Festivals galore: What to know about Brewgaloo and more this weekend

It's a big weekend for festivals in North Carolina -- including Brewgaloo, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, Hip Hop South and more.

Posted 10:19 a.m. Apr 22, 2022 — Updated 11:32 a.m. Apr 22, 2022

RALEIGH, N.C. — It's a big weekend for festivals in North Carolina -- including Brewgaloo, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, Hip Hop South and more.

The weather will be warm and ideal for outdoor events, with highs in the 80s and no rain in the forecast until next week.

If you can't make it out to a festival this weekend, check out our list of more than 100 other events coming up in the region and across the state.

2022 North Carolina festival guide: Festivals in NC for spring and beyond

Large crowds are expected at the festivals, especially at Brewgaloo in downtown Raleigh, which kicks off Friday evening with a block party along Fayetteville Street. The ticketed event, which runs from 6 to 10 p.m., will be a more intimate version of the festival, with limited-release, barrel-aged and sour beers.

On Saturday, the main event will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. on Fayetteville Street with more than 110 N.C. craft breweries, local food trucks and local vendors. There will be two stages featuring local bands all day.

The stages already set up in downtown Raleigh are a sign of things getting back to the way they were even as COVID-19 redefines "normal."

Brewgaloo returned in 2021, during the pandemic, but the event was scaled back for safety reasons. Still, about 25,000 beer lovers united for what is known as the state’s largest craft beer festival.

This year, organizers aren't holding back, bringing back live music, vendors and more craft beer.

WRAL's Laura Leslie recently asked Dr. Rachel Roper from East Carolina University about the risks of festivals with the new COVID-19 variant known as BA.2 among us.

Hip Hop South Festival takes over multiple Chapel Hill venues Friday, Saturday

"The closer you are to people for a long period of time, the more likely you are to get exposed to the virus," Roper said. "But being outside is much safer than being inside because the virus doesn't accumulate in the air -- it can blow away. The other thing is, if it's daylight or the sun's out, that's really good because the sun very rapidly inactivates the virus."

Roper emphasized that being outside is much safer than being indoors.

The same applies at the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, which also kicks off Friday night with live music from Hoobastank and Marcy Playground plus a fireworks show.

Weekend best bets: Brewgaloo, Dogwood Festival, Beer Mile

On Saturday, the fun continues with another free concert featuring Dillon Carmichael, Kameron Marlowe and Tyler Farr. The event also includes a vendor fair, a kids’ zone, midway and carnival rides and more.

Last year, organizers dialed back and hosted a mini-festival, but this year is the first time since the pandemic all festivities will return, including a BMX bike show and a car, motorcycle and truck show where drivers will show off their rides.

The event runs through Sunday.

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