Its festival season in eastern Wake County. Hundreds turned out Saturday for the International Food Festival in Wendell. Ditto for Knightdale Community Day.

In a couple weeks, Wendell will hit the festival circuit again when the Harvest Festival rolls around.

And in Zebulon, the party centers around a 60-year-old armory that's getting a facelift and will soon embark upon a second life as a community center.

The town will celebrate the grand opening of that facility in mid-October.

The truth is, you don't have to leave eastern Wake County to be entertained these days.

That's a good thing, too.

With the cost of gasoline and people's general desire not to spend too much uneccesary money, it's good to know there's something to do to get the children out of the house for a few hours on the weekend without having to drive all the way into Raleigh.

Up next on the calendar is Wendell's Harvest Festival, which runs Oct. 2-3.

What once was a celebration of the region's tobacco industry is now a more generalized street fair.

People can shop with vendors, eat a ridiculous amount of food and enjoy some really good live entertainment.

On Saturday night the Band of Oz will bring the curtain down on this year's Harvest Festival with a show that will generate plenty of enthusiasm from people of all ages, whether you're into beach music or not.

As much as anything, though, festivals are an opportunity to visit with friends and let your hair down.

If you do happen to have some extra change burning a hole in your pocket, the N.C. State Fair is just around the corner, too.

Slated for Oct. 15-25, the state fair retains some of its agricultural heritage.

You can still see livestock shows in the Jim Graham Building, catch the farm equipment show outside the Kerr Scott Building, and get a taste of great-grandma's living environs in the Village of Yesteryear.

As the weather cools off, it's a great time to get outside and enjoy any of the offerings that are available to you.

And, you can do it for darn near free. And if that doesn't make you happy, then I don't know what would.