I went for two days. I parked on the street which was challenging with the meters. The final day…read morehad free parking which was great. It wasn't extremely busy when I went, on purpose. I loved exploring and trying to various foods. You can buy coins in person or on line. The coins are what you have to use. I do wish the drinks were not samples as it is usually hot. I understand food samples but drinks so be regular size and allow people to purchase them. Loved the food that I tried. I will be back again. I appreciate getting out and exploring my area and learning more about local businesses.

I honestly did not love the crowds and the long lines on a 90 degree day . However, the items I did…read moremanage to Taste were good, I regretted that I did not go around 11 am before it got hot. The walking and lack of seating was truly exhausting.

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.

I found out about this last minute, and could not believe I was so close to missing out on this…read more If you've ever met me, you would know that I am one of the biggest sweet tooths on the planet and the concept of having a bunch of the best bakeries in town in one place for the sampling...well you might as well have let me die and go to heaven. The price to get in is a bit steep ($30), but worth it for someone new in town like me so I can get to know some of my future favorites to visit. The event was well organized and though a lot of the vendors were generic with cupcakes and cookies, there were a few that stood out including the flavored ice cones and the artisan chocolates. I would definitely go again, but next time I would smarten up and take more home rather than trying to eat all that sugar in one night!

This was a very well organized event and the addition of swag bags with a to go box to take home…read morewhat you could no longer manage to eat. Sweets were great. Some better than others of course. It would have been nice to have more variety. Many of the vendors had the same flavors of cupcakes. There were a couple of twists. Like the mancake, with bacon and beer. Overall it was s successful event that just needed more variety and imagination. And of course they need more chocolate candy vendors.

WHY DID I WAIT SO MANY YEARS TO COME HERE!!!!…read more Wow, I had TOO much fun this year at the Carolina Renaissance Festival with a group of friends. We went on a Saturday around 11am and there was light traffic getting in, but it moved quickly and flowed smoothly. The parking situation was very organized and quick. The lot is massive but they have staff every step of the way so it was seamless. We walked a little ways to the entrance but everyone is in costume so the people watching started immediately and that was so fun! Before you even enter the gates to the festival they have some cool vendors out front. There was even the Tardis from Doctor Who and I lost my mind with excitement!!! I couldn't believe it!!! That encounter really set the pace for the rest of the day because I was on cloud 9 before we even entered the park!!!! Once we entered it was really like stepping back in time. The festival grounds were clean and the buildings looked in great shape. All the staff I encountered were kind and helpful. There's so much to see and eat. I thoroughly enjoyed a turkey leg, loaded baked potato, roasted pecans and pumpkin ale! Honestly, this was such a great time!!!! I cannot wait to go back next year. We left about 2:30 pm because we really had so much fun in such a short time. This worked out too because we completely avoided the traffic leaving. It was really a perfect trip! Soooooooooo much fun!!!!

This was my first ever time making it to the Ren Fest and I was very pleased with the experience!…read more Be warned, it's extremely busy and they will sell out so buy your tickets in advance. The car line to get in and out was quite long, but overall it's a smooth experience. Free parking, but you will end up walking about a mile to the entrance so comfortable shoes are a MUST. The main thing I wanted to experience was a turkey leg, and they did not disappoint! The price is definitely steep at $16 each, but they are huge and delicious. Cash only but ATMS are all around. Expect to wait in line for anything and everything and arrive early to any shows you want to see because seats fill up fast. I enjoyed the Witch Trial comedy show where they actually chose one of my friends as a volunteer and it was hilarious! The Joust was fun and had some unexpected twists, but the bleacher seats are sooooo uncomfortable. The Falconry show was my favorite. We got to interact with the Raven and give him tips. The birds fly super close to you and might even touch your head when going over. I'd recommend anyone visiting at least once! It's a worthwhile experience. Expect to spend a chunk of change, and you should definitely dress up! Of course, you won't stand out if you don't, so don't worry about that. Anyone will fit in here and feel welcomed by the environment.

This year VIP was a complete disappointment and a rip off compared to last year. All we got was one…read morecrappy plate of BBQ and a toilet while last year we got to sample all the BBQ vendors who brought unique dishes to try, a VIP area, and an entire bottle of wine! What a waste!

My friends and I rented a private cabana on May 17 but were disappointed by the lack of privacy and…read morethe absence of private restrooms. We had to wait in long lines and walk far for food, although one kind gentleman did assist us. They also forgot our extra 10 tickets. We were the only ones with a cabana, and it was supposed to be a relaxing day for dads--it would have been easier to stay home.

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.

We love a good Food Truck and was so excited for this Festival to be able to try so many new ones!…read moreThis s was definitely a good first attempt for this festival as we had a great time and did enjoy ourselves but here are a few thoughts to hopefully make it even better next year! 1) It was hotter than Hades today so it might be nice to host it later in the fall or at least later in the day! 2) It would be incredibly helpful if the Festival provided a map of the grounds or at least listed all of the attending Food Trucks and provided a description of each. 3) Not many trucks had a $4 option as promised in the Festival description. We want to try and taste as much as possible but that's not as easy to do with the full portions being served plus it would be nice to have the option of cheaper portions. 4) We wish they had offered the VIP option without the shirt from the very beginning however the $25 VIP ticket was definitely worth it just for the shade tent. Plus it was nice that they did not oversell the VIP area. Maybe instead of including a shirt, we would have loved to have a few food vouchers or tickets included with the VIP ticket. Overall, we had a great time and will be looking forward to next year!

Largest food truck festival of the Carolinas? Sign me up. I am eternally grateful that I won the…read moreVIP tickets in the Yelp instagram contest. VIP is the way to go. Mostly because you get to enter the festival a whole hour before everyone who buys the general admission ticket. We didn't have to wait in line behind more than 5 people for anything. For a food truck festival that's insane. If you add the cost of a ticket and the cost of food (and maybe drinks), you're not looking at a cheap day. What I really liked about this festival though, was that every truck had to have a $4 item. That way you can try more items in smaller portions. Most of the trucks we ended up trying I had never even heard of before. My favorite thing was the Sriracha Chicken Bao Bun from A Bao Time. I definitely enjoyed the beer tent--- it was hot out there!!! I thought it was the perfect venue to host so many trucks and the new parking deck at Music Factory was clutch. A little more seating and shade would have been nice for such a large event.