Attended this annual arts and heritage festival today. Very well organized event. Lots of vendors…read morewith exceptional works of art. Many delicious food booths with plenty of seating in the shade. Live musical performances and children's activities. Very enjoyable for all ages. The grounds and lake are beautiful with a walking trail that goes along the water. They do have a Facebook page. No animals allowed in the park.

Well, I find that the last review for this festival is 5 years old; so I think I have an obligation…read moreto update it. The Westmoreland Arts & Crafts Heritage Festival is in its 42nd year and is always scheduled around the 4th of July weekend. It is located in Twin Lakes Park. This year, it runs from June 20 through July 3. Over the years, it has expanded and attracted artisans from all over the country. The items for sale range from wood crafts, jewelry, pottery, art prints and paintings, plants and other specialties. Also, one can wander through the park and find great food to purchase. Popular choices for many are the fresh raspberries and ice cream, fried vegetables, and wood fired pizza. I tried steak fajitas ($7 for two) and French beignets ($4 for about 8) from one food booth. I was very pleased with both. There are several stages that offer different musical genres. A schedule for performers can be found on the web site. The Island Stage is the main performance area, but check out the stage located a short distance from the boat house. Around that stage are several craft and food booths. If you feel like walking, there are reenactors located on the upper lake. So, there is plenty to see, music to listen to, food to eat and beautiful items for purchase. There is also an area for kids to make crafts and play. CONS: Although, things are spaced throughout, this festival draws a big crowd. Sometimes a little patience and a smile is needed when waiting in food lines. No alcohol is served, but there are water, cola, Gatorade booths. The thing is you have to purchase tickets to buy your beverage. I don't know, why not use cash for beverages, too? Parking is sometimes at a premium but some people let you park on their property for a price. There are shuttle buses available, but riding in a hot school bus isn't something I care to do. They seem to have a good system though, by dropping passengers off at an entrance area of the park and picking riders up at the other end. No dogs are allowed in the festival area. I think this is a very nice way to spend time over the holiday and has something for everyone. More information can be found on their web site.

We went there on a Friday and a Sunday and had a terrific time. Lots of vendors plenty of food,…read moremusic singing we had a great time.

The reviews here are spot on. This is a really fun festival with lots to see and plenty of…read moreshopping and eating options. I've been coming for years and has been one of our highlights each fall. The only reason I'm not giving this a 5-star is because the local eating establishments have gone straight downhill. They really do make you feel like they are doing YOU the favor by serving you. We stopped at lunch at the Tavern only to have a young waitress who was very snippy and a menu indicating no substitutions for this event. Understanding that they were busy (even though there were tons of people working and not all that many people in the place yet as it just opened) we picked something from the menu and waited a very long time for our drinks and food. Once we were done, I thought she was going to blow her top when we asked for separate checks and were abruptly told we were not allowed to have the check broken out. We paid a lot of money for food that wasn't that great to be treated like crap. We then went for dessert at the food vendor area at market square. What a difference in kindness, service, and the raspberry cheesecake was delicious! We did a little shopping then went over to the bowling alley to grab a drink and have a seat. When we walked in, there were people at the bar area and a lot of empty tables so we had a seat. My friend grabbed her dessert while we were waiting to be waitied on and proceeded to take a few bites when a young girl came running over to tell us we were not permitted to bring in outside food then turned around in the same breath and stormed away. Fair enough, although taken aback by such rude aggressive behavior, we put ours away, but my friend proceeded to finish her 3 bites of ice cream before doing so. I'm sitting there scratching my head asking why the little witch didn't bother taking our orders when she came over while another young lady proceeds to come over and throw us out while the whole "busy" waitstaff was standing behind the bar smiling. We understood why no one was in the bowling alley as we left that place with a pretty overall bad feeling about the event. Next year we plan to stick with the vendors and stay out of the "regular" eating establishments. "They don't seem to care for outsiders" was our overall feeling for the day. They can do without our money too.

I last reviewed the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival twelve years ago (!!!), when I was still a…read moreregular and went every year. Now though? Well...now I'm not a regular and I don't go every year. I actually took a long break and skipped attending the Fair for many years. I reached a point where I couldn't justify paying the entrance fee to hear the same jokes as the year prior, or to spend more money shopping for trinkets I didn't need. So once one of their regular performers retired, I took it as a sign and I stepped away. That was until that regular came out of retirement - that was enough reason for me to come back; so I figure now is as good a time as any to update my review of the Ren Fair overall. On a positive note: there are now multiple new performers at this Ren Fair. I was very happy to spend a full day walking around hearing new music, watching new acts, and so forth. (I especially appreciated the new additions after walking by a returning comedy act and hearing the exact same jokes that I remembered from "BC"...you know, "Before COVID"...) Something else has changed in the years since I last visited the Fair. There's a relatively new app on the block now called TikTok - you might have heard of it. Well let me tell you, nerds like me love it. And we post about the shenanigans we get into, such as going to the local Ren Fair. Well videos of the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival took off this year, and they definitely got the attention of some new attendees. So for the first time that I can remember, when I drove out this year, traffic to get into the Fair was backed up not just onto the road...but onto I-70 itself. (I'll interrupt my own story time now to admit there might have been other factors too...but I vividly remember seeing NUMEROUS TikTok videos about the Ren Fair, way more than usual. Make of this anecdote what you will.) The additional foot traffic was good for the Fair I'm sure, but there's really not that much this Fair can do in the way of expanding to accommodate said foot traffic. The crowds being what they were, I didn't even attempt to watch the jousts. I also made sure I planned my day and got to other shows super early so I could find a seat for them. Final thoughts: it was good to see some updates to the Fair lineup this year. But generally speaking, my visit felt like 'same Ren Fair, different year'...yet was simultaneously the busiest weekend I can remember. Go figure. I'm most likely to come back to this Ren Fair if: 1) My favorite performer continues to come back. 2) My friends want to go. Otherwise, I'm probably skipping. It's not that the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival itself is bad; it's that after being a regular for literal decades, I'm OK with no longer being an annual patron. (And my wallet is OK with that decision, too!)

Great time for the entire family! Spacious grounds with lots of activities including food & drink,…read moreartisan shops, live shows, live bands, games, rides and lots of sights to see. Located in West Newton just outside of Pittsburgh is a 16th century medieval amusement park open for 6 weekends from late Aug through late Sept. most every vendor only accepts cash so take a lot with you cause it's not a cheap outing. ATM's are located near the front gate just in case. We visited many vendors with a wide array of products but one that stood out was Adventure Armory owned by Laurel. Great sword and shield woodworks. They sell painted and bare wood armory pieces. Very cool! She was very cool and great with the kids. A must stop for kids of all ages! All and all a fun day in a magical world whether you go in costume or plain clothes it's definitely worth the drive to experience times of past. The BIG Show had to be the Jousting at the outdoor arena. Very cool!! Highly recommended! Looking forward to visiting again next year!

This place was so huge. Maybe even too big. The website said there would be a coffee truck there…read moreand we were all disappointed that it wasn't. I also think it would be smart to have carts available because it's so huge and if we could carry more stuff we would have bought more stuff because running back to the car was a bit exhausting.

Took an hour to get in the door just to wait in lines for everything. Terrible system. Should've…read morestayed home.

It's the first time I've been there in 18 years since I moved out of town. It's a little smaller…read morethan it was but still had a lot of Booths. I liked all the vendors artwork it's hard to find that many artists at one place. Everyday and night they have bands playing and there really good. Actually I go for the food and it was just as good as it was 18 years ago plus the prices were reasonable plus the profits help a lot of organizations. If your in the area when it's going on it's worth stopping to walk around.

I've been on the board of directors for the festival and I can tell you that from the inner…read moreworkings of a great board, and the volunteers and sponsors, this is a 'must go to' event! ALL of the rest of the board of directors are super people and totally dedicated to providing the community with a top notch craft festival with superb FREE entertainment, great food choices, and a wonderful atmosphere! See www.armstrongfestival.com Dr. Ray Voller

Always the 2nd full weekend in June, Heritage is always a lot fun! Located on beautiful and…read morehistoric Washington Street and Downtown Cumberland, it 's full of arts, crafts, yummy food, musical and other entertainment, plus tours of museums and the old tunnels under the Emmanuel Episcopal Church! It's not summer in Cumberland until Heritage Days!

Came back this year and it's even better. Everything in my prior review is the same. Still great…read morefood, still great churches, and still a great community festival. The one noticeable addition to the festival is that more ethnicities are now involved. I missed last year, so this may have happened last year, but I was unaware. It's a great mix of multicultural awareness. And oh my god, it's a great mix of food to get. The food selection has expanded and you can get food from the churches, from street vendors, and now from food trucks from around the area. I left here this year so full of so many different foods that I could have had the UN in my stomach. My stomach was at harmony. Too bad that this only happens once a year and not every single weekend.