Greenville, SC is such a pretty place. It’s filled with hills and waterfalls. Greenville is a big city with many things to do. Speaking of such, Fall for Greenville is definitely one of them. I’ve been twice. My friend Shawn introduced me to it. Just last year my husband and I went together. Fall for Greenville is an outdoor event held Downtown Greenville that starts near the second weekend of October on Thursday evening. Then on Friday-Sunday it begins early afternoon into the night. Remember it’s a free event. You just have to pay for food, drinks, and rides for kids via tickets. Here’s more of what you can expect.
Food
I recommend that you get your tickets for food first. That way while you’re walking along the streets, if something catches your eye, you can go ahead and grab it instead of walking back to the ticket area. Tickets are $5 a sheet for 10 tickets. Food items range from 2 tickets to 10 tickets.
Among the 45 restaurants/food trucks on site, you are bound to find something to satisfy your taste buds. There’s food options like American, Caribbean, Asian, Mexican, Indian, Afghan, and so on. Those of you with a sweet tooth, there’s desserts too like ice cream, cakes, pies, and pastries. I had Baklava for the first time from the Afghan vendor. I liked it.
Live Music
There’s plenty of good musical performances to draw crowds. You can choose from Jazz, R&B, and Pop among the 7 performance stages. There was one group that really stood out- April B. & The Cool. The lead singer was a melanated sister with faux locs with her hair shaved on the side. She sang and played guitar. April definitely gave us rock star vibes. They performed some old school soul jams from Aretha Franklin and some hip hop from OutKast.
Cooking Demonstrations
We had the pleasure of eating delicious samples from Bobby’s BBQ. The brisket and turkey were so juicy and tender. I can’t remember their names but the husband and wife duo shared cooking tips and what led them to opening a restaurant in Fountain Inn, SC. My husband is the chef at our home so naturally he went up to the owners to try to learn a few things. The meats were flavorful and low in salt in which we love. My husband actually ordered some seasonings from Bobby’s BBQ website.
We had a sample of sweet potatoes too. It was really good. The wife said it came from the can. Now hold up, I don’t eat no canned sweet potatoes! I can easily spot a canned sweet potato, but trust me they had me fooled.
Wine Tasting
There’s an outdoor wine tasting sponsored by Total Wine and a Beer Garden sponsored by Carolina Ale House. Although I like wine I didn’t participate in either of the times I’ve gone. I just didn’t feel like paying additional money at the time. In order to consume or purchase alcohol you will need a wristband. It costs $1 at the ticket locations.
Amusement Rides
This is just for kids by the way. It’s a small area, but the kids will love it.
Lots of People
This event draws a huge crowd. Everyone was pleasant. Speaking of pleasant, I found a spot to sit down and this lady and her husband just started talking about the event to me. They’re from North Carolina. She told me about this huge discount store that wasn’t far from the event that offers great deals on all kinds of items. She said they went to the store that morning and were a little tired. I appreciated her telling me about it. As she was telling me I’d already pulled it up on my phone with intentions of visiting. I even ran into one of my high school classmates. I was shocked to see her.
Bring Comfy Shoes
You will probably do a lot of walking or standing. Besides standing around for concerts or walking up and down the streets, you may want to walk through the park that’s downtown also.
Remember I told you about the waterfalls in Greenville. Well there’s one downtown near the festival. I’ll stress again, wear comfortable shoes.
Restrooms
There’s portable restrooms along the streets. In addition to the portable restrooms there are public restrooms too. Personally I prefer those. I’ve used a couple of them near the hotels. For you guys with babies, there are baby care stations too.
Parking
You can pay to park in various lots for $6. The event is within a short walking distance. There’s also a free shuttle available too.
*Since there is currently a pandemic, the event has been cancelled for 2020. Fall for Greenville is scheduled to resume on Friday October 8 – Sunday October 10, 2021.