My review is based on a visit to the Appalachian Fair at the end of August 2023. It was packed!…read more The event is okay for Carnival rides and such. (Please take that with a little grain of salt because after living in Texas and experiencing the Texas State Fair - anything else, hmmm). There were livestock displayed which drew the attention and crowds of the youngest patrons. I didn't realize, but there was also a livestock competition that probably ended by the time I entered the grounds. I chose to purchase the pass for unlimited rides, not the wisest investment I've made. Lines were extremely long for the most popular rides that I probably would have waited at least an hour or more to experience. This is a fair, not an amusement park! I would have been better off purchasing a sheet of coupons for rides and entertainment. However, I do see the draw for friends and families to enjoy a summer day / evening of rides and fair food together. The grounds itself hosts different and various event throughout the year. There is a driving Christmas Light Show that starts the day before Thanksgiving and runs until the beginning of January. That might be an event considering to visit.

Love this fair! The concerts are great and the people are really nice. Always a fun time for the…read morewhole family.

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!

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.

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!

We arrived at the 2024 Festival on Saturday around noon and there was plenty of parking lots and it…read moreseemed like they were prepared for the crowds. We stopped at HenDough (which was only a few minutes from the actual festival) to grab doughnuts before getting started. Since the Apple festival was the main reason for our trip to Hendersonville we were prepared to try all types of Apple products. There were farm stands selling fresh apples, Apple Cider and a few stands with Apple Slushies; BUT HONESTLY THIS COULD'VE JUST BEEN CALLED [The Hendersonville Festival]. On one end there was festival type foods (corndogs, funnel cakes, turkey legs) and a few carnival rides for kids age 7-12. Not really for toddlers. The other end is plenty of arts & crafts, t-shirts and other vendors to spend money on. The Apple product stands were far few in between: one stand selling fried apple pies/baked apple frittata but they only accepted cash. Overall, this was a good way to spend time as a family but I expected way more apples goodness.

2024 NC Apple Festival is awesome. New this year a petting zoo with zebra and lots of other…read moreanimals. Plenty of games and rides, as well as good food. Great for kids of all ages . https://youtu.be/CQh_fvq5RKs?si=COs1P85C-hmhwqct

When one of your favorite breweries hosts its own Beer Festival, you go, plain and simple…read more Fonta Flora is now in its 4th year running State of Origin at the Courthouse Square in Downtown Morganton. You might be able to even call it an "invitational", as breweries from around the state and country are "invited " to show us, the craft brewing supporters/lovers, what they can make using local and sometimes foraged ingredients. This is not your mainstream, run of the mill festival - the word "boutique" has been used to describe it. From the eclectic music, to the ticket limit, to the well-chosen food trucks (Vitamina T, BZL bus, the Hop!!), you get to experience the cream of the "local" crop. Just look at the names of who had representation - Burial, Zebulon Artisan Ales, Jester King, Haw River, Arizona Wilderness, Creature Comforts, New Grass, Legion, Free Range, Salud Cervezeria, Birdsong, Trophy and on and on. Some of these beers are even made just for this event. Buy a ticket - get your band - bring a blanket - more importantly, bring your friends and get ready to have a great time. Viva Fonta Flora! Long Live Fonta Flora!

we had been making our rounds through the area mountains staying in a nice holiday inn in a central…read morelocation and proximity to the mountain state fair so we decided to book hotel again and take a weekend fair trip it was pretty cool i bought some nice pottery pieces and enjoyed the vendors but the food prices were out of this world like one turkey leg and one corn on the cob was $26 like whattt but any way the fair rides looked pretty cool but we dont do rides so arts and crafts and animals was nice too so i may go back next year with grands will see

Overall, my experience was amazing. The food was overwhelming fried but absolutely delicious, and…read morethere were plenty of things to do other than just riding rides. I had first arrived with my younger brother and my older sister around when the fair had just opened. We first hit the caterpillar kiddy-coaster, and it was absolutely thrilling and ran much smoother than the model they had at the Youth Fair in Miami-Dade. We then went on this odd barn ride that would elevate and slowly swirl you around. We then waited in line to go on the absolute fair classic; the bumper cars. I was a bit dissapointed, as the steering wheels on several of the cars did not work. They would steer in random directions, and it was pretty difficult. Next me and my older sister went on the Cyclops ride. If you enjoy that type of ride, good for you! I do NOT, so I was pretty scared, but it eventually ended. After that we explored the little sponsor stands they had and it was pretty cool. The rest of the day was amazing, if you plan on going, I recommend going on the Surfer and Auto Bahn (if you have the stomach)!