Hello Charmings! We often get asked:
“How do you find all those charming little places and festivals to go to?”
As the trees start to blossom it also feels like these small town’s fairs start popping up as well. So now that it’s May (hurray!) we wanted to share how we go about finding family-friendly fairs, festivals, flea markets, and the like to go to during the lovely warm months ahead!
Since we live in the Historic Hudson Valley, New York we will use that as an example but you can do the same for the county you live in or even use a great nationwide website like www.fairsandfestivals.net that goes by the state!
GOOGLE IT
As simple as it sounds, if you just pop on over to Google and use keywords like “spring festivals in (insert county name)” or “summer fairs in (insert state name)”. Just make sure you also put in the current year and try to narrow it down by county or major city if you live in a big state!
FACEBOOK EVENTS
Nowadays, it’s so great that Facebook has an events section where it finds the closest and most relevant events to you! Often, they even come up as a sponsored post which makes it even easier to find. It’s also very convenient that you can tap “interested” in a local event and Facebook will remind you of it as it gets closer!
INSTAGRAM
On our @itsacharminglife Instagram page, we like to follow the county + state we live in as they often post about upcoming events! For example, the Hudson Valley Magazine tends to have the most up to date posts on what’s happening at different restaurants locally. The I Love New York official Instagram page covers a wider scope and informs things like when the National Park Service has free entrance days which can include historic estate tours as well. Also, don’t forget to follow Instagram Influencer/Travel Bloggers in your area who will be posting no doubt about pop-up events and the like!
COUNTY WEBSITE E-NEWSLETTER
Get emails straight to your inbox with a newsletter from your county website. A favourite site of ours is Mommy Poppins which we have found to also be the best source of family fun. Even if we don’t have children ourselves, there are many events and lists of things to do per season that we can enjoy as well!
Consider attending a cultural event (even if it’s different than yours) and learn how it influences the area you live. We have loved finding out more about the old Dutch traditions here in the Hudson Valley!
HISTORIC PLACES
Keep an eye out at your local historic estates for seasonal fairs which often include a free tour of the mansion or is included in the admission price.
Local farms are a favourite way to enjoy the fruits of the season coupled often with live music and hand-craft vendors.
Historic churches often hold a rummage and bake sales that can be hard to spot if you don’t attend the church already so keep an eye out of those hand-written banners around town!
OLD-FASHIONED WAY
It’s easy to forget with social media these days, that your local newspaper will have a section of upcoming events which often include the more “off the beaten path” type fairs. If you don’t have a newspaper subscription sometimes on their websites they’ll have local events listed.
Another great way is to pretend you are a guest in your own town and stop into a visitor centre and get the local guide, you could find places “in your backyard” you didn’t even know about!
We hope our tips on how to find family fun events near you this summer are helpful! Don’t forget that there are so many charming things to see and do in your “own backyard” if you just take a closer look! Even the bigger cities will have quaint events happening at local bookshops and on the town greens. Or sometimes, it’s fun to take a day trip and drive a couple hours to a new place in the state (or out of state if you live near a border like we do to Connecticut).
Wishing you all a lovely and charming festival season!
-Lindsay & Jonas
P.S. Please enjoy a little vlog from our recent adventures to some fun fairs on the Hudson River to the Nyack Street fair + Ossining Earth day festival!
