HollyFest

Holly Springs' main fall festival, held at Sugg Farm on Halloween itself, free and running six hours across the middle of the day.

The venue does a lot of the work here. Sugg Farm is a preserved farm property beside Bass Lake, which gives the festival a setting most town events cannot match: open fields, farm buildings and water, rather than a closed street or a municipal parking lot.

Typically on offer:

• Craft and maker stalls
• Food vendors
• Live music
• Children's activities
• The farm and lake grounds themselves

Falling on 31 October is worth planning around rather than being surprised by. A festival that finishes at 4 p.m. on Halloween leaves the whole evening clear for trick-or-treating, which makes it an unusually easy day to combine rather than a clash.

Practical notes:

• Expect costumes, given the date
• Ground is grass and farm track. Sensible footwear.
• Parking is on site but fills for the main festival hours
• Midday is the peak, so early or late is easier

Free to attend. For anyone north of Raleigh this is a long drive, so go for the setting as much as the festival.

Sugg Farm is worth knowing about beyond the festival. The town preserved the property rather than letting it go to housing, and the trails around Bass Lake are open through the year. If the drive feels long for a six-hour festival, the grounds themselves make up the difference.