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
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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.