As someone who is new to living in Greenville, I checked out the Fall for Greenville festival. I went into the festival blind and was not sure what to expect. The festival took place Friday, Oct. 14 through Sunday, Oct. 16th. It was one of the bigger festivals I have been to, taking up most of Main St. with a few attractions taking place on side streets.

Fall for Greenville provided something enjoyable for everyone. For music lovers, there were several stages throughout the event featuring different types of music. Furman University even had a jazz and blues stage, featuring local artists such as XperienceSoul.

Not only were there a variety of musicians, but there were also tons of different, local restaurants selling food. I saw everything from Indian cuisine to Jamaican to paninis. Out of all these food vendors, I tried the honey chicken and fried rice from The Orient on Main. It was amazing, and I highly recommend their food. The restaurant is also located on Main Street. For attendees over 21, there were several places to purchase alcohol, and there was even a beer garden.

For Greenville’s young (or young at heart), there was a small section located on Broad Street with different carnival rides and a rock-climbing wall. Most of the local shops were open as well, providing another option to the other activities going on. Overall, there was a lot to do, eat, and watch for people of all tastes and ages.

So, if you plan to go next year, here are some tips. First, do not expect to find a parking spot easily. I drove through about five parking lots before I could find a place to park and passed several more on the way that had signs showing they were full. Several people parked on medians within those parking lots. I went a bit later into the day (4 p.m.), however, there were still many people coming for the evening.

Second, wear clothes and shoes you feel comfortable walking in. I ended up parking in an area a lot farther down than the festival was, and even though the city provided a free trolley to the festival from that area, it was faster to walk. Not to mention that the festival is very large and if you want to see everything, you are going to have to walk a lot.

Another thing to be prepared for is the crowds. There were some areas of the festival where the street was so crowded, I could not move. Because of this, I would not recommend going in a large group. I went with a group of six people, and it became difficult to keep track of everyone.

One thing that can be slightly confusing at first is the ticket system. In order to buy food, drinks, and ride the carnival rides, the vendors required tickets and could not take cash or a card. These tickets were available for purchase at a few booths, with each ticket equaling a dollar. They also could only be bought in sheets of five, so if you were short one ticket for something, you had to buy another five.

Lastly, remember to have fun. As someone from a small town who is not used to crowds, it was easy to become overwhelmed by the number of people and stimuli that were around me. But I had also seen nothing like it before. It was amazing to see a city come together to put on an event with so many moving parts as Greenville did. The festival represented the different cultures and interests that make Greenville such a fun city to live near. Overall, I would rate the experience a 9/10, and I intend on going again next year.