Festivals: What do we have? What do we need?

[jeffs555]

I like any festival with the word "beer" in the title.

But seriously. . . .we have the World Beer Festival, which is great, but I wish that we had something smaller and more specialized.

This may be too small, but they have hot sauce and beer. What more could you want.
NC Hot Sauce Contest 2010 is coming! Saturday, Sept 11, 2010 11am-4pm (http://www.stovallsgifts.com/hot/ - broken link)

[Sluv]

There's also the Gourd Festival usually held in September.
Cuegrass in April which is only two years old but a good time nonetheless.
Bugfest is an insect festival held each year at the Museum of Natural Sciences and the Capitol Grounds and attracts a surprisingly large crowd each year.
The Grecian Festival is 3 day event in September out at the fairgrounds.
and SPARKcon which showcases music, art and all sorts of creative stuff.

All of these are in Raleigh and I'm sure there are more that either don't know of or am forgetting.

[Usedtobe VaNC]

Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival - The Town of Cary’s Lazy Daze Festival takes place the 4th Saturday of August. Four hundred artists from across the country are selected through juried process to showcase their works along the charming streets of downtown Cary. For over 30 years art lovers from across the region and beyond and sought out unique works and also enjoyed outstanding local entertain from 3 stages. Consistently ranked the highest one-day festival in the country, Lazy Daze is a great capstone to summer. Contact: Joy Ennis, Festivals Coordinator, joy.ennis@townofcary.org, P.O. Box 8005, Cary, NC 27512, office: 316 N Academy Street (Cary Town Hall), 919-462-3864, www.townofcary.org.

Marvelous Music Series and Sertoma Amphitheatre Series - The Town of Cary’s two music presenting series provide citizens the opportunity to experience a variety of music events throughout the year. The Marvelous Music Series offers ticketed concerts of touring artists in varied musical forms from jazz to classical to world music. The outdoor Sertoma Series takes place in the Sertoma Amphitheatre in Bond Park and provides free concerts primarily in spring and fall showcasing both local artists and family friendly events in a variety of musical forms. Contact: Sarah Preston, Performing Arts Coordinator, sarah.preston@townofcary.org, P.O. Box 8005, Cary, NC 27512, office: 316 N Academy St, (Cary Town Hall), 919-462-3969, www.townofcary.org.

Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival – The Town of Cary’s Spring Daze Festival takes place the last Saturday April in Bond Park. Focusing on artists from Wake County, the festival also includes an area for outstanding North Carolina artists that are selected through a jury process. Approximately 150 artists line the winding paths of Bond Park while it is decked out in spring splendor. Spring Daze provides a wonderful showcase for the many fine artists we have here in our own backyards. Contact: Joy Ennis, Festivals Coordinator, joy.ennis@townofcary.org, P.O. Box 8005 , Cary, NC 27512, office: 316 N Academy Street (Cary Town Hall), 919-462-3864 , www.townofcary.org.


Orange County/Chapel Hill/Durham/Carrboro

Carrboro Second Friday ArtWalk - Each second Friday of the month, Carrboro area galleries host the 2nd Friday Art Walk. 2nd Friday is a festive evening of art, entertainment and hors d’oeuvres held to spotlight area art exhibit venues. Visit The 2ndFriday Artwalk to print the 2nd Friday Art Walk map. Admission is free.

Durham’s Third Friday Art Walk – Third Friday Durham - Fridays

Centerfest – Durham – Annual arts festival in September, The 36th Annual CenterFest Arts Festival - Sept. 19, 20, 2009.


Chatham County

Shakori Hills – Family friendly festival of music, dance, art and education. 4 Days, 4 stages, and over 50 bands in beautiful, green Chatham County, Every April, 1439 Henderson Tanyard Rd., Pittsboro, NC 27312 Shakori Hills.

Chatham Arts – The Chatham Arts Council offers monthly film screenings at Fearrington Barn, a Spring Symphony Concert, a Fall Bluegrass Experience Concert and the ClydeFEST Kids Art Day in April. PO Box 418, Pittsboro, NC 27312, 919.542.0394, ChathamArts - Chatham County Arts Council - Chatham County NC.


Raleigh/Wake County

Artsplosure- The Raleigh Arts Festival – Annually, the third full weekend of May. Now in its fourth decade, Artsplosure is one of the Southeast’s premier fine arts festivals and is an annual rite of spring for Triangle residents. Artsplosure is held in and around the historic Moore Square and City Market area of downtown Raleigh and features a juried Art Market comprised of over 170 fine artists and craftspeople from across the state and country, Kidsplosure—activities, crafts, and entertainment for children and families, large scale temporary art installations, and live music on two stages featuring regional and nationally-recognized jazz, blues, and roots music performers. Artsplosure office: 313 S. Blount Street, Suite 200B, Raleigh, NC, 27601, 919.832.8699, info@artsplosure.org, Artsplosure.

First Night Raleigh – First Night® Raleigh is a family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration of the arts in an alcohol-free environment. Held every December 31st in downtown Raleigh, the event features local and regional performing and visual artists. Festivities begin in the afternoon with the Children’s Celebration. The 6:00 People’s Procession moves thousands of participants southward down Fayetteville Street for the Early Countdown on City Plaza, followed by evening performances of music, dance, comedy, theatre, and interactive programs in over two dozen venues across downtown Raleigh. First Night® concludes at Midnight with music on the Main Stage, the famous Raleigh Acorn drop and a spectacular fireworks show. Admission to First Night® Raleigh activities is by admission button only, available for purchase in advance or on site on December 31. First Night Raleigh. Presented by Artsplosure: 313 S. Blount Street, Suite 200B, Raleigh, NC 27601, 919.832.8699, Artsplosure, info@artsplosure.org.

SPARKcon - SPARKcon is an interdisciplinary festival, conference and showcase of creativity, talent and ideas that happens each year during the third weekend of September in downtown Raleigh. SPARKcon is a “creative potluck” of SPARKs or creative themes such as art, music, film, fashion, etc. Each SPARK is put together by individuals who are deeply embedded in that specific local scene. SPARKcon is a program of Visual Art Exchange, a Raleigh non-profit whose mission is to support emerging artists and connect the community to the arts. Using a combination of networking and open calls for participants, organizers create diverse and representative events to show off local talent and connect disparate creative scenes. SPARKcon grows every time a new person gets involved with a SPARK category, creating their own event, or joining in to help an existing one. SPARKcon.

[Usedtobe VaNC]

And don't forget American Dance Festival, which is an internationally known festival of Dance, held in Durham. www.americandancefestival.org

Also, there is the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham. Another widely recognized event. www.fullframefest.org

[didee]

Does the State Fair count as a festival? And Durham has the blues festival, and as someone else mentioned, there's the ever-popular Hillsborough Hog Day (I love Hog Day). Cary had an Herbfest this weekend. There's even a "Tomatopalooza" in July. There's always something going on...

I do wish Cary would change its Lazy Daze to a less hot time. They hold it during the height of heat and humidity and I could never understand why.

[al_roethlisberger]

Sanford and Lee County have several festivals, large and small, throughout the year and especially in the summer months.

If you are reading this in 2010, you've unfortunately just missed NC's largest pottery festival, and likely the largest on the East Coast: The Largest Pottery Festival In North Carolina - The Sanford Pottery Festival


And although I'm not 100% certain, I think the same is true for the "Ole Mill Crank Up" that takes place at Gilliam Mill sometime in May every year. I think it may have been this last weekend. But for those interested in old steam engines, tractors, old cars, live music and various hand crafts, this is a fun event for the whole family.

And as for small events, Downtown Sanford has begun our annual "Screen on the Green" outdoor movie festival for the kids. The city erects a large outdoor screen in Sanford's Depot Park and shows free kids movies from April through May. http://www.downtownsanford.com/2010SpringPoster.pdf (broken link)

Following the movie schedule, Downtown Sanford will likely revisit the Depot Park free concert series as well.


Other general downtown Sanford events:

Events Calendar (http://www.downtownsanford.com/events_calendar.htm - broken link)


Have a great summer!

Al

[Usedtobe VaNC]

Also, there is Raleigh Wide Open Raleigh Wide Open 4 - Celebrating the Opening of City Plaza, Raleigh, NC - October 24, 2009

And the Cherry Bounce music festival the same weekend, in downtown Raleigh.www.cherrybouncefest.com

I think they are both the weekend of July 31 this year.