Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach

I felt so bad this year for the Neptune Festival — Mother Nature had her way with us in Virginia Beach! I saw a lot of complaints on Social Media — but listen, October here is storm season. Nor’easter time, hurricane/​tropical storm time — we cannot control it! We just go with the flow.
My husband and I had signed up for the annual 5K and 8K. We both showed up for the 5K and it was windy, crazy, rainy, but full of passion! We both thought staying in bed on a rainy, windy morning would’ve been awesome — but we signed up and dammit, we were going to get the deed done! And we did. It was a great experience — so glad I didn’t moan and groan and just lie in bed wishing I had done it.
We did not get to the Pavillion to see any of the art shows this year unfortunately but Neptune is always a great time. The Sand Castles had to come down early because of yet another storm coming through the next week — but that’s the downfall of October planning. I think the staff handled all the pressure well and rerouted as much as they could —
PS — trip insurance is your friend. Purchase it if you plan on making this your annual vacation anywhere on the east coast in October. You’re welcome :)

I attended the Neptune’s Fall wine festival. it was by far the WORST event i have ever been to. Pictures show images of the beach and people enjoying themselves with glasses full of wine… however the reality of the event is far from this. From the tiny maybe 100ft by 100ft roped off area you could see slivers of the ocean if you are lucky and tall. My major issue with the event is the wine booths treat the event like a true wine tasting taking their time to explain each $ 6 bottle of Rose to individuals on two sides of their tiny booths. You will wait in line for cheap wine for over an hour! There is nothing wrong with cheap wine. that was not the issue but treating cheap wine like something you need to sniff is a joke. it was awful. organized poorly and an all around disappointment. You will stand around in the sun for most of the event waiting. it was such a disappointment AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!

The event planners rocked it out again this year. Three days of wonderful sun drenched weather, food, music sand castles and 200+ unique vendors. All on the beautiful Virginia Beach Boardwalk with King Neptune overseeing the whole thing.
If you have never done the Neptune Festival before it has been going on for almost 40 years and is a VB tradition. It is also a tradition to show off your pooch which is allowed to walk right along with festival goers.
I always think it’s worth the $ 5 to check out the cool sand castles under the tent. This year did not disappoint. I liked the Queen the best.
I checked out a few food vendors and snapped a pic of one where I had an Italian sausage and fries that were delish. The KONA ICE truck was mobbed not only with customers, but bee’s around their window. My daughter wanted no part of the possibility of having a bee sting, so we left.
I almost never buy anything from the art vendors, but enjoy looking at their unique works.
Awesome job event planners.

The Neptune Festival is one of the première events of the waterfront.
It is primarily an arts and craft show but there is lots of food and music.
I always enjoy this festival however it would be nice if it was organized where the food was in one location and if the organizers highlighted one of the artists.

This is my first ever arts and crafts festival since I have arrived in Virginia Beach. I honestly thought, its a very interesting celebration to showcase local talents and their craftsmanship. Apparently, some are promising and some are just totally rubbish.
Food trucks and live music are probably the highlight of the event. Best of all, families can also enjoyed the festivities.
My only critics, its quite a bit disorganized. Food and beverages should be in location and the same as the others.
Would have been better if the organizer have highlighted a local artist and their artwort.
Overall, kudos to all the people behind this successful event.

Today was the first time I’ve ever been to this fest!!! (And I have lived in Hampton Roads for a long time now!) Not disappointed.
We came today, a Friday, to beat the crazy weekend crowd and traffic. That is good and bad I guess. Good because yes, waaaay less traffic, more space to walk (but actually, it was more crowded than I thought, so I can’t even imagine how it will be over the weekend!) Easier to access the booths and look around, short lines for food and different vendors.
The negative was that because it’s still only Friday, we missed the sand sculptures, surf contest, and parade!!!
We still had an awesome time! The highlights for me — a Kona Ice snowcone in Strawberry Shortcake flavor (wedding cake + strawberry + cream). It was delicious. I got a steak in a sack (steak gyro) from one of the food vendors, forgot the name, but I ended up letting my bf have it because it had too many onions and veggies for my liking. We also got our names done/​intertwined in brush calligraphy by artist Daniel Nie. It was pretty cool.
Good weather, good company, fun food and sights, always equals a good time. This is a great festival. :) Glad I finally went, and I will probably come again. If not tomorrow, maybe next year.

I didn’t even know this was going on until a friend sent me an early morning text telling me to get my ass down to the beach. We got there early, while the parade was going on, which I didn’t get to see but instead, cruised the seemingly hundreds of booths before sidewalk traffic got heavy. SO much talent here, I wanted to buy one of everything! The sandcastles were amazing. I have always been fascinated by what people can do with sand. It was a $ 5 donation to see the castles and a lot of the booths are donation based or fundraisers, so don’t forget to bring cash. Street food was on point! You cant go wrong with kettle corn, corn dogs and gyros! This is a fantastic festival that you should absolutely check out, especially for the locals since it starts at the end of tourist season. I am so glad we went!

This is without a doubt my favorite thing in Virginia Beach so far.
My husband and I stumbled upon this our first year after moving here. We took our puppy (a 5 month old English bulldog) the first time — huge mistake. This event is VERY crowded between around 15^th –30^th street on the boardwalk at the beachfront. There are literally tens of THOUSANDS of people walking the boardwalk and the vendors have set up their tents on the boardwalk as well so it isn’t as spacious for walking as usual and with our adorable puppy we were stopped every 5 minutes with people asking to pet him — I was also afraid people wouldn’t see him and might step on/​kick him.
There are hundreds of vendors from all over the US and some from outside who come to show and sell their unique items.
This event coincides with the yearly sandcastle competition every year so you can do both by easily starting lower on the boardwalk and walking past the sandcastles before you go shopping/​browsing.
I’ve been every year since we’ve moved and several of the artists come back every year though some items are new — this has allowed me to buy items I thought were too expensive one year but thought about all year after the festival and decided I wanted if I ever saw them again — so win win! Either way I love to go and look at the items and find unique treasures to display in my home that I couldn’t find at Target or name brand stores. Plus I prefer to support artisans as opposed to big companies anyway in today’s economy.
There are food tents set up with Greek, Asian, American fare and they sell the usuals like funnel cake and those stainless steel rootbeer mugs you can fill up all day for around $ 10.
I have several friends who come from out of town now to go to this event with me and I look forward to attending it every year.
As with all art some of the items are VERY expensive but most are reasonably priced. You can find wood works, photographic framed art, wall art, home goods, clothing, jewelry, etc. You name it, they probably have it. My husband even found some stuff he bought — and that is saying something!
My only issue is, once I’ve bought a bunch of stuff I have to carry it around all day so from now on I’m only going to browse first, then go back and buy it all up once I’m done looking!
I can’t WAIT for the next one!

The gods have a sense of humor… at least here in VA Beach.
I swung by the Neptune festival with the family after I came across this the night prior while out for drinks on the boardwalk. It turned out to be a typical carnival, minus any serious rides, and I think it could have had some potential had the weather cooperated.
It was fun seeing fresh dipped corn dogs and other junk food being made to order like my days of yore — however, the sea wind combined with 60 degree temps didn’t do much for the wind chill or the mood. We ended up walking up and down a bit and then shoving off for the warmth of a restaurant.
Might be worth seeing next year if it’s warmer.

We happened upon this festival on our way to the Acquarium, boy am I glad we did! This certainly ranks in the top 10 of street festivals I’ve ever attended and may very well be the best. Artist booths, food vendors, live music and other activities for people of all ages. What I enjoyed about the artist booths was that they covered many different styles from abstract to more traditional. Topping it all off was the sand sculptures on the beach. Some really incredible works from entries both local and globally.
We arrived here before noon and didn’t leave until nearly 5, enjoying every moment of the time we spent at this the 37^th edition of the festival. I’m positive if we are still in the region next year, I’ll try to plan a long weekend around this event.

As a town by the beach, we worship the gods of the sea. Virginia Beach goes roman and celebrates King Neptune at this annual festival. Events arrange from a sand sculpting competition, to a surf championship, a 5K run and a regatta. Every year I make it a point to attend the sand sculpting competition. It is amazing what they can do with only sand and water: life-​like mermaids jut out of the sand, watery wonderlands of fish, sharks of course King Neptune swim across the beach – Amazing!
The best thing about this event is that it raises money for tons of local charities such as the Jaycees, the children’s hospital and many other non-​profits receive over $ 100,000 per year from the proceeds of this festival. So, if you’re in Virginia Beach in September, drop by, have fun, spend money and feel great!