The Richmond Folk Festival is so Richmond and one of our city's best festivals. It's been happening…read morefor about 20 years. I think it's so wonderful that it's a free festival filled with so much culture. I grew up going to festivals in DC almost every weekend and this reminds me of those amazing festivals. There were about five different stages set up across our park system (near the James River). Various acts of music genres from all over the world were playing throughout the weekend. There is something for everyone. One of the highlights for me this year was the Flea Circus at the family tent. It was so wholesome and fun. Another annual highlight for me is the craft tent with beautiful handmade goods. One of my favorites is this Turkish store's booth with stunning tiles and bowls. There are plenty of food options here too. The "food court" can be found on Brown's Island, but this year there were food options scattered in the Belle Isle parking lot and a park on top of the hill too. I'm not sure what the parking situation looks like because I normally walk to the festival. I highly recommend walking or biking to avoid the heavy traffic you will inevitably run into during the festival. The Richmond Folk Festival is fun no matter what age you are. It celebrates music and cultures from around the world. I highly recommend visiting it each year.

An experience that I'm glad I didn't miss! The only drawback is that there was so much good music…read moreand informative workshops that we could not do it all.

Calling all foodies, this is the festival for you. The Richmond Greek Festival for 2025 was held at…read moreSts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral (I imagine it is typically here, this was my first year attending). It ran from May 28-31. I think of it as one huge food festival. I had a friend that attending on a Thursday and if you want to avoid lines, this is the move. I was silly and went on a Saturday. My mom and I attended after lunch. While I wish we tried some of the food, the lines were horrendous. The food smells were incredible though. They even had a drive through for the food. It's a free festival to attend. There are various booths with a variety of Greek (and some beyond Greek) foods to get as well as a fun shopping goods corner. I imagine it's similar each year, but outside had tents of food and plenty of seating. Inside the church there was a market place with things like clothes, jewelry, candles, olive oils, and more. It was hot outside so I got a Lemon Ice from kids running a booth nearby. My mom was most excited to see the shows. There was dancing and live music scheduled for 2:30pm that didn't start until about 2:50pm. We thankfully found shaded seats while we waited and had a lot of fun people watching. I am excited to return next year and try to go on a Thursday or Friday so I can try the actual food.

Thank god this festival is only once a year…read more We only ended up getting a gyro, a chicken souvlaki and Greek fries. But then ended up with more sweets than we needed. Definitely for the crowd who wants something to do in the city, because they have some performers and alcohol. But outings with a toddler are notoriously short.

This is the best festival Richmond has to offer. Everything is down one street. There's TONS of…read morevendors and as much watermelon as you can eat.

I enjoyed myself at this year's watermelon festival. This was the first year I attended; previously…read moreI didn't bother being that I don't like watermelon. It turns out the festival actually is primarily just regular vendors with some random cut watermelon tents. Arrive early, as it's August in the South and thus can get toasty quickly.

It is so hot today and they have no free water stations! Also its much smaller than in prior years…read more They also have less quality venders this years. No gelati celecti, no savory grain, no alchemy coffee. BUT I was excited to get the bacon batter gator bites but they didn't taste like bacon and they only give you 3 bites. Dont get me wrong they were delicious i just thought i should get a 4th piece. Also they open at noon. Why? I want them to open at 11am when its slightly cooler.

If bacon is your preferred meat of choice well this is the festival for you. There was no shortage…read moreof pork embellished dishes at this event. From traditional dishes of bacon cheeseburgers and ribs to unique treats of bacon infused drinks and desserts, there was something for everyone. The set up of the event could have been better. All the popular stands and dishes were all on a narrow hill towards the back of the festival. If you wanted a funnel cake garnished in bacon or a mountain of butterfly fries drenched in cheese and bacon the wait was as long as P. Diddy's child support payments but it was worth the wait and the calories. There was an open field which could have been utilized more. This more than likely avoided though due to the temperature being on fleek, reaching almost 100 degrees that day. Most stands were attempting to be under some sort of shade or trees, which caused the congestion of people in some areas of the event. Despite the heat and crowd the festival was filled with delightful sounds and smells. From the bands jamming and covering recent radio favorites to the decadent bacon creations, the festival was highly enjoyable. A stylish hat and cool spot in the shade is a must to attend this fatty festival. I will definitely attend this event again next year. Let's just pray for cooler temperatures to go alongside our bacon!

This is a cute neighborhood celebration. There's a nice selection of local crafters, live music, a…read moreflea market inside Fox Elementary School and just a fun day of hanging out in the Fan. There's also some delicious strawberry shortcake for sale. This probably isn't an event where you'd spend the whole day, but it's a nice hour or two of fun. The last time I went I got some cool wall art from a local potter. There are also some kid-focused tents and activities.

The 31st Strawberry Street Festival kicks off in 2010 on May 8th from 12 noon to 4:30 pm. It is a…read moregathering to help raise funds for PTA funded programs such as grade level tutoring, Theatrix, Arts In Education, Spanish and Music. This elementary school is a classic and one of the best in the city. There is a Flea Market, Silent Auction, Raffle, Art Market, rides, food, and games. The vendors here are always amazing and I have always found something to buy. Prices are affordable and it is an amazing event for kids and adults alike. One of my favorite in Richmond events.

Look like good times for everyone Everyone that can should try at least once. It's a family fun…read moreexperience for everyone.I'm sure

This is the best family affair in Richmond! Parents and kids dressed up from all over the city come…read moretogether way before sun down and kicked off the festivity. I would say the most crowded is between 6-8pm. I admire the residents very much for making such effort and creativity every year to wow and welcome visitors, while giving away tons and tons of candies. Nothing better than seeing everyone's reactions. It's hard to tell how the event is organized as there isn't official information online. There is a street closure around Meadow on Hanover but only for a few blocks while the crowd started taking over the streets from Robinson. It causes the traffic around the area very congested every year. People start to get impatient and irritated which is not what we want to see in our neighborhood.

Super fun! I hope it returns next year; I'll come with a bigger appetite.read more

This was a lot of fun. The music was great.. It could be heard all the way down on the other end,…read moreand it made you want to dance in the street! there were really good food trucks there, and the crowd was big but not over powering. I really liked the location of this event because it was easy to get to and find a park. The one thing that I didn't care for was it was advertised as a free event, with all these things for kids but all the great things for kids required a bunch of tickets. (Thumbs down!!!) clearly the theme of the day was pumpkin because every food booth/truck had some sort of pumpkin flavored food item on the menu. The only thing I ate was a pumpkin pecan cupcake from Ukrops/Martins and let me tell you... It was dee-licious!!! I will be looking for those in martins for sure. I stopped at the crave-tini booth and got a mini-manicure for my daughter. She loved it... But she messed up 5 nails at the movin mania booth when she was jumping rope. There goes that $5 mani! We also stopped by a baptist church booth that had free halloween arts and crafts making pipe cleaner spiders and bat pencil toppers. We painted a face on a gord that supported refugees in the area. Overall.. This event was great, and a lot of fun. Honorable mention... We stopped by the yelp booth, checked in and got a prize by throwing darts at a board. Who doesnt love to throw darts, great event !

The Brunswick Stew Festival is definitely for stew lovers. Customers can sample different stews at…read morea variety of vendors. There are other vendors at the festival besides stew vendors. I arrived early so the lines were short. The lines started to get longer about an hour into the festival. Parking can be a hassle. If you arrive early, some street parking is available. There are parking lots near the venue (prices varies). Most of the vendors were cash only.

Second time I've been here and it's the only place north of Georgia that I've been able to find…read moredecent Brunswick Stew. My grandmother used to make it regularly and I've been craving a regular supply ever since. I've been to some places that have it and advertise it (Red, Hot, and Blue around D.C. and Brother Jimmy's BBQ in NYC), but what they claim as Brunswick Stew is just vegetable soup with some meat. Stew should be thick and ground. Anyway, there were definitely some authentic varieties at the Festival. Negative to the Red, White, and Blue Team for selling out, as they do regularly before many are able to sample. I'll make the trip here every year if I can.

My best friend is a HUGE Masego fan. The moment she saw he was going to perform at the Richmond…read moreJazz and Music Festival she got really excited. She got us two VIP tickets which were amazing because we were able to watch the show from a snack and drink catered tent. The weather was absolutely gorgeous for this event. It's located in Maymont and was such a vibe. There was a map online that made it easier to figure out the layout and their website was really helpful for any questions we had. I loved how laid-back this festival was, guests could bring in wagons with blankets and lawn chairs. There were plenty of food tents as well as goods for sale tents. There were lots of talented artists in attendance too. I highly recommend checking out this festival.

The Jazz Festival was awesome! Great musicians and a beautiful setting at Maymont. A nice mix of…read morelocal and national talent. It's always SO HOT in August, though. I wish it was earlier or later in the year. So if in August again, be prepared to melt! You can bring your own chairs, coolers and food. No glass containers or outside alcohol. There are food and merchandise vendors on site and plenty of portable bathrooms Parking is a little tough. A lot of streets near Maymont are closed. They were running shuttles from Dogwood Dells There's a lot of people, though security is present, and everyone was respectful of others This year, I was lucky and attended in a corporate tent, so at least there was shade

We had wanted to visit the lights display at Lewis Ginter for several years, and we finally got to…read morego this week. We had been to Richmond several times to visit the various tacky lights houses and wanted to experience something different this year. From the beginning, everything was well-organized. Purchasing tickets on EventBrite was a breeze. Ample parking was available, and attendants directed traffic. It was a busy night, but they had many staff members checking tickets so we didn't have to wait in line to enter. Every staff member we encountered was very pleasant and welcoming. We couldn't have asked for better weather to view this outdoor light display. We spent two and a half hours in bad traffic driving from Northern Virginia to see this, and it did not disappoint. The walk-through is long and has so many different loops and turns with things to see. The space is utilized incredibly well, especially the multi-color spotlights and how they reflect off the water. My favorite part of the display was the fountain between the visitors center and the conservatory. It was absolutely stunning. This is by far the best outdoor light display I have visited. Thank you for a wonderful experience!

It's the end of 2020, and I'd say most of us need some extra cheer in our lives right about now…read more Fortunately, Lewis Ginter didn't cancel their annual holiday lightfest, but this year was certainly different than years' past with lots of pandemic precautions in place. I had visited once prior in 2017 and enjoyed the experience, but what I recall from that visit was that the garden was mobbed and the parking lot was insane. We had to park in a subdivision across the street and run across the street/try not to get hit by cars on Lakeside Ave. that year. And last year, I tried to bring my mom so she could experience it too. But we were stuck in an hour+ line at the Lakeside Ave. to make a left, and then as we got close, the police wouldn't let us turn left randomly. I was pretty upset to say the least and actually had an exchange with someone at Lewis Ginter after I direct messaged them about the incident, and they offered free tickets. I never took them up on it, though. Just went to the Norfolk lights instead the next night. This year was much more limited in terms of how many tickets were sold, plus there were staggered entry times. We were able to park right in the front row near the entrance, which is off to the left side this year. There's one entrance and one exit. We arrived within our half-hour window and showed the tickets to a clerk behind glass. Masks are rightfully required to be worn at all times while on their grounds, which I appreciated as a rule (though of course some people didn't listen - eye roll). We arrived at twilight (5 pm) and that turned out well for photos. I was able to get some in both twilight and total darkness. And with less people at the garden, it was easier to snap photos of the displays without others walking into view (though that did happen a few times). This year is all outdoors (so no big tree inside). The treehouse is also blocked off. They offer hot drinks and some food items, but I didn't buy any. With an hour-limit for the visit, we just made it through in the allotted time. Surprisingly, the gift shop was open. I was actually surprised by that, but I guess they need to boost their sales. Hand sanitizer was available upon entry. The tickets themselves were also pretty pricy for nonmembers like myself. And I attended on a value night, so I'm glad I visited when I did. Hopefully by next year, the pandemic will be a thing of the past, but I do see it being helpful if they continue with the timed entries, online ticket purchases, and limiting the amount of visitors to what the parking lot can hold.