Gaston County, NC Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

" The county does not license festival vendors separately; instead, a festival is folded into the "public assembly" definition in § 8-102(6), a gathering of 25 or more people reasonably expected to obstruct traffic on county property, or 25 or more people at the courthouse, sheriff's headquarters, jail, or administrative building. Once a festival meets that threshold, § 8-103(b) requires the organizer to notify an approving official (the sheriff, a sheriff's deputy, the county manager, an assistant or deputy manager, or the county attorney) at least two business days ahead, giving the date, route, requested street closings, expected attendance, and any animals present.

The approving official can attach reasonable conditions and must respond within one business day. , no tent, booth, or enclosure may go up on county property unless the permit authorizes it, and anyone using a handheld amplified device must stay at least five feet from bystanders. The article covers only festivals held on county-owned property; § 8-105 excludes events at county parks or on public school grounds, which are governed by separate facility rules, and a festival in Gastonia, Belmont, or another municipality falls under that city's own code, not this article.