The Annual Fayetteville Dogwood Fall Festival will be April 28 to 30, 2023 in Fayetteville, NC.
To help you plan your trip, check out our other posts about Fayetteville, NC as well.
A few years ago, we stumbled upon the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. It just happened to be the same weekend as Fayetteville Comic Con. So we got to check out the fall version.
There’s actually two incarnations of the festival. There’s the annual Spring Dogwood Festival that happens in April. And then there’s there Dogwood Fall Festival, which happens in October.
If you happen to be in the area for either, you should stop by.
5 Reasons To Check Out The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival
Affiliate links are included in this post and Drugstore Divas may make a small commission if you use them.
Live music
We are huge fans of live music. To us, it doesn’t even matter who is playing. If there’s a band playing, we are probably going to check it out. The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival has music all day long on Saturday, plus bands on Friday and Sunday nights too.
The main stage is the gorgeous stage at Festival Park (335 Ray Avenue, Fayetteville). We love this park. It’s the same place where Blues N Brews happens annually, and it’s a great space with a stage and tons of grass lawn seating.
The fall festival has a local battle of the bands on Saturday night.
For the spring festival, Ashland Craft and David Nail will perform Friday, April 28; Lit and Buckcherry will play Saturday, April 29; and the Michael Jackson tribute band Who’s Bad will perform on Sunday, April 30.
Food trucks
Food just tastes better off of a truck, doesn’t it? The field of Festival Park is lined with food trucks selling everything from burgers to sno cones to pizza. You can bring your own food in and have a picnic if you prefer, but it’s just fun to have the availability of food trucks all around you.
And there are a lot of food trucks. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many at once outside of Festival Park. I mean, we’ve gone to food truck rodeos and still never saw that many at once. And I know three local trucks were at Comic Con and not the Dogwood Fall Festival, so man, the town sure does have a lot.
The KidsZone
We love standing in front of the stage and singing along, but that’s not not always so exciting for kids. That’s why the KidsZone is great.
Prices can vary year to year, but at the Fall Fayetteville Dogwood Festival in 2019, it was $10 for a wristband. With it, you could go on unlimited rides from noon until 9:30 pm. That year, there were bounce houses, 2-story slides (my favorite!), yard games, and more.
There were also Hay Rides, although those were an additional $5 per person per ride.
Vendor tents
We work at the local farmers’ market every Saturday, so my heart is always with the vendor tents at events. It’s so much work to pack the car, set up, stay there all day, and peddle your wares (while often getting ignored by passers by).
There will be a ton of tents set up along Hay Street, which are worth checking out.
Alcohol
I don’t drink, so for me, alcohol isn’t a draw. But for Pete, he loves the chance to drink outdoors. And you can do that at the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. There is usually beer and wine spritzers (and maybe some other drinks too, I’m not sure) available for consumption for those who were 21 and over.
You have to have your ID checked and can only buy one drink at a time. You can drink in the grass, in front of the stage, and in the adjacent grassy area. But, you can’t cross the street to go to the KidsZone or over the bridge leaving the park with your drink.
Fayetteville Dogwood Festival: Frequently Asked Questions
There isn’t an admission fee to get into the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. The event itself, and the concerts, are completely free to the public.
There are additional charges for the rides in the KidZone, any food and drink that’s on site for purchase, and any items sold by the vendors who have tents at the event.
There is a huge grassy area in front of the stage and you are encouraged to bring your own lawn chairs to sit in front of the stage. We suggest you bring a collapsible picnic table as well, so you can easily eat your food and drinks.
You are able to bring your own food and drinks into the festival.
Full Fayetteville Dogwood Festival 2023 Schedule
The calendar of events on the official page is very generic, so I did my best to decode it. Please note, this is not the official festival page and hours may be incorrect.
Friday, April 28
Ashland Craft and David Nail concert at Festival Park
Saturday, April 29
Lit and Buckcherry concert at Festival Park
Sunday, April 30
Who’s Bad (Michael Jackson tribute band) concert at Festival Park
Where To Stay For The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival:
If you’re planning a trip to Fayetteville Dogwood Festival and are planning on going multiple days, you’ll need somewhere to sleep at night.
There are a ton of hotels in the area, so you have a lot of options. Check out a few of them and search for availability below:
- Baymont by Wyndham
- Comfort Inn Fayetteville
- Courtyard by Marriott
- DoubleTree by Hilton
- Embassy Suites Fayetteville/Fort Bragg
- Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
- Home2 Suites by Hilton
- Ramada Plaza by Wyndham
- Residence Inn by Marriott
- Wingate by Wyndham
Planning a trip to Fayetteville, NC?
If you’re planning a trip to Fayetteville, NC for the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, we have a few other posts to help you finish planning your trip.
Eat In Fayetteville:
Drink In Fayetteville:
Enjoy Fayetteville:
- 10 Free Things To Do In Fayetteville
- Things To Do In Fayetteville
- Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Fayetteville Marksmen
Have you been to the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival? What’s your favorite part?