This is a turnoff from the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was impressed that the commitment was made to the…read moremusic of the mountains. There are daily small-scale performances in an open section of the visitor center, which I stopped to listen to for a bit. An outdoor amphitheater offers larger scale performance opportunities, which I wish I'd found the occasion to come down for. Additionally, there are a couple of miles of trails on the site which run through bucolic hilly territory and offer a variety of sights and sounds. There is no charge to visit the site, and an abundance of reasons to be driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Note that the musical performances are seasonal.

This was a great place to stop while I rode through the Blue Ridge Parkway on my motorcycle. I…read moreneeded to take a break, and as somebody who likes to play the guitar (calling myself a musician might be a bit of a stretch) I couldn't pass this one by. They have a wonderful little museum on the history and development of Appalachian music and instruments. Some of it is interactive as well. I was there on a Saturday and they had local musicians playing some of the old Appalachian music outside in a little covered area, sponsored by the BLM I am assuming. In a smaller building they have a whole section pertaining to the old moonshiners of the region, explaining their craft and their inevitable run-ins with the revenuers. I didn't make too many stops along the way but I am very glad this was one of them as it was totally worth it!

This is for the 2018, 6th annual Burke Street Food Truck Festival…read more Weather sucked but can't put that on the organizers. 70 plus food trucks was the estimate. They stretched from the Burke intersection of 1st Street all the way to 4th Street and Broad. Nice variety of food to choose from. Local craft beer was also available. A lot of the shops on or directly off Burke and 4th were open for business as well, taking advantage of the crowds. Many of the bars on Burke Street were open and offering drink specials. Live music at both ends. I enjoyed the crap out of it despite the weather. Highly recommend and look forward to next year's festival.

Even though it was a cold rainy day, the trucks had some amazing food! It is so hard to choose with…read moreall the great choices! The best thing was that because of the rain the lines were not as long as past years! The fact that all proceeds went to H.O.P.E. Of Winston Salem was icing on the cake. I finally got to try Cousins Lobster and I was not disappointed, both styles (hot & cold) of Lobster rolls were amazing, succulent lobster meat that felt fresh from Maine! I also tried the Peruvian wings & ribs and the spices on it were perfect! Can't wait till next year!

This was the first time this event has been held and I will say they did a pretty good job. They…read morehad an information stand and maps available for visitors. Considering this was also our first time to Rocky Mount the map was very helpful. The reason for only giving a 3 star rating was because of the lack of actual moonshine. Though I have never been to a moonshine festival before I had hoped that there would be actual moonshine to purchase to take home and moonshine distillers to talk with. This was not the case. The only place that had moonshine available at the festival during the day was at the Bootleggers Cafe. You could purchase a flight of 4 moonshine cocktails for $8. There was a night time ticketed event called Shine and Dine that we did not attend where according to the website you could "Enjoy an enchanted evening with a moonshine and local foods tasting under the stars. Sample fantastic "shines" in several flavors from local and state distilleries along with a selection of foods and delicious desserts prepared by local chefs". I just wish this option was also available during the day. The good: 1) Pretty well organized 2) The event is free (free entertainment and displays) 3) They provided shuttle service & ample parking lots around town 4) They had a kids zone (not sure whats in there since we don't have kids) So what could make this a 5 star event you ask? Here are a few ideas: 1) Blocking the street off to traffic 2) Having a distillers/tasting area during the daytime 3) Getting more vendor booths...specifically Virginia artists/crafts men - especially the Franklin County Moonshine distillers (not sure what the ABC laws are regarding this) Though this event was not quite what I had imagined, it was not all that far off. It just needs times for the word to spread and for it to grow into the larger, bolder event it was meant to be.

I recently attended the 15th annual Yadkin Valley Wine Festival this month for a friend'a birthday…read more Located the Elkin Municipal Park, good directions were provided for the event. Handicapped parking was available. We got there a bit early. Lines were already formed. The longest line was the general will call. Whoa! We bought on site since that's the only way you can get military discount. $20. Advance tickets were $22. On site regular tickets were $30. VIP were $102. Crazy!!!! Included extras were VIP parking, festival Tshirt, and access the VIP tent. Not worth it in my opinion. Plenty of wine to try out. Over 25 vendors. You got free tastings (of various sizes) and could buy glasses. If you purchased bottles, you could have them held at will call until the end of the event. I'm not a big wine person but I bought the most out of my group. There were a number of fruity, sweet wines- my fave. :-) Music, food, and other vendors were available. I heard a bit of the Elvis music. And we all grabbed some small bites. Food wasn't too exciting but good enough to tide me over. Definitely bring chairs if you wanna hang out for a while. I felt like a noob without one. But luckily we found some open seats at some benches. Overall, a fun day!

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.

This was my first time going to the Greek Festival and the only thing I'm so upset about is why…read morehaven't I been before!! The Greek festival took place at the Greek church in Winston they had a variety of foods and activities all throughout the area! I got the Greek pizza, Loukoumades, spanikopita and potato wedges! The place was pretty packed as today was opening day. Parking is all the way down right by the church just follow the signs. I will say I got lucky with mine and there's a couple parking spots before you really start getting towards the church. Under the tent area is where you can find the entrees, and in the gymnasium area it's the lunch specials and Greek pastries and some dessert options too.

This year's festival was busier than ever but well organized. Parking was extremely difficult and…read moreinconvenient but it's outside their control, just be prepared. The lines for food appeared long but moved quickly. Gyros were superior to those served at the Greensboro Greek Fest. The market had so many gorgeous products and fantastic foods, including a buffet of flavored olives oils. I am deaf and the speaker volume was too intense even for me, but I'm sure they were trying to compensate for crowd noise. It was a miserable hit and humid day but the cold Greek beers and baklava ice cream kept us going to enjoy the festivities.

Blacksburg Fork And Cork Festival is a great way to relax. enjoy great wine sampling and mingle…read morewith fellow students and local vendors. Besides stall most of the Virginia wineries and food stall local restaurants & bakeries other local craft vendors also participate to display their craft including but not limited to china, bags, jewelries, paintings etc. Both times I attended the fest, I volunteered for second shift which allowed me to attend the fest during first shift completely free of cost with unlimited wine tastings. The volunteer had to attend a meeting prior to the festival to know more about their duties. We got a packet containing T shirt, festival layout, managers info and free tasting glass. Tickets for the festival is usually 20$ for tasting On the day of the event, we showed up for first half, got out tasting bands and ready to roll. the atmosphere was very lively with giant steel man walking around, the belly dancing performance in the main arena, live band playing on the stage where you can do hula hoops, they even had cooking demonstrations every hour and you can taste the dish which was pretty neat and unique to this fest. I loved most of the fruity wines and Chardonnay. Overall good selection of wineries and you can definitely find the one that you will love. I also had fennel cake from the stall and it was yummy-liocious. there was chocolate store next to the fennel cake truck and we all know how perfect wine and chocolate pairing is. nibbling on chocolate covered strawberries while sipping the sangria was dreamy. I also bought a miniature barrel which was super cute and perfect art piece for rustic look that I am going for in interiors. They even had petting zoo which was neat addition for tension relief. I had immense fun and then we did second shift in assisting wineries with tasting and it was blast as I love interacting with people. All in all, its a must try to get the feel of culture, have fun while trying wines from all over the Virginia region.

I love a good wine festival, but this one was just so crowded, with not enough wineries. People…read morewere waiting at least half an hour in each line. Because there were only so many options. There also weren't too many food vendors. If it's called Fork & Cork, your ticket price should include light bites, not just wine tastings. Because you can't order a meal from every food vendor. But you certainly want to try them and learn about local businesses. Not worth going in my opinion, unless you opt for the VIP ticket to beat the crowds.

We went to the festival on Saturday evening and it was a great experience. We were able to find…read moreparking a block away so that was convenient. To purchase food from the booths you had to purchase tickets. One ticket was the equivalent of $1. Wrist bands for beer were also $1. There were tons of options for food. BBQ, sandwiches, sausage, wings, spring rolls, tacos, desserts, ice cream, the list goes on. I really liked the variety. It allowed everyone to get something to their liking. We wanted to try a couple different things so my boyfriend and I grabbed a couple different items to share. We got a hickory smoked slider and mac and cheese from Camel City BBQ, spring rolls and wings from Milner's, and a wrap from Bib's. Everything was really good! We brought chairs and a blanket to sit down and were able to find a nice place in the shade to sit down. We stayed long enough to enjoy Bob Margolin's hour long set and have our dinner. There were a lot of people there but it wasn't so overly crowded that you couldn't move through the crowded smoothly and the wait for the food booths wasn't very long at all. Overall it was a great experience.

Over the years we have watched this place really up their game. Then music has always been a big…read moredraw but it's also a great place to grab lunch or a sweet treat, and next door there is a soda shop type place as well! Barrels of candy, locally made items for purchase, including gorgeous cutting boards. Clean restrooms too, which is always a plus!

The Floyd Country store is a go to for lunch. They have a variety of menu options from sandwiches…read moreto hummus salad plates. You order at a counter and seat yourself with a number for your food to be dropped off swiftly. The sweet tea is excellent and there are a variety of delicious baked goods that change week to week. If you go on a Saturday at 12 you will be pleasantly surprised by live music as a part of their Americana Afternoons program which features local musicians from folk to bluegrass and blues. The atmosphere is super laid back, everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Make sure you tip the band and support their musicians-life is better with music! As they say.

Drove from Asheboro to buy strawberries and one of their cute strawberry t-shirts. Even though they…read morewere out of the t-shirts in my size, staff is going to contact me when the new order comes in. They are adorable! I bought a gallon bucket of their strawberries and they are hands down THE BEST strawberries I have ever had. So sweet and juicy!! Staff informed me they sell all kinds of produce as it comes in season and raved on their melons and blackberries. I've been telling people to go up and take their kids because they have so many fun activities for the entire family along with selling cooked food items. The gallon bucket of strawberries were under $20 and for that price they are a good deal. I've been to some other berry farms in my area and they are charging more for berries half as good. I can't wait to go back

We brought our toddler here for the corn maze and a pumpkin. She had a WHOLE tantrum when it was…read moretime to leave. Staff are very friendly and accommodating. This is THE place for family "fall" activities! We picked a pumpkin from the patch, we picked fresh apples, we did the slides and swings and saw animals. We did the corn maze. We rode a "train" pulled by a tractor, played in the dirt, on the various playgrounds, played in a little barn... the list goes on. This place is a child's dream for a day of NC fall fun - and we all had a blast! Going forward, this will be a yearly fall destination!