As we all know, the days are beginning to become shorter, leaves are transitioning into the beautiful vibrant colors we all know and love, and the Fall Festival season is kicking off!
Being a native Charlottean, I have had the opportunity to enjoy the great food, entertainment, art and most importantly beer, for 25 years now (wow I'm getting old).
The Fall Festival line up this is year is Epic, here is my list of the festivals that are a MUST!!
1. Yiasou Greek Festival (Sep. 8 -11): Bring an empty stomach and some cash, you can expect to leave with no money. This festival is not one you go to for the attractions, the food is what people come out in droves for. Who doesn't love Greek desserts and tzatziki sauce. (Not together of course) The event is located at 600 East Blvd Charlotte, NC 28203.
2. Eat From a Food Truck Festival (Sep. 10): The Carolinas' largest food truck round up, featuring 100 trucks from NC, SC and Georgia. This event includes a beer garden, kids' activities live music, and a wide variety of delicious food. With so many trucks to choose from there is sure to be something to satisfy everyone's taste buds. The event is located at 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd Charlotte, NC 28206. The festival will last from 12pm-6pm. General admission tickets are $10 and kids under 10 are FREE.
3. Q-City Charlotte BBQ Championship (Sep. 18-19): Formerly known as the Blues, Brews and BBQ Festival, this event takes place at Romare Bearden Park, which is located directly behind the Knights stadium. You can find hundreds of varieties of BBQ and Beers, the music is jamming and the view of the skyline is incomparable. Pro tip: Bring a towel to sit on and a cooler, so you can take BBQ home with you to enjoy later in the week.
4. Festival in the Park (Sep. 23-25): This will be the 52nd Festival in the Park, making it without a doubt the longest running festival in Charlotte. The event takes place at Freedom Park, you can expect to find great food, absolutely amazing artists from all over the state, live music that you can enjoy from the rolling hills of the park, and most importantly wonderful people. I would recommend going to the festival as the sun is setting so you can take in the beautiful views of the sun shimmering across the lake.
5. Renaissance Festival (Saturdays and Sundays Oct 1-Nov 20): If you're looking to take a step back in time, this is the place for you. The list of attractions for this festival might as well be a novel. It encompasses everything that you would find during the Renaissance period. Jousting, turkey legs, creating wax hand molds, shooting paintball guns at people dressed up as a donkey, beer, elephant rides, falconry, wine, and much more. The great thing about this event is if you miss one weekend there are 7 other weekends that you can catch this epic festival. No other festival this season will give you this type of experience. Located at 16445 Poplar Tent Rd, Huntersville, NC, 28078.
-Josh Campbell
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