Prix fixe menus are available for the event which is a perfect time to try out a new spot so you and whoever you are dining with can try new dishes, and share meals to get a taste of everything. The cost of these set menus is typically between $30-$45 per person not including gratuity. If you add drinks and extras, the cost goes up from there.

There are some amazing restaurants joining the lineup this year that are close to the Lake Wylie area. In the Belmont/Gaston County area are:

• Barrister’s at The Esquire Hotel
• The Bottle Tree
• Drift on Lake Wylie
• Estia’s Kouzina
• Heirloom Restaurant
• Old Stone Steakhouse

In Fort Mill/LakeWylie/Rock Hill/York County they are:

• FishMarket Bar and Grill
• Napa at Kingsley
• Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails
• The Pump House
• The Social Cork Wine Bar

There are many additional options for restaurants to try. Here are some things to keep in mind. You will probably need reservations to make sure the restaurant can seat you since this event is very popular. You can follow the links above to each restaurant to make those reservations or you can call each restaurant separately. This event is dinner only for a dine-in experience so make sure you book your babysitters in advance.For information about buying and selling homes in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

Festive trees will be decorated with holiday lights with the official lighting at 6:30 pm. A special display of “Oh Starry Night” in luminaries will be presented by Strong Like AK on the upper field of Stowe Park.

The event is located at 24 S. Main Street in the heart of Belmont. If you can’t get to the official lighting ceremony, never fear. The trees have decorations as well as lights so they can be enjoyed day or night throughout the month of December with an end date of January 3rd.

Luminaries can be purchased to light the “Oh Starry Night: Lighting a Path to Hope”. They are a fundraiser to help support pediatric cancer patient financial care and housing support. This is through the Strong Like AK foundation. They can be donated at this link for $20 each. This worthy cause helps ease the financial burden of some of the 1.7 million people diagnosed each year with cancer. You can dedicate your luminary to someone currently fighting cancer or in memory of someone lost to cancer. You can share the story of the person you are honoring and it will be on display for the entire month of December.

For more information about buying and selling homes in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

To learn more about the Belmont Festival of Trees, check out the website here.

• Bush-N-Vine Farm – 1650 Filbert Hwy, York, SC 29745 – Open Monday through Saturday, 8am to 5 pm until October 31st. Has a cafe with apple cider and blueberry donuts, hot dogs and slushies. Pick your own pumpkins and pay by the pound. Enjoy a one-mile walking trail. Free admission.
• Cherry Place Farm – 1922 Oakdale Rd, Rock Hill, SC 29730 – Open 10 am – 6 pm Saturdays and 1 pm – 6 pm on Sundays through October. Go on a self-guided tour of the farm, get lost in the 2-acre corn maze, see and pet farm animals, lots of activities for the kids, and free popcorn. $10 admission per person with kids under 2 free. Pumpkins are $9 each.
• Shelby Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch – 120 Broadway Dr, Shelby, NC 28152 – Open 4-10 pm Fridays, 10 am – 10 pm Saturday, 2 pm – 8 pm Sundays through October 30th. Admission includes pumpkin picking, 8-acre corn maze and 40+ other attractions. Haunted corn maze is after dark on Fridays and Saturdays. Pumpkin patch closes at 7 pm Friday and Saturday. Admission is $13 per person and includes corn maze, hayride, and 4 activity tickets. Pumpkins vary in price depending on size.

If you want to know more about buying and selling homes in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

Catawba Riverkeeper announced on their website that “Out of concern for the well-being and safety of our volunteers, site captains, and staff around the uncertainty of the weather impacts of Hurricane Ian across the entire region, we have decided to CANCEL The Catawba Riversweep on October 1st, 2022.”

The Catawba Riversweep event brings together many different organizations, partners, and volunteers for community-wide stewardship. Many of these efforts will still happen, though in smaller ways. There are still many other ways you can also help to keep Lake Wylie and the surrounding waterways litter-free. There are additional monthly events listed on the Catawba Riverkeepers website, one as early as October 22nd. In addition, you can host your own cleanup. Catawba Riverkeeper will provide supplies if you can supply the people-power. Volunteers will also receive Riversweep t-shirts.

This annual Catawba Riversweep event will return on October 7, 2023. Anyone who has a vested interest in the Catawba-Wateree River Basin should come and help out so be sure to save the date.

If you want to know more about buying and selling homes in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

The park will be open for limited hours for the event with rides and attractions in the dark for some extra spooky adventure. The scary event is not recommended for patrons under 13 years old. The park is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through the end of October, but be sure you have the correct ticket, the park is open during the day, but you need separate admission for the Scarowinds event after dark. Season pass holders can get some extra perks as they can bring in guests for a discounted admission price.

On opening night, real world scares got in the way of the imaginary ones at the park. Unfounded rumors of shots being fired at the park quickly led to the park closing early. This prank is the cause of some new rules at the event including a brand new chaperone policy. Be ready to bring your ID and know that anyone under 18 has to be with an adult that is at least 21 years old. One chaperone can only be responsible for up to 4 other people so plan your group accordingly.

In addition, there is a no bag policy. You cannot bring in a bag or purse or backpack. If you have a medical necessity, you are allowed to bring in that medically necessary equipment in a small bag which is subject to a search. See the Carowinds website for more information including hours and tickets here.

If you want to know more about buying and selling homes in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

• Divine Barrel Brewing – NoDa – September 10th from noon-9 pm – food trucks, games, eating contests, costume contests and much more. Free to enter and join events, food and drinks are not free, but are delicious.
• Lore Brewing Company – Indian Land – September 10th from 6 pm – beer and food including a new beer release. $20 for a commemorative stein filled with beer, then discounted refills all evening.
• Lost Worlds Brewing – Cornelius – September 10 and October 15 – food, drinks, music, and a commemorative stein. Free entry, pay for eats and drinks.
• Model A Brewing Co. – Fort Mill – October 1st starting at noon with music until 6pm – food, drinks, Polka band, Kona Ice for the kids, limited edition beers, and merchandise.
• Olde Mecklenburg Brewery – York Road – September 16-18 and 23-25 – the largest Oktoberfest in the area, free entry to German music, German food, and drinks.
• Old Town Oktoberfest – Rock Hill – October 15th from noon – 9 pm – German beer, ax throwing, cornhole tournament, food trucks, balloon artist, face painting. Free entry.

If you want to know more about Oktoberfest or to learn about or any neighborhood in the Lake Wylie Area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

The championships will feature celebrities, prize money, and lots of excitement. In addition to cornhole, the 12.5 hours of coverage airing on August 5th will also include kickball, ax throwing, wiffle ball, bullshooting (like darts), and quadball (formerly quiddich). Break dancing, dodgeball, and air guitar will also be featured as part of The Ocho, ESPN’s nod to the movie Dodgeball.

Most sports coverage includes drone footage from high above the venues. From the high above the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center, you may be able to spy the edge of Lake Wylie. The lake is just 7 miles away from the sports venue.

Rock Hill is a great place to visit if you live near Lake Wylie. Rock Hill is the fifth largest city in South Carolina and has everything you need, from entertainment and sports, to restaurants and shopping. There Catawba River flows through the edge of town and you can attend community events throughout the year. Rock Hill is the home to multiple universities including Winthrop with around 6,000 students. There are also countless parks and the Main Street Children’s Museum. Visitors can catch a baseball game, or play a round of disc golf, ride mountain bike trails, or try a Carolina Reaper pepper, The Guiness World Record holder as the hottest in the world.

At only 7 miles away from Rock Hill, Lake Wylie is a great spot to land. You can live the lake lifestyle with watersports, wildlife viewing and outdoor recreation and still be close to everything you need in a city without having to drive all the way into Charlotte. If you want to learn more about this area, or for information about buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

“On February 26, 2021, the City of Rock Hill became delinquent on their obligation to fund the public infrastructure. Despite our persistent efforts throughout 2021, the City of Rock Hill failed to issue the bonds or provide the funding for the public infrastructure for the project.

“On March 18, 2022, GTRE issued a default notice and the City did not cure its default within the prescribed 30-day cure period. It is unfortunate that some recently decided to conduct a misguided, destructive public relations campaign to obscure their failures.

“We have sent notices to the City to formally terminate the previous agreements. Accordingly, we are prepared to sit down with the City and other interested parties to discuss the significant challenges ahead.”

There is still hope that the project will be able to move forward, but as with many professional sports teams, the projects are highly complicated and expensive. This makes the deals for funding complicated as well as they can involve private and public funds. In this case Tepper Sports had secured $400 million in state and local incentives which also included $225 million in infrastructure improvements in and around the site. Bonds were supposed to be issued by the city of Rock Hill and were never issued which has brought the project to a standstill. Construction stalled about a month ago. The city has proposed an alternate plan to come up with the $225 million without issuing bonds. It is unclear at this point when and if the project will move forward. Until then the site sits idle while the team and the city try to come to terms.

For more information on buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

• Scarowinds – select nights September – Halloween night  – 7pm – midnight – Theme park becomes scream park with haunted attractions, shows, and characters throughout the Carowinds theme park in Rock Hill. Online price $39 per person, $72 at the gate.
• Tunnel of Terror Haunted Car Wash – Pack your car full of family or friends for a scare and get your car washed too. At the AquaWave Express Car Wash in Belmont. Tickets are $22 per car, wash included. Thursdays – Sundays until Halloween, 7pm – midnight.
• Frightmare! At Mr. Putty’s in Tega Cay – Haunted House, Haunted Mini-Golf, and scare zones await you at Mr. Putty’s. Fridays and Saturdays until Halloween, 7-11 pm. $15 general admission, $20 combo pass for golf and haunted house.
• The 901 Nightmare – wander the woods through old barns, an abandoned insane asylum, and various outbuildings in a maze of terror. Open Friday – Sunday and the Thursday before Halloween, 7:30-10:30 pm. Admission is $20 for adults and $15 for children.

If scary isn’t your scene, try one of these pumpkin patches with activities for the kids:

• Curtin Farms – this working farm in Clover offers non-spooky fun for school groups. They offer two hour tours with multiple education stations, pumpkin patch, hayrides and hay maze.
• Hunter Farm – closed Mondays, pumpkin patch, wagon rides, and petting barn. Reservations are required for wagon rides. On Providence Road in Weddington.
• Tega Cay Pumpkin Patch and Grace Pumpkin Patch in Tega Cay – just pumpkin patches, no tours or hayrides. Photo opportunities and pumpkins you can buy and bring home.

If you are ready to buy or sell a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588 to get started. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.

• Lake Wylie – grab a view of the water from near or on the Buster Boyd Bridge for the best views. Bonus, get there early and get a table at Papa Doc’s or Rey Azetca or other neighborhood spots with decks or patios. Extra bonus, on a boat in the water. The fireworks will start around 9:30 and are launched from Camp Thunderbird. This event is free, but donations are accepted.
• Carowinds – July 3 & 4, catch fireworks and patriotic music at Carowinds as part of daily admission. Reservations are required online for entry and most days are sold out with limited tickets each day due to Covid protocols. Daily passes start at $42. Fireworks start at 8:45pm.
• US National Whitewater Center – July 3 & 4th. This event features yoga, fireworks, live music and activities. Cost is $6 for parking then free. Event runs 9am to 9:30pm with fireworks closing out each night.
• Red, White & Boom – July 3rd – This annual event in Rock Hill, SC is great for families with young children. There are inflatables, food trucks, and music provided by Groove Machine and Kids in America. Event runs 4pm – 10pm with fireworks starting at 9:30pm.
• Gastonia’s Fourth of July Festival – 4 pm until 9:30 pm enjoy food trucks, live music, vendors, and of course fireworks. For the adults, there is also a beer garden.

There are more fireworks shows around the area, some in Uptown Charlotte, and areas around Charlotte as well. For more information on those other shows, see this article from The Charlotte Observer.

For more information on buying or selling a home in the Lake Wylie area, call us at 803-831-8588. You can view current listings and create custom searches on our website here.