Haymarket Day 2024 was a huge success! First of all, the weather could not have been more…read morebeautiful. The entire event was extremely well organized, starting with the shuttle bus that took visitors to and from Tyler Elementary throughout the day. The parade began promptly at 10 AM and was well organized. Great assortment of vendors along the parade route and a fun Kidzone was set up in the park. It was an overall wonderful, fun-filled day for all.

Haymarket Day 2011 was held today - Saturday, September 17, 2011! (It's still going on as I type…read morethis). As in years past - the main route through Old Town Haymarket was closed to vehicular traffic for the all day event (Route 55/Washington Street). An awesome parade was held (pretty awesome for a small town!). Started the day with a nice cup of steaming hot delicious coffee from Cupcake Heaven, then found a spot along Washington Street to watch the parade and take photos. Lots of entertaining participants in the parade: The Battlefield HS Marching Band, cheerleaders, several local dance troops, several martial arts groups, the Fairfax County Police motorcycle officers (in precision formations), Cub/Boy Scouts, musical groups, local politicians, church groups, civic groups, local businesses, the Geico Gecko, the Chik-fil-A cows, Santa Claus, and a lot more! The parade was considerably longer with more participants than ever. There is also a large vendor area in front of Town Hall and down Washington Street with lots of vendors of all sorts, arts and crafts, games, food and beverages, stages with music, and a lot more! The weather was perfect, cool and overcast, no rain, the place was packed with local residents. It is a great event and it's so wonderful to see so many folks come out with their kids, many brought their dogs, and everyone seemed to be well behaved. I really like the small town atmosphere of Haymarket and the sense of community we have here!

Horrible As a guest of someone it was Horrible…read more Didn't even get my mani pedicure The wait was long even with an appointment And they don't listen to you regarding what uou want No thank you

My wife and I have Scots in our background and we try to make a festival somewhere every couple of…read moreyears. It's been 5+ years since we had been to the Virginia Scottish Games and a friend from Clan Grant wanted to go. http://www.vascottishgames.org/ The basic set up is always the same. A bunch of vendors, beer, some food, highland games including a caber toss, stone toss, hammer throws, and the sheaf toss. Pipes and drums: check A good entertainment tent too. Usually you can find the Glengarry Bhoys playing. They are a great Celtic band. Lots of fun. Worth your time and coin.

Everyone involved with this "festival" should be flogged on Main Street. There were only two fried…read morechicken vendors. One was good, but not great and the other was truly awful. We waited in line 40 minutes. They promoted a contest for fried chicken and pies, but there was no evidence of such a contest and since they only had two vendors, who would get third prize? Ridiculous. I also so absolutely no evidence of the promised pie contest, and no vendors selling pies. To add they only had two porta potties for over 1000 people. Never again.

Great concept, but where's the chicken? People waited in line at one of the two (there was a third,…read morebut I couldn't find it) chicken vendors for hours; folks left without getting thier food. I don't need any more soap, jelly, candles or tie dyes, I came for chicken and pie. Dissapointed, waste of a precious Saturday.

A welcome $10 entry experience in a small, but growing, tent-style Faire with good music, deals to…read morebe had from vendors who aren't paying huge overhead for permanent structures, and personal touches that bigger fairies can't offer (like having your wee one knighted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth!!) For those reasons, imho Virginia Renaissance Faire lives up to its Shakespearean byline --such stuff that dreams are made of--as offers something memorable for kids and adults alike. Hosted at Lake Anna winery, a couple hours away from the DC metro area, the Virginia shindig is not the grandest Renaissance Festival you will see, but it holds its own in quality and variety of performers, vendors, and activities. Centered around Elizabethan rule in Tudor England, there is a broad variety of attendees from other European countries as well as fantasy characters from literature, magical creatures, and pirates! We go every summer and find ourselves surrounded in the big booze/music tent by wizards, centaurs, fairies of all varieties, hobbits, dragons, kilt clad Scotts, barbarian hordes and Vikings imbibing mead, cider, and ale from horns and crafted mugs. Because it is a smaller faire, we are always able to find bargain prices on jewelry, clothing, period weapons, calligraphy, armor, and leather wares hawked by smiling vendors affecting British accents. It's nice to meet the artisans themselves and talk about how they made a particular item--and this is the Faire where crowds aren't as thick and you can take the time to do so! Although many vendors will except MasterCard, Lady Visa, and the Express of the Americas (really who carries Amex anymore!?), it is always best to bring cash if you'd like to bargain for that special item. Food vendors are paid in cash, so bring $20-$30 if you'd like to eat or drink at the festival. Because of its location on winery tucked away from any bustling urban center, period-style weapons are allowed to be carried as long as they are peace-tied; if you have a bow, knife, or sword you may bring it as part of your attire and everyone we've observed has acted responsible with both the real and replica pieces they bring. IMHO, it's always more fun to experience Faire dressed in garb, but first timers should be mindful of the heat (this is a Spring/Summer Faire) and dress according to what they can tolerate. It's best to remember to hydrate sufficiently! Some of our favorite events are "Dinty, the Moor" and his magic show, Token Entertainment, Jackdaws, O'Danny House Party, Scales and Crosstones and Pyrates Royale. There are also talks by Fletcher Moon on the history of beer--which are enlightening and enjoyable (there really is a measurement known as a "buttload"! Who knew!?) I can't say enough about the turkey legs at the Virginia Renaissance Festival. Because this fair is on a smaller scale, all of the turkey legs are smoked all day before serving. The flavor of VARF is all natural (no liquid smoke) and the skin is nice and crisp with juicy, succulent meat on a huge drumstick. Adults and kids alike can't resist! Second on my food recommendation list is the delicious gyro--comes with gluten-free option or on a pita, your choice! I greatly appreciate that this Faire honors all veterans by offering free admission one of the weekends it runs. Thank you, VARF, for this beautiful gesture and for honoring those who served. Although VARF was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID 19 (talk about No Faire!), I'm looking forward to attending in 2021 to see all our favorite performers, vendors, and fellow Rennies!

5.10.25. This was the first Renaissance Faire that my husband and I ever attended and, to be…read morehonest, we weren't sure what to expect. Given that it was only about twenty minutes from home, we decided to give it a try. We reviewed their website, and purchased our tickets on line -- $18 for me (adult) and $12 for my husband (Senior, 65+). We arrived around 10:15 am to a long line of cars at the entrance, but didn't have any problems with parking. At the entrance, there was an ID check for participants who wanted to purchase beer, wine, or mead inside (wristband given), and a second faster line for the actual entrance. We were given a schedule that highlighted the day's shows and activities. (This was also posted online though only the 2024 list of restaurants was posted). As the day evolved, we walked around the tented grounds a number of times, watched a number of performers, browsed some of the tented shops, watched a cooking demonstration, got a beer and a mead at one of the concessioners, and grabbed a quick lunch. (Note that most are cash only; there's an ATM on site). There was also a unique assortment of pay-for activities, such as skill games (archery, axe throwing, knife throwing), hair braiding, and fortune tellers. What we enjoyed most, however, was admiring the many costumed performers and attendees. Many of the costumes were quite elaborate though many were probably not authentic to Tudor England. We stayed for about three hours, leaving when it started to get quite warm. Overall, we enjoyed the faire, but probably not enough to go on an annual basis. The main issue was that it got crowded, and it was difficult for me (a shorter person) to see some of the demonstrations that I was more interested in -- such as the sword fighting or the queen's joust. Also, the lines were quite long for food and drinks, and insufficient tables to enjoy them. And, despite having the schedule, we never seemed to be in the right place and time, but that's on us! Lake Anna Winery is a beautiful site, and the Faire was spread out well. There were at least two First Aid stations, and sufficient port-a-potties at multiple locations on the grounds.

After enjoying our very first "Deadwood Trail" year before last but missing last year's due to bad…read moreweather, we returned this past Saturday evening since the weather was clear, cool, & autumn-crisp. We arrived around 7:30 or so, & were pleased to see it wasn't horribly overcrowded yet. Admission was $10 per person (which benefits the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office Santa Cop program), & we're glad that after hiking up from the front-field parking area we had cash on us, because admission was CASH ONLY, which we didn't find out until we had reached the window. (I checked their website afterwards & absolutely no mention of this is made anywhere on it. They may want to remedy this rather important omission next time around.) Two huge bonfires surrounded by seating areas were blazing away, & there were two food trucks - Buffalo Wild Wings & another whose name I don't recall, just that they were selling the usual burgers, hot dogs, wraps, & the like. (We both seemed to remember more food vendors the first time we did this.) Husband & I were in the front of our group of ten, which sent us into the abyss first. After going thru the dark snug winding wooden maze of the "barn", we came out on the trail where what, for me, was the scariest part of the walk (spoiler alert) - a line of scarecrows tied up against corn shocks, except at least one was a costumed person who jumped out at us. Since they had remained perfectly still at first, it was a surprise. Apart from that they had a camping scenario, a sawmill scenario, a "Deadwood" western town scenario, among others. It seems funny to critique something like this, but they had way, WAY too many "creepy clowns". It seemed like every other person was a creepy clown. In fact, they even had a "Welcome to Derry, Maine" section that had my husband wondering whether or not they were prepared for a lawsuit from Stephen King re: his Pennywise the Clown character - lol. There also seemed to be an awful lot of chainsaws. One other critique was the western saloon tableau where they had cowboy ghouls run thru the group firing off real guns (blanks, of course) & one guy shot his off so close to us that we both had sparks & gun frass (or whatever it's called) showering down on our faces & my left ear was still ringing the next morning. We heard another woman behind us complain about the same thing. They may want to rethink that a bit. One last thing we noticed was that during our last visit there was at least enough light so we could enjoy most of the costumes/props. This time everything was so dark you really couldn't see much of the masks/makeup. Except for all those clowns, of course - lol! All in all it was fun, & we'll definitely do it again next year if they hold it, except next time we'll wear ear plugs. It's for a good cause, & is infinitely less expensive than other "haunted" venues out there.

The Delaplane Strawberry Festival has been held annually since '76 at the Sky Meadows State Park…read more The purpose of the festival is for outreach ministry, bringing the community together, and funding and supporting ministries and non-profit organizations. The hubs and I were able to attend the Delaplane Strawberry Festival, in which there is a $25 required donation entrance fee. Definitely a family-friendly event, there were hayrides, field games (such as milk bottle toss, corn hole toss, tug of war, etc.), an antique car show, live music, magic shows, storytelling, craft stations (such as making your own sand art), face painting, a petting farm (they have baby calves, goats, chickens, tortoises, and miniature horses; I just wished that there was someone overseeing this section, as some children were not handling the animals properly T____T), as well as food vendors and freshly-picked strawberries for sale. We were left a little disappointed, as we thought that there would have been more vendors offering strawberry-focused food and drinks - most of the vendors were fair-type eats, such as corndogs, burgers, quesadillas, etc. We did eat a great-tasting funnel cake from the Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cakes company, and had a half and half from the Iced Tea Lady. While the festival itself was a bit mediocre and geared more towards for children, the scenic view of the rolling hills and the big blue sky was terrific! +$25 entrance fee (may change annually) +held at the Sky Meadows State Park +proceeds go towards ministries and non-profit organizations +extremely kid-friendly +4H petting farm (more supervision needed!) +live music +old-fashioned games +vendors (not many strawberry-focused)

At $25 per car load for a full day of entertainment, it's cheaper than taking the family to a…read moremovie. The music is great. The hayrides are fun. The pony rides are always a hit! The flea circus and the children's games are awesome. And the views are simply stunning! The other reviewer from years ago didn't like the fact that some children weren't petting the animals nicely enough -- that has nothing to do with the festival, and everything to do with parents not controlling their kids. This is a really nice way to spend the day. This is staffed and run by the tiny parish at Emmanuel Church. I heard that this year will be the 25th year and that they are adding a beer garden along with a few other things. I'm going! Are you?

The weather was warm and the food was hot. We had a great time at the Greek festival the food was…read moreexcellent. The entertainment was so enjoyable between listening to the wonderful music and watching the Greek dancers this made my Sunday perfect . There was a large tent with plenty of tables and chairs to enjoy the food and entertainment out of the sun. I was delighted to find my favorite Greek pastries inside the church. There were vendors set up so you Could look around in the in the air conditioning. We had a very nice time in very good food and entertainment. I am very glad we made time to go.

wonderful homemade greek specialities - meals and sweets, I drove 50 miles to be able to find…read moreauthentic moussaka at a reasonable price and I had food for several days - wish it was closer but I am likely to repeat

This Festival goes under few different names: The church website calls it "Greek and East…read moreFestival", the host (Harris Pavilion) calls it "Annual Manassas International Food Festival," and earlier versions on the Facebook called it "Old World" festival. These are all good names for this Nativity of Our Lord Carpatho-Russian Orthodox church fundraiser. In a conversation with one member I learned that this is one of those orthodox churches that do not have the National denomination (Bulgarian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc...) as it caters not just to the first generation of immigrants but more to all generations and all people with the Orthodox fate, with no consideration of the national borders. I learned that they have one mass in English and Our Father prayer is recited in 7 world languages. The menu of the festival reflects the church diversity but caused a dilemma of many comers as far as what to eat because it is a long way from Ethiopia to Russia on the food road. People took longer time to figure out if they would rather have Ethiopian, Greek, Slavic, Romanian, Mexican or American food but once in line you move quickly with the food vendors winking and lifting their trays to entice you to get their food. Pierogi were very good, baked well; hard outside and soft inside so combination of dough, potato and cheese was properly melting in the mouth. While I was eating delicious plums with crème, my tongue quickly detected a harder object within the plum. I wondered why plums were not pitted like the most things in US are and to my pleasant surprise the object in question was a walnut half. Once I knew what I am eating - it all came together very nicely. Letdown was that the deserts did not offered any layered moist cake or crepes - which always make me anticipate any Slavic or Western Europe festival. Another letdown was that I could not have a Greek or Russian beer. There was just one Greek wine type but on a hot day a beer goes better with the lunch. The venue was perfect and enthusiasm of the host was energizing. I was happy to support in some way their church. The visit can be combined with a walk in the old town Manassas.

It was a FUN day spending with good friends, music, watching Caps play, beer and having short rib…read moresliders from Trio. Port City Brewery had the Belgian white ale & India pale ale, but we went for the Belgian white ale (my all time fav) and it was the perfect drink on a beautiful day watching the Caps!! Everyone was out along with children, dogs & grandparents, enjoying the fun festival on a lovely Saturday! Definitely have to go check out Port City Brewery with friends!!!

Awesome festival for adults and families! A great way to spend a weekend when it's held, for a fun…read moretime. There are band lineups all weekend, and vendors with food and beer. Plently of activies for kids as well, such as their inflatable jumping pad. Misty Mountain is also an excellent place to camp, with cabins, camper spots, and plots for tents. The entrance fee is donations for a food pantry. The best part is all the friendly people! Highly recommend if you are in the area when it's held!