Very nice looking 'fest. Love to make that one some day. Twelve hour drive, but since we're retired now maybe some summer my wife and I will make a three or four day adventure out of it. For now, it's fun looking at the pictures.
Just Southwest of Shelby is Franklin, NC the "GEM Capital of the World"
https://www.fgmm.org/And you're surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains and you can pan for gold and gems.
Lots to see and very laid-back community.
https://www.franklinnc.com/franklin-nc-events-calendar.htmlAnd, East of Shelby is Charlotte, NC if you like to party, great restaurants and you can run into lots of rich people
Over the years, I've been to Shelby hamfest twice. I found the hamfest too slow paced for my liking. Some of those vendors sit out in the grass for days.
I moved a WECo. Data product line from Aurora, IL to Monterrey, Mexico for a little less then 2 years and then moved it from Monterrey to Charlotte, NC. Spent a least two to three days a month for least 9 months getting that final move so I spent a lot of time in the Charlotte area. Great area and lots to see and visit when I wasn't working.
As a single guy with two other guys, we spent roughly 5 days in Franklin, NC many many years ago. Lots to see and visit and had a lot of fun. Drove down from NJ in a 1957 Ford Fairlane convertible. Spent several days panning for gems in the local streams. We didn't get rich.
