonesborough while we were…read morevisiting shops throughout the city. We only visited the bookstore , not the rest of the building. The books that were featured here were absolutely great , staff here was absolutely friendly and I love how quiet the store was. They do have restrooms in the back that I assume are open to the public. Which is great in the winter time because most places in the city don't have public restroom. Besides the home decor too, I definitely recommend checking the store out.

"Once upon a time ...."…read more Just returned from the 39th annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN - a weekend listening to fairy tales and folk tales -- imaginary stories, ghost stories, true stories of people -- relationships -- literary magic, linguistic lightening that made me laugh, and then 2 hours later, shed a tear or two. Traditionally held the first weekend in October, the festival draws thousands of listeners and (this year) 18 professional storytellers who shared their tales of love and laughter, music and linguistic mastery under 5 big-top tents crammed with chairs and stages and sound technicians. The festival runs Friday morn through Sunday afternoon, with special evening (separate ticket) ghost stories, midnight cabarets and theater events. I began my day at 10:00 a.m. Saturday with a tale by storyteller Bil Lepp who told of his boy-ish high school adventure: toting around a sack of flour for a week (the girls toted eggs) to teach him lessons about parenting. My day ended after 5:00 p.m. with a mesmerizing true story of a "sassy" woman in Birmingham, AL, who related her tale of southern living to the talented Dolores Hydock - a woman with a gift for words and expression. Ms. Hydock recorded the stories and passed them along to us in such a creative way. I did not want the performance to end. True, tickets are pricey, yet something worth saving for. Two food courts, four churches offering their culinary fare and a couple of local restaurants offer eats at reasonable prices. And it wouldn't be complete without a marketplace to purchase books on the craft, storytelling CDs, shirts and bags and pins with festival logos and more. And for budding tale tellers, a "Swappin' Ground gives everyone with a story opportunity their skills at this intriguing and most-fascinating art form.