16. Come-See-Me Festival
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (800) 681-7635
Description: Approximately 125,000 people converge on Rock Hill during this 10-day event, which features a street dance, a charity ball, a car show, exhibits, concerts, crafts, hot-air balloons, road and bicycle races, a soap box derby, children’s events, a parade, and fireworks. The festival also includes a wide range of athletic competitions. To get to Cherry Park, take exit 82B off I-77 and go a half mile west.
17. Food Lion Autofair
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 455-3200
Description: More than 2,000 cars are displayed, with another 1,500 collector cars for sale, and thousands of vendors sell automotive accessories and memorabilia at this four-day event held every April and September. $10 admission, children 12 and under free.
18. Kitchen Ingredients Tour
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 372-7961
19. Loch Norman Highland Games
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 875-3113
Description: Many early settlers in the Carolinas were Scots or Scots-Irish, and their tradition of testing strength against one another through athletic competition still endures. Charlotte’s mid-April games have been held near Lake Norman for nearly 15 years and are one of several on a nationwide circuit. Participants compete in the hammer and battle-ax throw, sheaf and weight toss, longbow, climbing wall, Highland wrestling, triathlon, and kilted races. Nearly 100 clans attend, as well as many people with no Scottish roots, for living-history demonstrations, bagpipe playing, dancing, Celtic music, and food.
20. Mint Museum Home & Garden Tour
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 337-2000
Description: Taking this 53-year-old tour provides an opportunity to see some of Charlotte’s most beautiful homes in Myers Park, Eastover, SouthPark, and Plaza-Midwood. The four-day tour, which includes nine gardens and four homes, takes place in April. The tour week also includes a decorative arts seminar and a black-tie gala.
21. Queen’S Cup Steeplechase
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 843-7070
Description: Spend a day in the country partying among elaborate tailgate spreads and watching silk-clad horses and jockeys soar over hedges. About 18,000 people—many donning outlandish equestrian-themed hats—attend the annual event on the 260-acre Brooklandwood Farm. Recent additions include a guided course walk with former steeplechase jockeys and an infield exhibit area. General admission tickets are $20. Reserved-space packages range from $150 in the party village to $6,000 for a lifetime seat at the finish line.
22. Taste Of The Nation
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 375-9715
Address: 401 South Tryon St.
Description: Enjoy signature dishes from more than two dozen Charlotte restaurants, wine, live entertainment, and a silent auction at this long-standing community gala. Restaurants, culinary schools, and gourmet groceries take part in competitions based on taste and presentation. Proceeds benefit Second Harvest Foodbank, Community Food Rescue, and Community Culinary School of Charlotte. Gala tickets are $85 for the preview, $60 general admission. Demonstrations free.
23. Center City Green Market
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 332-2227
Description: A favorite warm-weather weekend hangout, this city market is held 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sat from early May through late Sept in Uptown. Fresh fruits and vegetables, specialty foods, flowers and plants, art, crafts, and live entertainment are the focus of this city market with a cosmopolitan feel. Free.
24. Davidson Town Day
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 892-3349
Description: Davidson celebrates its annual festival the first Sat in May on the Village Green with entertainment, games and demonstrations, and lots of good food. Take an old-fashioned carriage ride around town, participate in the merchant-sponsored Treasure Trek, or sign up for the 45-minute stroll to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. To get there, take the Davidson exit (exit 30) off I-77.
25. Derby Days
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 337-2093
Address: 2730 Randolph Rd.
Description: Charlotte celebrates the festivities of Churchhill Downs the first Sat in May on the lush lawn of the Mint Museum. Put on a party hat, sip mint juleps, and cheer for horses in the Kentucky Derby, which is shown on large screens. Sponsored by the Young Affiliates of the Mint, Derby Daze is especially popular with 20- and 30-something Charlotteans.
26. Garibaldifest
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 825-8191
Description: Named for original town founder John Garibaldi, this spring festival includes live performers, children’s rides and games, food vendors, and art-lined sidewalks. The family-friendly festival is held the third Sat. Take I-85 South to the Belmont exit. Free.
27. March Of Dimes Showhouse
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 377-2009
Description: Interior designers furnish and decorate a new house each spring to showcase their talent and benefit the March of Dimes. Runs early May to early June. Admission charge.
28. Mother’S Day At Mcgill Rose Garden
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 333-6497
Address: 940 North Davidson St.
Description: A Queen City tradition since 1967, Mother’s Day at the McGill Rose Garden draws thousands of Charlotteans in their Sunday finest. This 1.3-acre petaled paradise was the pride and joy of Henry and Helen McGill, who bought this drab coal yard in 1950 and began planting a wonderful rose garden. Henry McGill passed away in 2007 at the age of 103, but his spirit lives on in the 1,000-plus rose bushes from more than 200 varieties.
29. Nascar Race Weeks
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (704) 455-3200
Description: Each year during the two weeks before Memorial Day, tens of thousands of race fans flock to Charlotte for the Queen City’s Race Weeks, which include several track events, a street festival, and a hogs and hot rods show. The NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Challenge features an exclusive field of the season’s race winners and past champions vying for a $1-million top prize. The following weekend features the longest race on the NASCAR circuit—the Coca-Cola 600, always held the Sun before Memorial Day.
30. Ole Time Fiddler’S And Bluegrass Festival
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (828) 478-3735
Description: Started in 1924, this three-day celebration of traditional American music and dance is held Memorial Day weekend. You can join competitions or workshops for autoharp, hammered dulcimer, bass fiddle, dobro, harmonica, banjo, and guitar, or participate in clogging and storytelling programs. The regulars swap jokes as they eat homemade barbecue and ice cream. The spacious site, Fiddlers Grove Campground, 1819 West Memorial Hwy., north of Statesville, is equipped with electricity and hookups for RVs. Tickets are $15 to $60 for the weekend.