As we are still biding our time waiting for Katie and Brooks’ wedding on October 13th we have found a few fun things to do in the area. Luckily for us we happened to be in Raleigh this time of year for the annual IBMA festival. IBMA is the International Bluegrass Music Association and every year there is a big gathering in Raleigh.
One of the highlights is a Free Streetfest. Not only do I love Bluegrass Music but I love free Bluegrass Music even better. With more than 100 bands on 7 stages playing in downtown Raleigh we felt it was a must see event. We drove downtown and secured a parking spot then walked over to Fayetteville Street where more than 10 blocks had been blocked off for the festival.
We started at the JAM stage where Junior Appalachian Musicians were playing and it was a treat to listen to some of the young,up and coming talents in Bluegrass. Seeing some of these kids playing their instruments like a pro was fun to watch. There was one young lady who could really play her banjo and another young lady who played a cello which was much larger than her. What fun!!!
Of course there were street vendors lined all along the side streets selling everything from trinkets, to art, to locally made goods. Lots and lots of food and drink vendors were there as well. We sampled some foods and bought a locally made craft beer as we ambled slowly down Fayetteville Street street until we arrived at the IBMA Spotlight Stage where the bigger named talents were playing. One band we particularly enjoyed out of Colorado was called Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, It was a father and son band we thought was quite good.
Along with over 200,000 other attendees we sure enjoyed the downtown music festival. The next big Raleigh event is the State Fair which of course is why we had to leave the fairgrounds and move to Lake Falls State Recreation Area. With the wedding coming up we are again watching the weather as another soon to be Hurricane will be affecting the forecast for the area this weekend. We also need to start hammering out some travel plans as we will begin heading south toward Bonita Springs Florida next week…
NOTE: We are still at Lake Falls State Recreation Area north of Raleigh NC with the wedding coming up this weekend and then we head south…
We would have loved the Bluegrass Festival!! Looks like it was a good one!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great time!
ReplyDelete