If you’ve been looking for a tasty way to spend a Saturday, look no further. It’s strawberry season and that’s just the beginning of the deliciousness that awaits you in Virginia.

St. Stephen’s Strawberry Festival

Love to try various types of barbecue or do you already have a favorite? If you’re a taster at heart, be sure to add these events to your calendar.

• May 11: BBQ Jamboree, Fredericksburg
• May 18: Habitat Jam: Bands, Beer & Barbeque, Lexington
• May 25: Chantilly Farm Bluegrass and BBQ Festival, Floyd
• June 15: Barrels, Bands & Barbecue, Mount Jackson
• June 28-30: Hogging Up BBQ & Music Festival, Clear Brook
• June 28-29: Covington Cork and Pork Festival

Greek flavors are right at home in Virginia. Here’s where you can enjoy souvlaki, dolmades and spanakopita in a festival environment.

• May 18: Taste of Greece at Doukenie Winery, Purcellville
• May 30-June 2: Newport News Greek Festival
• August 17-18: Winchester Greek Festival

Sweet strawberries! It’s that time of year and here’s where you can get the fresh-picked goodness. Take some home, but definitely find a strawberry shortcake for immediate gratification.

• May 18: Strawberry Festival, Stuart
• May 25: St. Stephen’s Strawberry Festival, Heathsville
• May 25-26: Delaplane Strawberry Festival, Delaplane
• May 25-26: Pungo Strawberry Festival, Virginia Beach
• June 8: Ashland Strawberry Faire

Southern comfort foods abound in Virginia, and you can certainly expect to find some at a festival near you.

• May 18: Famous Fried Chicken Festival, Gordonsville
• June 15: Breaux Vineyards’ 16th Annual Cajun Festival and Crawfish Boil, Purcellville
• June 21-23: Annual AT&T Bayou Boogaloo & Cajun Food Festival, Norfolk

Festivals sure are a scrumptious way to spend your summer! Find more at Virginia.org.

LOVE is at the heart of every Virginia vacation. Virginia is for Lovers.
Request a free Travel Guide or sign up for our e-newsletter.

You’ll find tons of fun at Virginia State Parks this spring and summer with festivals, concerts and more.

Wilderness Road State Park will host the annual reenactment of the Raid at Martin’s Station, May 10-12. It’s your chance to see the frontier of 1776, complete with Cherokee warriors and colonial militia.

Love a beautiful classic car? Head to Douthat State Park in Millboro on May 18-19 for the Douthat Lake Run Car Show, complete with live music.

Pocahontas State Park, located in Chesterfield, hosts music a music series each summer. This year brings country music sensations Justin Moore (May 23), Creedence Clearwater Revisted (June 13) and Lee Brice with Josh Thompson (July 10). On July 31, catch O.A.R. and keep an eye peeled for a few more concerts to be added.

Gathering in the Gap is an annual event held at Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park in Big Stone Gap. Gathering is a celebration of Southwest Virginia’s music heritage – bluegrass, old-time, blues and Americana. Don’t miss it! May 25.

The tastiest event at any Virginia State Park is the Delaplane Strawberry Festival at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane. It’s held May 25-26 and includes great entertainment, fun for kids and of course, strawberry deliciousness.

Chippokes Plantation State Park in Surry hosts the annual Steam and Gas Engine Show on June 1. This 23rd annual showing will feature tractor pulls, sawmill demonstrations, and a variety of “hit-and-miss” engines, and antique tractors and cars.

Later at Chippokes, catch the Pork, Peanut and Pine Festival. It will be held July 20-21 and celebrates the region’s treasured resources on one of America’s oldest continually farmed plantations.

Virginia’s luthier legend, Wayne Henderson, hosts the annual Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition at Grayson Highlands State Park in Mouth of Wilson each year. This year’s date is June 15. See Wayne and many more traditional musicians perform.

Try your hand a fairy stone hunting during the Family Summer Fun Day at Fairy Stone State Park in Stuart on June 22. Free hot dogs and sodas while supplies last, and a DJ from WZBB99.9 will keep the day rocking with a live broadcast.

The Hungry Mother Arts and Crafts Festival is always a big draw for Hungry Mother State Park in Marion. The juried arts and craftsmen will take their places on July 19.

Need  a place to stay while you’re enjoying the fun? Check out Virginia State Park cabins. Book early and plan for a week-long getaway.

LOVE is at the heart of every Virginia vacation. Virginia is for Lovers.
Request a free Travel Guide or sign up for our e-newsletter.

Take a break from your Saturday yard work and find an art or music festival to LOVE in Virginia.

This Weekend - The Fredericksburg Spring Arts & Crafts Faire takes over the Expo & Conference Center Saturday and Sunday to bring you any and every thing that can be classified as art or craft: jewelry, photography,  foods and sauces, candles, wood turnings, paintings,  scarves … The admission is $6/adult, $4/senior and kids 12 and under are free.

Similar:

• Burnt Creative Indie Craft and Vintage Market in Blacksburg, April 6 and May 4
• Lancaster Court Day Arts, Crafts & History Festival in Lancaster, April 13
• Fool for Art in Midlothian, April 13
• Colonial Williamsburg Employee Arts & Crafts Show and Sale in Williamsburg, April 13-14
• Annual International Children’s Festival in Hampton, April 20
• Dayton Redbud Arts & Crafts Festival in Dayton, April 27
• The Virginia Hot Glass Festival in Staunton, April 27-28
• Danville Museum’s Art on the Lawn in Danville, May 4
• Art on the Green in Lexington, May 11
• Virginia Wine & Craft Festival in Front Royal, May 18

This Weekend – The 6th Annual Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival hit the streets of Norfolk as of yesterday and offers great music opportunities through Saturday night. From 4 p.m. to midnight music lovers can hit up a variety of venues to enjoy the performances for free. The fun kicks off Saturday at 11 a.m. and wraps up at 7 p.m. with the Emerging Artist Contest at Attucks Theatre ($10).

Similar:

• Tom Tom Founders Festival in Charlottesville, April 11-14
• Mountain Cove Music Festival in Lovingston, April 28
• BrewRidge Music Festival in Pembroke, May 3-4
• The Cape Charles Crabby Blues Festival in Cape Charles, May 4
• Piney River Bluegrass Festival in Piney River, May 11
• Richard Leigh Songwriter’s Festival in Abingdon, May 18
• Dr. Ralph Stanley’s Annual Memorial Weekend Bluegrass Festival in Coeburn, May 23-25
• Jubilee in the Breaks, May 24-26

There are many more festivals this spring and summer in Virginia. Find one close to you, that appeals to you, that has a long history or is brand new. You’re sure to find one to love!

LOVE is at the heart of every Virginia vacation. Virginia is for Lovers.
Request a free Travel Guide or sign up for our e-newsletter.

Spring is officially here with the trees budding and flowers blooming. Festivals are one thing we LOVE about Spring in Virginia.

Daffodils are one of the first flowers to bloom and Gloucester has them by the thousands for their 27th annual Daffodil Festival, April 6 and 7. Take a tour of Brent & Becky’s Bulbs in between the parade, entertainment and vendors. It’s the perfect event to draw you out of the house and into the Spring season. There are plenty of activities for the kids – pony rides, clowns, face painting and games. The fun is from 9 to 5 Saturday and noon to 5 Sunday.

Burnside Farms Festival of Tulips – the largest pick-your-own tulip field in the country!

Tulip lovers will want to head to Haymarket anytime between April 10 and 28 for the Festival of Tulips: Holland in Haymarket at Burnside Farms. Walk through the largest pick-your-own tulip field in the country – 90,000 blooms from 50 varieties at only $1 per stem. It’s a beautiful opportunity for kids’ portraits, so bring your camera. $3 per person to enter the tulip field. NOTE: Due to the cold weather the opening date was pushed back from April 5 to April 10. Weekday visits are suggested.

Spring is also the time Virginia wineries pop their corks and take the fun outside of the tasting room.

April 13 is a good day for wine lovers. Choose from two festivals – Beaverdam Wine Festival or Smithfield Wine & Brew Fest.

The Beaverdam Wine Festival will be held at Pop’s Country Store Museum, just 30 minutes north of Richmond. The festival will include four wineries – James River Cellars, Lake Anna, Grayhaven and Mattaponi. Live music will set the atmosphere and up to 50 food, arts and crafts vendors will round out your day. Festival organizers state the fees as “$10 for designated drivers; $20 for imbibers.” Have fun and drink responsibly.

Smithfield Wine & Brew Fest

The Smithfield Wine & Brew Fest will be held at Windsor Castle Park in Smithfield. Participating wineries include Lake Anna, Cooper, Naked Mountain, Belle Mount, Horton, Rosemont and Saudé Creek. Virginia craft breweries include O’Connor, Smartmouth, St. George, Legend, Star Hill, Williamsburg AleWerks, Bold Rock and Devil’s Backbone.

The day is quite an extravaganza. The 2012 inaugural Wine & Brew Fest sold out and this one appears to be on its way. Tickets are $35 in advance for tasters with both wine and beer available for purchase by the glass, and Virginia wine available by the bottle. Designated drivers are $15, but tickets are available at the gate only. Ages 21 and older. Get your tickets now.

Ready to fly a kite? March 30 through May 5 is “National Kite Month,” and several fields of green are awaiting your lift-off.

The annual Kite Flying Festival in Stephens City is April 6. Don’t worry if you don’t have a kite because free kites will be given away while supplies last. The fun kicks off at 11 a.m. Expect to see members of the Richmond Air Force Kite Club discussing the science of kite flying and demonstrating some awesome kite tricks.

The Rockfish Valley Foundation Kite Flying Festival is held in Nellysford, just 30 miles west of Charlottesville, on April 14. This fifth annual event includes instructions, demonstrations by the Richmond Air Force Kite Club, a Duck Race, games, and a free kite to the first 150 children. Bring a picnic or enjoy food from the vendors on site. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

See more upcoming festivals at Virginia.org/SpringFestivals.

LOVE is at the heart of every Virginia vacation. Virginia is for Lovers.
Request a free Travel Guide or sign up for our e-newsletter.

Virginia is well known for its peanuts and ham, but what about tomatoes, strawberries and even oysters? Come taste the great Virginia flavors you’ve been missing out on.

Highland Maple Festival

The food festivals of 2013 kick off in Highland County (Virginia’s “Little Switzerland”) with the Maple Festival. Take a tour and see the trees tapped with buckets collecting the sweet goodness. Pancake breakfasts and much more make this a memorable trip and it all happens March 9, 10, 16 and 17.

Virginia’s oyster industry is experiencing a re-birth. On the Eastern Shore in Machipongo, the Barrier Islands Center is hosting an oyster roast on February 23. It’s fresh-from-the-sea goodness with live music, wine and beer. Later, travel to the little town of Urbanna the first weekend in November and you’ll be treated to oyster shucking contests and this succulent of the sea itself, cooked (or uncooked) anyway you like it.

Tour the town by your taste buds when Blacksburg rolls out its annual Fork and Cork festival April 27. More than 20 wineries and delicious foods from local restaurants will make this a one-day smorgasbord.

Sweet strawberries are the highlight of the Delaplane Strawberry Festival May 25-26. It’s a day of fun for the entire family with kids’ games, hay rides, fantastic food and delicious strawberries.

Hanover tomatoes ripen with the warm Virginia summer sun, and on July 13, you’re invited to enjoy the season’s yield and watch cooks compete with their tomato recipes. 35 years and still going strong.

August is peach season in Virginia and the Peach Festival at Marker Miller Orchard in Winchester promises the cream of the crop. Live music, a cow train for the kids and plenty of peaches in pie, ice cream or cobbler form await you on August 10.

You can’t be in two places at once, so October 10-12 will be a hard time for those who love Brunswick stew and shrimp. Go with the one you love the most – Suffolk on October 10 for shrimp or Alberta on October 12 for stew. Either choice is a win.

Dig into our calendar to find more food festivals to fill up on.

LOVE is at the heart of every Virginia vacation. Virginia is for Lovers.
Request a free 2013 Travel Guide.