Attractions

Welcome to Matthews Alive! Online. The Matthews Alive! Festival offers many activities and attractions suitable for the entire family. The festival features a Family Fun Area with carnival games and rides, a children’s area with activities and entertainment, an Arts and Craft area with vendors from up and down the East Coast, entertainment from local, regional and national touring artists and a the Southeast’s largest Labor Day Parade. For more information on each attraction, please select the area below.

Arts & Craft Area
Arts & Crafts at Matthews Alive! consists of approximately 150 crafters from primarily around the East Coast with a few coming from all over the country. These artisans sell everything from fine art paintings, pottery, and jewelry to the more crafty furniture, woodworking, metalworking, ceramics and textiles arts. This area includes unique and unusual pieces that have been created by our many award-winning artisans. The Arts & Crafts section is open to crafters and artisans whose items are hand-made or hand-crafted. Commercial businesses and franchises are not accepted into this area.  

Crafter applications are put on this website in mid-January and are available on the Applications page. Inital acceptance letters are mailed out by late May. Late applications are accepted based on space availability basis only. Numbers accepted in each category are limited. Additional crafters who seek to be in a closed category may opt to be placed on our wait list. All spaces are assigned on a first pay, first assigned basis once acceptance is confirmed. Priority assignments are made from the crafters who paid in full for the next year's festival during the current year's festival. All spaces are outside and are AT LEAST 10x10 (some have more room, but none have less). Space assignments and other pertinent information are mailed out approximately 1 month before the festival.

Family Fun Area
The Family Fun Area at the Matthews Alive! Festival consists of carnival games and rides. These games are staffed by the non-profit organizations that are working to raise funds. A list of these organizations can be found on the Philanthropy page of our website. Friday night is "all you can ride" night for one price – buy a wristband and ride all night. The games and rides continue throughout the weekend.  

Each game booth and ride is staffed by one of our many non-profit partners. All proceeds of the festival are returned to these non-profit organizations in exchange for their hard work throughout the weekend. Applications are available online on the Applications page. Confirmation is mailed out in late June. Fees: $125 per booth – refunded with the proceeds in October.

Entertainment
Entertainment at the Matthews Alive! Festival consists of various local, regional and national artists. Festival visitors will see everything from rock and roll to country and from alternative to acoustic. The entertainment features something for everyone with the headline acts performing Friday and Saturday nights on two stages. We present more than 65 hours of entertainment on three stages.

View Entertainers for this year

Entertainment applications are available online on the Applications page. Confirmation is mailed out in late June.

Food
You can't have a festival without great food and the Matthews Alive! Festival provides this and more! The food features all your favorites and some surprises. A variety of vendors provide something for everyone.

Applications are available online on the Applications page. Confirmation is mailed out in late June. Fees: vary according to space and size.

Children’s Area
The Children’s Area at the Matthews Alive! Festival features entertainment and activities for young children and families. Both professional entertainment and local exhibitions are featured. Activities are spread throughout the festival with a heavy concentration in front of Matthews Elementary School.

Interested entertainers and local performers can use the entertainment application found online on the Applications page.

Parade
The Southeast’s largest Labor Day parade is in historic downtown Matthews, NC. This Parade is one of the biggest attractions at the Matthews Alive! Festival and features local high school marching bands, floats sponsored by area businesses and non-profit organizations, a celebrity grand marshal and other special appearances.