The Triangle boasts a wide range of breweries and craft beer styles, and beer enthusiasts can sample many of them at the area's three best beer festivals.

A couple weeks ago, local beer blogger Kyle Rubeling offered some of the can't-miss breweries in the Triangle. But if you want to try them all at once (and you have a designated driver), a beer festival is the way to do it.

Here are the Triangle's three beer festivals, when and where they are, and what you can expect to see (and taste) at each.

World Beer Festival - Raleigh and Durham

This is actually two beer festivals, as the the World Beer Fest takes place in the spring in Raleigh and in the fall in Durham. Both festivals are a favorite among casual beer drinkers and beer enthusiasts

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the Raleigh/Durham area as the seventh best place to live in the U.S.! With an overall score 7.2 out of 10, this area showed impressive scores in net migration as well as value and desirability; area that seem to go hand in hand. Raleigh and Durham beat out other major metropolitan areas such as Boston, San Francisco, and Nashville, while Austin took the first place ranking with an overall score of 7.8.

Every year, U.S. News & World Report releases their list of the top 100 metropolitan cities in the U.S. based on how the populations scores each city based on five categories: desirability, value, job market, quality of life, and net migration.

Here's how Raleigh and Durham ranked on the scorecard:

Raleigh and Cary both embrace the arts, playing host to numerous events including festivals and performing arts shows that take place each year.  

In fact, in Raleigh alone as much as 150 million dollars a year is generated from cultural events and festivals that are hosted in the city. Whether you’re interested in a family outing or finding a hot spot to hang out with your group friends, there is something for everyone.

The Ten Year Arts Plan in Raleigh

The Ten Year “Creative Life" Arts Plan is a master plan that was developed to strengthen the presence of culture and arts in Raleigh. This plan is largely shaped by the community to provide citizens an opportunity to experiment and create. The Creative Life Arts Plan was formulated to meet

The Hillsborough community is alive with the arts and you don't need to be a local to know where to find it!

Hillsborough is a small, but growing town, home to about 6,500 residents. But what it lacks in size it makes up for in a focus on the arts, offering events throughout the year sure to delight locals and visitors.

Art Exhibits

>The local arts museum, the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, is owned by artists living in the area. It has a wide variety of art exhibits of mostly contemporary and modern art.

The exhibits in the museum are constantly being changed, with new pieces being added every month. Repeat visitors will always have new things to look at, including ceramics, sculptures, paintings, jewelry, mosaics, photography, and much

If you have an interest in the arts, you will find plenty of activity in Chapel Hill, a town that has been noted for its many Best Places awards, whether you want to be a participant or a spectator.

Many people in Chapel Hill have an avid interest in the arts, and it shows by community’s support of its artists.

Various art pieces are displayed throughout the downtown area, and the town takes pride in being known as one that recognizes "the ways that art and culture enriches our lives."

Art pieces are also displayed in many storefront windows in the spring and summer in order to promote local artists. Local artists are also funded to conduct occasional special projects in the school system, and some communities conduct events where the public

A diverse community where self-expression is encouraged, Durham is home to a creative and vibrant art scene.

There’s something here for everyone to enjoy, from classical, modern, or contemporary visual art, to dance, music and theater performances. A wide variety of venues, galleries and festivals give art enthusiasts of all kinds plenty of choices.

Art Galleries and Museums In The Bull City

Looking for the latest exhibits to explore? Locals celebrate their own art culture by attending monthly gatherings such as Third Friday which encourage residents and non-residents to peek into galleries, museums and art spaces around the city.

The Durham Art Walk is a celebration of visual arts and fine crafts held in downtown Durham and features the

Pumpkin carving is one of the most cherished Halloween traditions, but going out to the farm, picking the perfect pumpkins, and sharing in some good old family fun is how great family memories are truly created. Lucky for residents of the Triangle, there are a number of family-owned farms in the area that offer plenty of wholesome fun and fantastic pumpkins too!

Here’s your guide to some spooktacular family fun this Fall in the Triangle.

McKee’s Cedar Creek Farm in Rougemont

Located about 25 minutes north of Durham, McKee’s Cedar Creek Farm has been a Triangle family favorite for generations. Every Fall, the farm creates a unique pattern in their 12-acre corn maze to challenge and impress their visitors. For little adventurers, they also

Barbecue in the Triangle: There’s nothing better!

Just saying 'barbecue' in this part of the country will get your mouth watering. If you love barbecue, there are so many incredible places preparing it that it's easy to think you've died and gone to hog heaven.

The first choice you need to make is the kind of barbecue you want. You see, in North Carolina, there are two types of barbecue that compete for your love and attention: eastern style and western (also called Lexington or Piedmont style).

Chapel Hill is the dividing line between the two styles of barbecue in the Triangle area. East of Chapel Hill you will find Eastern-style barbecue. Western style barbecue is found west of Chapel Hill. Both styles are known for great, slow-cooked

If you've been living in a cave for the last 30 years, the phrase “food truck” might conjure up images of a sandwich truck at a construction site or a truck serving greasy fast food on a college campus. Once called roach coaches, food trucks have grown up. Today's food truck are nothing like their ancestors.

There are about 150 food trucks in the Triangle area, offering a huge variety of foods. Most trucks specialize in certain foods just like restaurants do. What do the food trucks offer? Several types of BBQ, hot dogs, hamburgers, gourmet grilled cheese, cheesesteaks, gourmet sliders, deli meats, pizza, Maine lobster, tacos, sandwiches, dumplings, meatballs, and more. There are also trucks specializing in sweets such as cupcakes and cookies,

This coming weekend we celebrate Independence Day, the day we declared our independence from England. We usually get together with family and friends for a day of fun, parades, barbecues, picnics, concerts, and, of course, fireworks! This year, you can actually catch fireworks on both Sunday and Monday if you plan ahead. Some places are celebrating the holiday on Sunday and others on Monday, the 4th. To help you plan your holiday, we have listed below some of the more popular events for the weekend.

Events for Sunday, July 3:

Fuquay-Varina Independence Day Celebration

South Park, 820 South Main Street, Fuquay-Varina. 6 pm.

This event includes free music, inflatable rides, tons of food vendors, and spectacular fireworks after dark. A