My wife and I bought tickets online based on the great reviews and drove out to the fair to see the quaker homes and the town. Unfortunately, we saw neither one because my wife cannot navigate the many hills in town and the fair has no shuttles for mobility limited guests (she waited 20 mins at the handicap drop off area and she saw none). Also, even if you're not mobility limited, the fair is spread out all over the town and there is no signage indicating the locations of anything except the parking. The parking? In a hilly open field abut a half mile from the fair. The nice quaker homes open for tours? Just three were available on the day we visited, and two were gardens only. All in all, it looked like it might be a nice fair if you can walk the hills and discover the things you want to see, but the fair organizers need to be more transparent about the experience, have shuttles for mobility limited visitors, and put up more signs to identify exhibits and activities.

First it should be told that parking is not near the fair. Secondly, the vendors are all over the place not in one area. We purchased tickets online, and no one asked for our tickets. There are more than one place to enter the fair. I was told the historic houses were not available to tour which is the foremost reason I came. We were parked at Waterford School (elementary)? as well as others on the shuttle and the driver didn't know if he was allowed to take us there. Very disorganized and it could have been a wonderful event. Will not come back. What a waste of money.

So after attending for the last few years, I have made a discovery that the best day to go is Sunday in the morning. In years past I always went on Saturday, but due to another commitment, I could not attend on Saturday. I still got there around 9:30 and got an excellent parking spot. I had pre-purchased my ticket to save a couple dollars and was quickly checked in and on my way. Except for a couple of booths everything was already open, to include the art exhibit (usually opens right at 10am not a second earlier). There were a few new vendors which I made purchases from, but most were tried and true. Because it wasn't too crowded, I was able to tour all 4 homes (technically 3 homes and a church). It was overcast the entire time I was there and even rained (hard) for a bit as I went from the old mill towards the Myers house (took refuge at the info booth). There were numerous musical acts performing and set up at different locations throughout town, though the barbershop quartet was not at the corner store. It was a great visit and as I was leaving there was a steady stream of cars showing up to park and pay.

We celebrate our anniversary each year by attending the Waterford Fair. We've been there when snowflakes were in the air, 90 degree weather, the parking fields were too wet for anything except 4-wheel drive vehicles, and on a rainy day. We were on our way back from the Outer Banks 3 years ago when our plan to stop here was halted by a hurricane and the fair cancellation. We attended this year's fair and still enjoyed it, but have seen perhaps a 75% to 80% decline in numbers of artists and maybe a slight decline in quality. A few of the artists we were looking for are gone. We still found a nice treasure to take home from one of your new artists, a sign painter. I hope this fair continues and flourishes as it did before the hurricane. We so much want this fair to continue to be a highlight of our yearly travels.

The Waterford Fair is a three day annual festival. It starts each morning at 10am and goes until 5 or 6 in the evening. The best thing to do to get a good spot and avoid some of the crowds is to get there before 10. The parking opens at 9:30 and most of the vendors are already set up at that time so you can go ahead and start touring/shopping. Because I was early I was able to get into three of the four houses that were open for touring before there were big lines (went to the Pink House two years ago). The Steer house was the best of the three as the guides knew there material without reading their scripts. The Livery State was interesting but very small/short. The Iron Storehouse was all about the current owners with nothing about its past really. I was a little upset that the vendors that are normally behind the Second Street School were moved to make room for a games are which none of the kids were using. I was also lucky that the Old Mill didn't have a line so I was able to get a lot of shopping done there. It was a fun time. I also took advantage of the wine tasting area which also had beer tasting. Great fun.