Things to Do in Lincolnton

From tents perched on either side of Main Street, 15 local vineyards dispense wine samples to festivalgoers during the annual Budbreak festival, now in its third year. Guests amble from spot to spot, pausing between tastings to peruse glass art, sculpture, and custom jewelry crafted by local art vendors. Pleasing sips can be paired with grub from food vendors including 13 Bones and Maples Restaurant at Olde Mill. Guests can stand up and shake their tail feathers to live music, or take in the tunes from a shady seat while sampling a favorite bottle. Among the festival's performers are veteran Rolling Stones saxophonist Bobby Keys, known during his touring days for fermenting an entire orchard of pinot grapes with a single magnificent C note.

As the sun melts into the horizon, the opening chords of an ebullient country song rip through the evening air, coaxing stomps from even the most stoic of feet. Energetic audience members dust off their dance moves and sing along with the music between sipping lagers. The third-annual North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival is coming to an end, and its guests are determined to celebrate under the unfurling night sky until the notes of the last encore fade away.

Presented by Rural Hill, the rollicking festival takes over the historic farmlands of Huntersville, delighting guests with live music, eats, and brew-centric activities. Throughout the day, festival booths bustle as more than 20 of North Carolina’s top brewers showcase their libations via tastings and educational sessions, and chefs flood the air with the aromas of sizzling fare including vegetarian options. Young festival-goers enjoy family-friendly music and keep busy by wishing they were old enough to sample the festival's sudsy wares. As the clock strikes noon, the festival stage comes alive with a lineup of bands and musicians performing all manner of music, from country to prog-rock to bluegrass.

Guests are also welcome to continue the celebrations into Sunday morning by spending the night at the festival campsite in tents, RVs, or the branches of surrounding trees. All festival proceeds go toward Historic Rural Hill, a nonprofit historical site that presents educational field trips and cultural events throughout the year.

During childhood, the sloped handlebars of kids’ bikes often made a perfect seat for riding a friend around town. Fast-forward to today and the grown-up Party Pedaler, a large bike craft that seats up to 14 people, eschews handlebars for a flat bar top that holds elbows, drinks, and listens to you boast about how much faster you’re going than everyone else. This rolling, people-powered bike rolls through custom routes or a choice of four pre-planned treks through the Queen City. In the South End, crawlers cruise along mills and warehouses and into eclectic pubs and restaurants. North Davidson’s art district boasts funky galleries and theaters, and in Uptown, wheels push past cultural institutions such as the Fillmore and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Designed and built in Oregon, the party bike saddles up to 10 pedalers and cradles up to four more on a back bench. Speakers and iPod hookups fuel the cycling, as do BYO beverages and snacks. Most of the bar-crawl routes make four stops, giving riders ample opportunity to sample what local bartenders are mixing up.