North Carolinians love three things: good barbecue, anything topped with pimento cheese, and Cheerwine. The cherry-flavored soft drink got its start in Salisbury, North Carolina, and since 1917, citizens of North Carolina have enjoyed the flavor of ice cold Cheerwine. For the past three years the city of Salisbury has celebrated the soft drink during the Cheerwine Festival, and this year looks better than ever.
Videos by Wide Open Country
All about the Cheerwine Festival
It all started with a small centennial celebration in 2017 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Cheerwine. The citizens of Rowan County deemed it a success, with tens of thousands of locals enjoying the free event on main street. One year later the event was hosted again by the City of Salisbury and Cheerwine and the event space was doubled to include food trucks and all of the visiting Cheerwine fans. Last year, over 50,000 people attended the event and rocked the night away with headliner, Smash Mouth.
Located 45 minutes outside of Charlotte in historic Downtown Salisbury, the Annual Cheerwine Festival boasts live music, a kids' zone, family-friendly activities, great southern food, and of course, all the Cheerwine you can drink. If you are feeling like something other than soda, there's also beer garden you can visit.
This year the festival falls on Saturday, May 16, 2020. While no headliner has been announced yet, we are sure they are going to bring the house down.
If you are visiting for the first time, make sure you grab yourself a Cheerwine float (Cheerwine soda and vanilla ice cream), some Cheerwine House-Autry Hushpuppies as well as a BBQ Cheerwine taco. Just last year the festival sold over 1,800+ tacos to fans of all ages.
Want to make your own Cheerwine House-Autry Hushpuppies at home? All you need is a mix of House-Autry Hushpuppy Mix and Cheerwine.
