Oh what memories! Back in the 1980's and early 1990's, this festival was called Stumptown Festival…read more Just before I was born (in the 1970's), my parents, older sister and brother lived mere blocks from here and would walk to the parade then the festival and walk through the booths. Eventually, they moved a few miles away, then my younger sister, and all 6 of us would come to the parade, then walk through the area with booths carefully avoiding the ride area as my parents could not afford to let us ride any of them, or buy the food. Fast forward to my teenage years in late 1980's, early 1990's, where we would come with friends, ride the rides, go through the booth area, buy all we wanted. My last actual time I was able to walk through the entire festival was back in 2003, when I came down to help my mother after a surgery. My last trip to Charlotte (Labor Day weekend 2018), I dragged my parents here on the Sunday. We were early-ish. We walked through some of it, but were unable to enjoy the full affect as they were still opening. This is a small town festival that is fairly inexpensive to do. Homemade items for sale. Some of the booths with items for sale are in the elementary school, which has been updated since the last time I was here. There are stages with live music, and other entertainment. A great time to be had by all. I did not get many pictures of my own as I was busy chatting with my parents, but check out the links below. Parking can be difficult at best. Crowds can be thick in places. For more information: https://www.matthewsalive.org/ https://www.facebook.com/MatthewsAlive

It was 7PM. I'd just gotten my car back (I have it on Turo, which is basically Airbnb, but with…read morecars). Having been in the house all day, I hadn't been able to keep my streak going on Pokémon Go! This being an inscrutable state of affairs, I decided that, instead of driving home, I'd head to one of my main Pokémoning sites: downtown Matthews. I arrived, parking as I do most often in the library/town hall parking lot (small town = multi-use public buildings. The court house in chapel hill is also the post office for example). I takedown all of the gyms in the area, set my guys in them, and then go Pokémon walking. To my pleasant surprise, the legendary gym I was walking to happened to fall smack-dab in the middle of a whole festival! I'm never one to turn down the opportunity at giant smoked turkey legs and deep fried Oreos - both of which are available at multiple vendors along the main walk - so I decide to stop Pokémoning for the moment and take in the event. Live music is a wonderful thing, and they have an entire soundstage set up just for it. The genre of choice seems to be bad country, which ain't my bag, baby, so I keep it moving. I recommend going at night. There are few things in life as immediately disarming as neon lights against an ebony sky, especially when those lights signal funnel cake and rides. Oh yeah, there are carnival rides in full effect. All the good hurlers, too. The ones that make your kids sick. The ones from which memories are built. Anywho, so there I am, hunting for the best giant smoked turkey leg, when I catch the Devine odor of cured pork fat. I know this can only mean one thing: bacon. There's a vendor that wraps everything in bacon. EVERYTHING. IN. BACON. I had bacon wrapped BBQ. That's right, I was in pigception. And it was glorious. I also had a pretty decent crabcake sammich (bun as set dressing only, I swear) and I cheated a bit, and got a refreshing frozen blueberry lemonade. I didn't stay long, but what I saw left a good taste in my mouth (literally and figuratively). Then I went back to catching all the Pokémon, so, you know, I was productive.

This festival just continues to grow each year! I genuinely love checking out Festival in the Park…read moreevery single year, because there's always something new to see. There's probably hundreds of vendors at this point, from food, drinks, desserts, artists, charities, jewelry. I mean there's SO much to see at this festival! My favorite part about it is the live music. My friends and I always bring a blanket and just come lay out there and enjoy the live band. This year it was actually the same singer as last year and she was great!!! Love her voice and she always sings upbeat songs everyone knows. It's always a whole vibe. We grab food and bring our own cooler and just pick a spot up on the hill and enjoy. That's exactly what we did this year too. For food I couldn't decide what I wanted so I kinda settled for a gyro and it was pretty good, all things considered. The fries we great though! Nice to have so many food options available though. I'll continue to come to this festival year after year!! Definitely a lifetime fan.

I enjoy FITP every year. The variety of vendors lets me purchase items I can't find in my weekly…read morejourneys. It's great to find something I've never seen before. I stopped by a cookie vendor, deliciousness! However, the food lines are typically ridiculously long. Not my speed. There should be a vendor who sells water only for one price. Parking is a task and requires a lot of patience. It may help to catch a ride and skip parking altogether.

Visited this event for the first time in years and was pleasantly surprised but not overwhelmed…read more It's a perfectly fine way to spend your weekend but it does coincide with the same weekend as Festival in the Park in Charlotte so it's probably not as populated as much as it could be. That being said, I had a good time with my kids and girlfriend. Not a whole lot for adults here, pretty much geared towards children with bounce houses, etc and fair like rides that they will enjoy for sure. In short, this is a good event to browse some local crafts and food as well as some kid friendly rides but if you're like me, you'll be ready to leave within an hour. Not a terribly large event.

Went to the one held at Veteran's Park. Plenty of parking. Lots of space for vendor tents and to…read moreset up a picnic. Only went on Friday where the wristband of unlimited rides was &20 that day only. Kids had fun getting on every ride as many times as they wanted. I sat in the shade listening to the band on stage. We cooled down with fresh squeezed lemonade and satisfied our sweet tooth with funnel cake. Great family oriented festival that was very well organized.

Bottom line: The Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury is a busy and popular street festival to celebrate…read morethe regional soft drink favorite. Saw lots of Cheerwine merch/logos everywhere but not Cheerwine itself. This festival is extremely crowded and there are long lines for absolutely everything, do know that going into this one. Bring cash, you'll need it. The Deets: My friends and I made plans to hit the The Cheerwine Festival in Salisbury, NC this year. Cheerwine is a local/regional soft drink favorite, a black cherry flavored soda. Cheerwine has been made since 1917 and has been produced by the same family in North Carolina for all those years (big accomplishment in the food/beverage industry). I've been a Cheerwine fan since childhood so I was up for going to a festival bearing its name. We went down and back on Amtrak as there is a train station near to the downtown area the festival is held. I recommend going by train if possible as finding parking is not that easy for this event. Salisbury is not a huge town so you would expect that to be so. If you are not a fan of big crowds and long lines, then this festival is not for you. This festival is very "people-y" and there are long lines for EVERYTHING...food, beer/beverages, merchandise, craft/art/novelty items, cash machines (bring cash, most things here are not cheap)...everything. Of course the sound stage had a crowd around it as well. We even ducked into a local bottle shop to find some peace (see my prior review for this business) which we indeed found. My pics I took are from a pocket of peace I found outside of the crowded area. Of note, I did see that there were plenty of port-a-potties everywhere, even down alleys between buildings. While I saw Cheerwine logos and merchandise a-plenty at the festival, I really can't recall seeing any actual Cheerwine itself. Sad face. Lots of beer opportunities...not Cheerwine though. If you love those crowded street festivals, this event is your golden ticket. I found it was great to visit and experience but I'm not sure I would go out of my way to come back again.

I went to this festival in Salisbury on a Saturday. I should have expected it to be crowded,…read morebecause it definitely was which any festival would be on a Saturday. The mountainmelt food truck gave me magnificent grilled cheese with mac and cheese inside and a jam, and bacon. It was heavenly. For $12 it was worth it. Other than that there was just the regular Fair foods. It didn't really scream cheerwine to me except for all the cheerwine signs that were everywhere. There was a good police presence and I appreciated the stands to help people cool down. It was warm that day for sure, we just happened to go on a day that wasn't too bad. I expected a lot more vendors, and especially a lot more specialty food vendors that really focused on the cheer wine, didn't really get that from this event. So not that impressed, I wouldn't go out of my way to come here next year.

I can't tell you how upset I am with this festival. I saw the billboard advertising it on 77SB! And…read moremy love for watermelon. Sold.. I drove 1 hr and 5mins. Stayed less than a hour. No watermelon of any kind. No food. No drinks. No slices of watermelon for sale.. The usual greasy food, corn dog, fennel cake. But I swear they should rename the damn festival to just Pageland Festival. Didn't like how I drive all this way to be lied too!

this year was awful. we stayed for all of an hour! I was looking for watermelon ice cream, which I…read morehave gotten in years past. NONE. a lot less stuff that in the past. Went on Saturday and there wasn't a large crowd either. paid $4 for a greasy corn dog- don't think I will come back in the future

Geeze, I can't remember the last time I've been to a county fair. They are still as awesome as I…read moreremember...plenty of games and rides to keep adults and children entertained for hours. I had a fabulous time! But I'm dedicating this review to what I consider to be the best part of the fair....Funnel Cakes. Yep. That's no a typo I meant that fried doughy goodness is one of the main reasons I went to the fair....don't judge me! I'm going to put it to you like this whoever created the funnel cake is a genius! I mean fried dough is already awesome but top it with powder sugar and it's nothing shy of a piece of heaven on a plate. Yum. My only regret...I should have gotten two...haha Yep. Totally coming back again! It's definitely worth a visit.

We love coming to this fair every year, and yes of course everything is overpriced but the…read morenostalgia of the fair and all that it entails excites my son. I must admit I love this particular fair for a totally different reason......the grilled corn on the cob, which is reason enough for me to attend:-)

I never thought we'd have so much fun at a corn maze, but we did! This maze cost $9 each (for…read moreadults), and it was worth every penny! We pulled up at 11:30am on a Saturday morning, and only a few cars were in the parking lot. We were greeted quickly, and they explained what your ticket gets you into (there are also activities for young kids to do as well). We took a quick look at the map, and then we set off! We quickly learned that the right path is most likely a dead end! Their corn was able to grow high this year, and it was a very well designed maze. There were loops that only seemed like loops and hidden paths at the end of what we thought were dead ends. There were also some questions along the way that you could use paper/pencil or scan a QR code, which gave you some help. At the half way point, they had a cooler with bottles of water, which was very nice. We truly had an amazing time. It took us a little longer than we wanted to, but we made sure to take every wrong turn there was! At the end, we talked to the owner for a bit about how the corn maze is designed, and we even played a few rounds of cornhole. Check out this corn maze this season-you won't want to miss it!

We go there every year for the corn maze. They also have other kids activities such as a bounce…read morepillow, corn hole, bike races, small concession stand, and a corn kernel pit

Absolutely loved this ballon fest! We only went on Saturday and tickets online were $25 but kids…read moreunder 6 were free! We got there at 7:30am so parking was super easy! Definitely get the parking pass ($15), totally worth it especially if you have a young kiddo like we did. Parking and the event is in a grassy field. We packed water, snacks, blankets and even clothes to change when it warmed up in the afternoon. We planned to stay for the morning balloons and the afternoon balloons so we were prepared. The balloons were so cool. And we were really close. They also did tethered balloon rides and balloon flights for purchase. There were plenty of food stands , drinks areas and vendors. There was also a kids area with shows, bounce houses and hay bails for chilling. They only had porta-potties but never had to wait in line. They also do a night glow and for $2 you could walk inside a balloon getting inflated. This was such a fun family-friendly event with great photo opps. There were a lot of people but never felt overly crowded. We will be making this a family tradition!

Phenomenal event, not too crowded, great for families and couples. Do not miss this annual event.read more

Great time at our first Oyster roast at the Windy Hill Orchard & Cidery! Oysters were steamed by…read moreSaltwater Markets and they did a great job of bringing fresh hot oysters out every half hour to all of the tables. Each standing table also had an empty tray to discard shells. Ample supplies were on hand - shuckers, gloves, paper towels, hot sauces, cocktail sauce, and saltines. Beverages were available for purchase - a selection of ciders and wine, soft drinks and bottled water. Many of their regular menu options are not served in the winter, but we find that to be a good reason to go back during peak season. All service was self service - walk up to the bar or walk over to find any oyster shucking supplies you may need. Souvenir glasses were also available. The staff who checked us in on arrival were kind enough to suggest we take those after our feast to avoid having to keep track of a pint glass while focused on our oyster shucking. A couple of fire pit spots were available and there were picnic tables under a covered shelter set up in the event that inclement weather moved in. It is truly a Windy hill - it's always windy when we are here and this event was no different. Live music was on hand - a solo artist with guitar whose name I didn't catch, but he was very talented and did a great job. He played mostly cover music from under the covered shelter area. Parking does involve a walk if you're not one of the very first to arrive. That walk is down a gravel path a little ways up the hill and not a great fit for wheel chairs or those who with mobility challenges. It would not be hard to drop someone off though near the front, then go park down the street and around the corner.

This was my first visit to Windy Hill. The place is really great. They have bagged apples, cider,…read morebottled hard cider, apple pies, freshly made apple cider donuts (plain or cinnamon sugar), and a hard cider bar. The orchard wasn't open for picking, but it was a beautiful day, so there were lots of picnic tables to sit and relax. After we shopped, we sat and enjoyed a donut and the outside. We arrived right as they opened on a Sunday, but it got very busy with families, small groups, dogs, and children after we arrived. This is a very family friendly spot, lots of parking, and a good amount of apple treats to enjoy. We had a nice time, and since it is only 1 hour from Charlotte area, will definitely go back again.

This was our second time coming to the Strawberry Festival. The last time we went was 8-10 years…read moreago. We enjoyed ourselves each time. Tips: Arrive first thing when they open to avoid traffic and finding a spot to park. They have several different lots to choose from - some will shuttle you or others are a short walk. We chose the lot with the short walk. Bring cash for this - it's $5. Arriving early allows you to walk around to each of the vendors before it gets slammed just to check things out. Lines for food started early, so if you think about having lunch at 12, be prepared for long lines. We had no issues with vendors accepting credit card or cash. Bring water. We brought our hydroflask filled with water and ice which was nice because it gets warm fast. What I love: That each vendor had at least one menu item featuring strawberries - whether it is a dessert or a meal. If you love strawberries like me, you can find a lot of great items to fill you up! Look forward to it again next year, it's a great time!

AMAZING fun time for the whole family! Great food selection from many LOCAL food establishments…read morethat have their own trucks. A standard set of faire food too... YES on the FUNNEL CAKE! A good set of rides for kids aged 8-12 years old. Prices are carnival-level... not cheap... but understandable. LOTS of lawn and grass areas to hang out. LOTS of police and safety folks very visible. All the tent vendors are in the shade, so it was easy and nice to walk around and visit them out from the sun. LOTS of toilets... AND a physical toilet building for those that dont like the plastic portable toilets. There is a NEW kids area they built in the park and they had it fenced in so the kids would not be running away and out of parent control, it was like a mini-day-care. Excellent selection of local and appropriate music to listen to that was at appropriate volume levels to be able to enjoy. Parking was difficult, but there were bus shuttles to the local school that ran every few minutes, so that was helpful. They had a classic car show, that was fun to walk around. I think they should have had more 'competition' style activities.