About Fest in the West
Fest in the West
Sat. April 18, 2026
11 am- 4 pm
Mills Park
501 Mills Park Drive
Cary, North Carolina
Since 2016, Fest in the West has been western Cary's signature event.
Our first year was at Parkside Town Commons. In 2017, we teamed up with Town of Cary and moved to USA Baseball, then Thomas Brooks Park. In 2025, Fest in the West moved to Mills Park.
Focus on Kids
Fest in the West was always designed to be specific to Western Cary. Definitely not an imitation of other festivals.
There's the petting zoo, the acrobats and circus performers. A kids stage and a Kids Corral.
In 2025, when we moved to Mills Park, we decided to focus the entire festival on kids.
We expanded the kids performance areas to two separate stages, one for music and one for dance. On the Big Field, we have tumbling, martial arts, robotics, the petting zoo, an obstacle course bounce house, aerialists, and free play games. There is something to do for everyone.
Fest in the West is the place where everyone is a star.
New in 2026: Teen Scene
There's a new area at Fest in West that is exclusively for kids aged 11 and up and will be run by the Cary Teen Council.
Primarily, it's designed as a hangout for teens that perform or volunteer at the festival. We're planning an area that includes hammocks, 4-square and Imposter games, origami and coloring crafts as well as prizes and other fun where teens can mingle and relax.
About Chester Goodtree
Chester Goodtree is a company about arts, community and commerce. We involved in a variety of ventures including fine art, photography, event design and the Downtown Cary Map.
From 2009 to 2022, we published CaryCitizen, an online news blog about all things Cary.
Lindsey Chester and Hal Goodtree met at Rutgers in 1979. They have been married since 1988 and moved to Cary in 1998. They have two grown children.
The Team
Lindsey Chester
Festival Director
Joy Pike
Festival Producer
Dan Pike
Festival Producer
Hal Goodtree
Festival Producer
Fest in the West is a production of Chester Goodtree in partnership with Town of Cary